@aidan,
aidan wrote:You know, I just got the other day why black kids/people of a certain generation have taken back the n-word and defused its power over them by adopting its use- in more than a theoretical way.
I 've seen them use it among themselves (loudly) presaging imminent violence.
aidan wrote:I experienced for the first time, what they must experience on a day to day basis.
Not that I'm saying that I LIKE it or anything, but I understand it now, because I found myself doing the same thing.
There is this guy I work with and he's Scottish and he seems to have this rabid anti-American attitude to the point that I literally can't walk in the staff room and sit down without him mentioning my nationality (American) in some derogatory fashion.
There is a woman there named Liz whom I'm good friends with and I asked her, 'Liz - what the **** is Andy's problem?'
She said, 'He likes you Rebecca - that's his way of making friends..if he were overly polite, that's when you'd know he didn't like you, to which I respond, 'Oh really - so it's something along the line of a five year old boy pulling a little girl's pigtails...well, it's not funny or endearing...'
I think she may have said something to him, because he really stepped it up the next couple of days.
One day he was asking me if I knew what Noah did with all the animal **** on the ark and I said that I didn't so then he told me that he sailed to the 49th parallel and shoveled it over the side- and that became America.
I said, 'So you're calling me a piece of **** Andy?'
And he said, 'No - not you - your country - but don't take it personally- no reflection on you....'
I started laughing and said, 'Dont' take this personally, but I LOVE your country (Scotland). No reflection on you though.'
So the next day I'm typing a comment on an inmate's file - I'd written it out first as Andy had to log me in on his account and he was going to type it for me, but he said it was too long, so he said I had to type it.
Well the whole time I'm sitting there typing it, he's saying stuff like, 'Oh ****....I should have typed it for her, it'll be full of American spellings - in other words - WRONG!!'
But then everyone was really impressed with how fast I could type without looking at the keys and someone said, 'Yeah - she's not stupid you know,' and then Andy says, 'But she is American and there's only a subtle difference between stupid and American.'
So the next day my daughter was sick and I had to leave early and he asked where I was going and I said, 'My stupid/piece of ****/American daughter is sick- I have to go home and take her to the doctor.'
He said, 'I never called your daughter stupid.'
I said, 'Yeah, but she's American and there's only a subtle difference-according to you.'
Stopped him dead in his tracks. He's not made another American crack since.
And I like rap David. Some it is very clever and creative.
It glorifies the animal, in a dirty way; looking in the rong direction.
If I were there, I 'd take it as an invitation to argue,
which I enjoy.
I 'd not recriminate in kind, because I
LIKE the Scotch.
I like how thay sound, better than the English.
(I
can 't stand the sounds of the Cockneys.)
I 'd be eager to sit next to him and inquire qua
his particular objections to America. I 'd
apologize
for interfering with Great Britain in the 194Os,
and acknowledge that we shoud not have gone
over to their island in those days;
terrible imposition!
He 's probably a Marxist, lamenting the
commies' loss of the 3rd World War,
in which case I 'd rub his nose in it. We d argue class warfare.
It can be fun to argue.
David
