James Clyburn: What’s wrong with the word “negro”?
posted at 7:10 pm on January 11, 2010 by Allahpundit
A sterling example of why that “national conversation on race” Americans are forever being told to have will be postponed indefinitely: We can’t even agree on which terms are offensive. Slate says “negro” has been more or less taboo since 1966, but put it in the mouth of one of Clyburn’s political allies and of course it’s instantly copacetic. That’s good news for liberals of “a certain age,” but if you’re conservative, I’d advise you to stick with Slate’s take on this. Clyburn himself is a practiced hand at ye olde art of racially demagoging Republicans, so if the word should escape your lips or those of the conservative pol you support, you’ll get no support from him, I assure you.
Exit question: Have we now officially reached the “time to reexamine assumptions” point of the Reid scandal? First comes the outrage, then the inevitable “did he really say anything wrong?” phase, and then finally nonsense like this, in which everything you thought you knew for years must be revisited in the name of providing political cover. For instance, I thought it was semi-taboo on the left to discuss how Democratic pols pandered to black audiences by, shall we say, “adjusting” their normal speaking inflections a bit, but here’s a long-ish and interesting blog post today at the Times on that very subject. Progress, I guess. Click the image to watch.
Update: A bit from that Times piece deserves highlighting. Imagine John McCain, say, floating this breezy bit of insight:
“I know if I’m in an all-black audience that there’s going to be a certain rhythm coming back at me from the audience. They’re not just going to be sitting there,” Mr. Obama told me. “That creates a different rhythm in your speaking.”











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James, I’ll have a coffee please, cream, no sugar! Thanks!
Dino64 on January 11, 2010 at 8:05 PM
A tool? How about baiting. Now that Negro is acceptable again, just be sure you emphasize the last two letters in its proper order or it may have a lawsuit on your a$$.
Electrongod on January 11, 2010 at 8:06 PM
so you cannot talk about LBJ signing Civil Rights Act, thats racist
you cannot state the FACT that Jesse Jackson won the SC Primary beofre Obama, thats racist
you cannot say if he were a woman with this level of inexperience he would be laughed off the stage running for POTUS, thats racist, even tho it was proved true with Sarahs VEEP run being attacked
according to Sebelius, arrogant, is also racist
but saying Hey lets run Obama againsgt that evil Hillary cuz he is HI TONE YALLAR and tlaks like us, isnt racist?? I call BS.
Theya re a bunch fo wimmun haters too, you can hang an affigy of Sarah in SF at Halloween and talk about hitting HRC with a 2X4 all you want, thats fine with these media hacks, then they come screaming Im not a ‘real’ woman if I vote GOP?
frak them
ginaswo on January 11, 2010 at 8:06 PM
/effigy, among other typos, sorry!
ginaswo on January 11, 2010 at 8:07 PM
Nowhere. Al owns more homes than either.
unclesmrgol on January 11, 2010 at 8:09 PM
Whatever we call them they will say it is rascist. Like others, I don’t even know what is appropriate now to call them, but good to know we can now go back to using negro. That’s what they were called when I was a child. Let’s all remember that Clyburn, Obama, all the dems, and blacks said this was OK the next time they pull out the race card when we call them negro, black, or colored person.
silvernana on January 11, 2010 at 8:09 PM
and anyone who is talking crxp about the coffee comment, one more time let me say
HILLARY used to get the coffee when she was a Jr Senator. THAT is what Big Dwg is talking about and Teddy knew that shxt damn well
this was a sop to his conscience after he stabbed them in the back cuz he didnt want a woman named Clinton to outshine his precious family rep.
and his sainted brother vored AGAAINST the civil rights act as a Senator. just sayion’
anyway there was a piece about how HRC was playing it cool and getting coffee for Chuckie Cheese and the rest at meetings, without being askled, you undestand
but again, its fine for a woman to act as a lackey but if you refer to a MAN that way youre raaaaaacist
Big Dawg is not racist and he in fact said he did NOT believe we tea party patriots were racist either, he said it several times, Andrea Tantaros was wrong
ginaswo on January 11, 2010 at 8:09 PM
Negro is a good word for those on the plantation; it is bad for those of us who have escaped the plantation.
Liberals are the most unprincipled hacks of all the ideological groups in the country.
dmnari on January 11, 2010 at 8:10 PM
I mean WHAT TIME PERIOD do Teddy and Reid live in? lived in.
in fact I am hard pressed to think of a time I have had a waiter of color, waitress, yes, but honestly I dont note their tone like Harry does. But I served lots of coffee and I am white as snow but women often get the joy of doing this in the office, the JUNIOR associate gets the coffee!
ginaswo on January 11, 2010 at 8:11 PM
I think negro is a better term than African-American. I actually think it shouldn’t be looked down upon, but we live in a PC world.
