Lash wrote:Dookiestix wrote:As the term in question is offensive to an entire cross-section of society (predominantly African Americans), I fail to understand what the problem is other than the traditional whining from rightwingers that we're too PC.
People knew he didn't refer to blacks or any person. They pretended to be offended. There was no offense in that statement.
I guess one cannot be persecuted for using the "N' word either. Unless you're White, of course.
Nigger has no other meaning but offense. Tarbaby isn't even widely known as possibly offensive. These two words aren't in the same universe.
Our complex history is what eludes those who attempt to simplify the meaning behind an entrenched ideological term. It is a segregated culture (conservative white America) which isolates itself from understanding the weight of this issue.
There are serious issues that impact race relations, and the black community. Tarbaby isn't one of them.. Actually, the whining about the use of tarbaby, IMO, was designed to further divide people racially. If he'd called someone a tarbaby, I'd agree with the people who took offense.
Anyway-- I'm not arguing with you. I was trying to show you a different way of thinking about this issue.
I undersatand yours, and I believe it's rooted in historical penance for mistreatment of a race of people. So, I believe your motive is positive--I just think your method is empty.
The term offends me as much as it offends my African American friends. It is the subtlety of the term which eludes you, yet certainly rings clear for many others. And whereas the "N" word is clearly offensive to you, there is a culture within the African American community that has made that word an intrinsic part of their everyday vernacular. This has nothing to do with penance; that is a false assumption. It has to do with the underlying social evolution of our society because of our history of slavery in this country, and its complicated results which we must all deal with today.
We as a nation are divided enough when it comes to race. We have institutionalized bigotry in all of it's subtlest of terms to the point where individuals such as yourself fail to recognize it, and instead insist that the term in question is an issue, when it is much more than that. Assuming that the horrors of slavery could be washed away so easily, then we wouldn't be in this predicament when it comes to terminology that is offensive. But there is an obvious racist element within the Republican party, and this is why the term in question has primarily been uttered by those on the RIGHT, not the left. The proud "white" history of the South to some resembles nothing but the murderous past to others. Why else would there have been such an uproar when some were insisting on flying the confederate flag at government institutions in the South.
Why do you think the Republican party cannot attract more African American voters? I'll tell you, because it's really quite simple; the Republican party still caters to their racist constituents. They float these terms out there to show that they are still on their side, and it is subtle, for that is the state of insititutionalized bigotry today. Why do you think not a single African American Republican is currently in Congress?
As long as idiots like Tony Snow and others on the Right continue to throw these terms out as a subtle nod to their racist elements of the GOP, the less support the Republican party can expect from the African American community. Believe or not, the African American community is smart enough to know this. Add to that voter disenfranchisement, Hurricane Katrina, the hypocrisy from the GOP when it comes to the minimum wage, and many other enforced disparities by the ruling party in Washington, and you have ample reasons for why the GOP cannot be trusted when it comes to the best interests of the African American community.
In summary, the baggage still exists behind some of these terms. Seeing our public officials/presidential spokesmen utter these phrases does FAR more in dividing this country then the mere outrage by some when they hear it.
