I'm still trying to figure this out. Is it that he used the word "Negro", which is outdated and slightly offensive in the modern world? Is it that he seemed to imply that being "light-skinned" was "good", which is an implication of racism? Or is it that he was saying that the absence of a "dialect" was good, which is the frank truth?
I've long agreed with Bill Cosby and others who have attempted to fight the "Ebonics" movement, and so I certainly hope Reid isn't being attacked for expressing opposition to efforts to encourage proper diction, orthography and the like. Speaking in "Ebonics" is nothing but an impediment.
Because the exact reason why Reid is being attacked hasn't been elucidated, I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I support Reid or think he's being racist. The implication that "light-skinned" = "good" is blatantly and overtly racist, and I disagree with that if that was Reid's assumption (and it may have been). Using the term "Negro" is outdated and somewhat offensive, but he's an old guy and so I don't think it's necessarily as offensive as it would be if, say, a 25-year-old said it.
However, if the issue is Reid's praising the fact that Obama didn't speak in "Ebonics," there should be no furore whatsoever over his remarks.
I've long agreed with Bill Cosby and others who have attempted to fight the "Ebonics" movement, and so I certainly hope Reid isn't being attacked for expressing opposition to efforts to encourage proper diction, orthography and the like. Speaking in "Ebonics" is nothing but an impediment.
Because the exact reason why Reid is being attacked hasn't been elucidated, I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I support Reid or think he's being racist. The implication that "light-skinned" = "good" is blatantly and overtly racist, and I disagree with that if that was Reid's assumption (and it may have been). Using the term "Negro" is outdated and somewhat offensive, but he's an old guy and so I don't think it's necessarily as offensive as it would be if, say, a 25-year-old said it.
However, if the issue is Reid's praising the fact that Obama didn't speak in "Ebonics," there should be no furore whatsoever over his remarks.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
So what EXACTLY is the problem with Reid's comments?
12/01/2010 04:11:56 AM
- 916 Views
it wasn't just that he commented on the lack of "dialect"
12/01/2010 04:16:27 AM
- 611 Views
Regardless of that, I don't see the ability to use dialect as a racist statement.
12/01/2010 04:32:07 AM
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when was the last time you heard a white person speaking ebonics?
12/01/2010 01:41:24 PM
- 573 Views
A week or so ago.
12/01/2010 08:09:09 PM
- 505 Views
Isn't that the definition of a wigger? A white person who speaks/acts like a black person?
12/01/2010 09:49:34 PM
- 536 Views
And the fact that Wigger = White N****r isn't racist at all! *NM*
12/01/2010 10:33:04 PM
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I wasn't using the term seriously 9_9
13/01/2010 04:26:20 AM
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Mocking white people for "acting like black people" by modifying a slur on blacks... hm... *NM*
13/01/2010 06:50:46 AM
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You know, what IS a good term for black people these days?
12/01/2010 04:36:33 AM
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I just use "black"
12/01/2010 02:27:16 PM
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Why is it OK to discriminate on the grounds of language but not race?
12/01/2010 08:23:21 AM
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Please tell me you were joking... *NM*
12/01/2010 01:29:37 PM
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Your AAE is a language the way that Pig Latin is a language.
12/01/2010 06:38:35 PM
- 536 Views
You know, arguing what a language is with a linguist is pretty much set up for failure *NM*
12/01/2010 07:58:42 PM
- 364 Views
I recall having a similar discussion on this very topic a few years ago with Tim.
12/01/2010 08:10:53 PM
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Re: I recall having a similar discussion on this very topic a few years ago with Tim.
12/01/2010 09:06:01 PM
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Maybe, but having knowledge of the topic wasn't one of my advantages in that argument. *NM*
13/01/2010 03:36:31 AM
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I don't even know where to begin.
12/01/2010 09:43:21 PM
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That third point is going a bit far.
12/01/2010 10:06:08 PM
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You're right, I was conflating two separate points.
12/01/2010 10:14:48 PM
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Well, it still only applies...
12/01/2010 10:24:08 PM
- 655 Views
You ascribe too much intelligence to the average American racist .
12/01/2010 10:30:39 PM
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You're guessing at people's motives and making what appear to be broad, unsupported assertions
12/01/2010 11:04:47 PM
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I don't mean they're racist in all respects.
13/01/2010 06:52:20 AM
- 473 Views
Your defintion of racism and sexism seems to massively differ from mine
13/01/2010 03:37:46 PM
- 616 Views
I had to think about this for a few days, but I've now worked out my answer.
16/01/2010 01:59:25 PM
- 578 Views
I had no problems with them. And I don't even like the guy and hope he loses his reelection battle.
12/01/2010 03:32:42 PM
- 618 Views
Who seriously uses the term "Negro dialect" anymore?
13/01/2010 02:00:15 AM
- 496 Views
It's not the word "Negro" in "Magic Negro" that's the most offensive part. *NM*
13/01/2010 09:16:20 AM
- 225 Views