Tim Burton on January 11, 2010 at 8:12 PM
Trotting out black liberals is also partly to drown out Steele. Can’t have a black Republican with any credibility, right? He’s obviously not black enough.
Or is he maybe ‘too’ black? Or is he Uncle Tommin’? Is he black or now again a Negro?
I guess the answer is blowing in the wind–whichever way that is for now.
Liam on January 11, 2010 at 8:12 PM
Is it now ok to call BO a negro-American?
txag92 on January 11, 2010 at 8:15 PM
Gosh, I just call everybody my age or older “sir” or “ma’am”. It saves a lot of time and trouble.
Mary in LA on January 11, 2010 at 8:16 PM
My parents said that polite people in New York stopped using the term “negro” by the early 60s. Of course, they weren’t Democrat Senators so obviously they didn’t know the real limit.
Speedwagon82 on January 11, 2010 at 8:16 PM
Colored, negro then black was the norm during my childhood.
The Ugly American on January 11, 2010 at 8:20 PM
Finished the thought for ya there Baracky old pal.
Branch Rickey on January 11, 2010 at 8:29 PM
I guess Clarence Thomas having darker skin is why Harry ‘Dingy’ Reid hates him so much. Oh and Harry Reid is a moron.
Branch Rickey on January 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Don’t forget that “them” and “those people” are also code words for “The Word That Shall Not Be Spoken…by White People”
BobMbx on January 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM
His white mother could not be reached for comment.
Del Dolemonte on January 11, 2010 at 8:34 PM
Negro works for me, only two syllables instead of seven for
African American. Doesn’t it seemm that much of political correctness is adding syllables without changing the meaning?
Or, I will insist on being called Anglo-Saxon American or
European American :)
greenLibertarian on January 11, 2010 at 8:35 PM
So let me see if I understand the rules:
If you’re an A-A entertainer you can say N***** all you want in your act and publish it in your lyrics.
If you’re of a “certain age” you can say Negro.
Everyone else must stumble and mumble and hope they haven’t used an incorrect term.
I just wish someone would define the cutoff for a “certain age”. DOB before 1950? 1940? let’s be specific about these rules.
Oh and if you’re Republican, you should just STFU already because they “know” what you’re thinking, you don’t even have to say anything.
kooly on January 11, 2010 at 8:36 PM
In my youth there were colored fountains, bathrooms and restaurants. Sign at the various beaches near Baltimore read, “gentiles only!”
I don’t remember the ranchor that I hear now and people seemed much more civil. You would have thought since everything was made “a level playing field” this nonesense would have stopped. Now it is clear who the real racists are and it’s not necessarily southerners or republicans.
The ethnic grievance industry is alive and well in the good old USA!
wepeople on January 11, 2010 at 8:36 PM
Trotting out the racism a bit early tonight Sir.
disillusioned on January 11, 2010 at 8:41 PM
With the term “black” being most frequently substituted around that time-frame (if I remember the 1960s correctly) — which, of course, linguistically, made NO SENSE AT ALL. “Negro” is the Spanish word for “black”. Why should the English word for “black” be the preferred term? Both words mean EXACTLY the same thing — and since it was predominantly English slave ships that brought the Africans to the U.S., it seems curious that the Spanish term (“negro”) is somehow the more offensive word.
CyberCipher on January 11, 2010 at 8:42 PM
For the record this PC bullsh*t is not only tiring, it is not very accurate either!
For example, if you see a black person from Jamaica, the “Politically Correct” way to refer to him would be African-American (or so the leftards tell us) .
But ,er, correct me if I am wrong, geogoraphy was never my strong subject….
but Jamaica isn’t even part of Africa, is it ??
cableguy615 on January 11, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Say, do you know why half-black people are referred to as “black” in America? Look it up. You might learn something.
Then again…probably not.
crr6 on January 11, 2010 at 8:54 PM
<
two quick thoughts: first, if anybody on this site, and or any thread-thereof had used the term, “Negro” to refer to any African-American icon, including our illustrious Prez, even 3 days ago, I-ma-bett-en they would have been banned from this site post-haste, and rightly so.
Let’s give Harry his due…suddenly, the word, “Negro” is OK to say. Again, if I had referred to our President…not as, “The first African-American President,”, but, “America’s first Negro Commander-in-Chief”, Ed and Allah would have drummed me outta here in a New York minute!
It’s all about context. Suddenly, “Negro” is ok cuz Harry said it and the left has defended his saying it to high heaven.
OK. Fine. Wow!
Michelle sure has porked up lately huh?
Geez Louise, that Negro butt is getting a whole lot bigger. Must be those lobsters and Kobi beef from the White House kitchens.
First Lady is lookin’ a little Oprah-ish if you know what I mean. What a porker she’s become!
(Hope this made my case, and Mrs. Obama, I think you look great, even with those pesky extra 15.)
It’s OK to say things about the first lady’s weight (which is starting to explode exponentially), right? I mean, that’s not racist? Or is it? And if I say, “Negro Butt”, no one has a problem? Correct??? NOT!!!!!! “Harry, party of one, your hairshirt is ready…
Chewy the Lab on January 11, 2010 at 9:01 PM
If they are citizens of the United States, why can’t we just call them Americans?
nwpammy on January 11, 2010 at 9:02 PM
There is nothing wrong with the word Negro. In Spanish, it means black, does it not?
“If they are citizens of the United States, why can’t we just call them Americans?”
This works just fine for me.
GFW on January 11, 2010 at 9:10 PM
Now, now, let’s all calm down. We don’t want Harry Reid accusing us of prejudice toward Negro Congressmen.
OhioCoastie on January 11, 2010 at 9:15 PM
Don’t say Ma’am to Babs Boxer, she may well rip your head off. She worked long and hard to be called @%#t!
M-14 2go on January 11, 2010 at 9:15 PM
Sure it’s acceptable. Just let some pastey old white guy bring his lily ass down to the hood and start throwing the word negro around and see how long he lasts.
iceman1960 on January 11, 2010 at 9:20 PM
So it’s cool to say… “what up my negro?”
iceman1960 on January 11, 2010 at 9:23 PM
Yep and if their younger it’s Darlin’ or Bud.
thomasaur on January 11, 2010 at 9:26 PM
With one slight variation (‘sarc!)…
Chewy the Lab on January 11, 2010 at 9:26 PM
I’m really curious what term/name you would give them…?
I have cousins who are half black, and that’s what they call themselves.
4shoes on January 11, 2010 at 9:27 PM
This “conversation on race” in America is just bizarre. Come on Allah, stop demagoguing. It’s not strange that some people get away with saying some words. There are real reasons for this. And anyway, ANYone should stay away from stepping into such racial turds.
It’s really strange to watch how Americans are so hypersensitive about these issues. Thank goodness here in Canada we have none of that. And whatever we do have just overflows from the American culture that’s broadcasted up here nonstop.
It’s so stupid. Your politicians are like headless chickens, talking about all this stupid nonsense. Ours aren’t that much better… but they aren’t THAT bad.
AlexB on January 11, 2010 at 9:54 PM
I personally prefer the word negro. It’s sort of poetic and musical. Black is flat and ugly, while African-American is just plain silly. That said, I’d never use negro unless I was absolutely sure of my audience. Because it is taboo.
Urquhart on January 11, 2010 at 10:18 PM
Idk. What I was getting at is that half-blacks have historically been categorized as blacks in America as a way for slave-owning whites to maximize their property holdings. It’s not as if blacks had much of a choice in the matter.
crr6 on January 11, 2010 at 10:27 PM
Riiiiiiiiiiight. ‘Cause 2010 is not that different than 1860.
HAnthonyWayne on January 11, 2010 at 10:33 PM
My wife says the Dems are like a corrupt police force. Going code blue!
Kjeil on January 11, 2010 at 10:46 PM
It is sad to witness.
daesleeper on January 11, 2010 at 11:00 PM
So let me get this straight. There are times it is OK to speak of the “typical white person.” Do you then concede there are times to refer to the “typical black person?” And who, exactly, gets to be the referee to judge whether or not it’s fair or foul to do so? Would that be you? A civil rights activist? A jury of our peers? The liberal media? A conservative? How do I know when the “typical black person” is subjectively offended or not? For that matter, when is it appropriate to refer to the “typical white person?” Would that be appropriate when talking about the positive attributes of white people or the negative ones? I mean, really, I am as happy to be lumped in with people because of my race as much as anybody. I would just appreciate knowing what the rules are and when I am entitled to be offended. I know, why don’t you set up a 900 number hotline and YOU can be the arbiter of sensitivity, because I am positive you must have some special insight in order to stamp your imprimatur on racial etiquette. After all, you care more and are smarter than the rest of us. You may as well make some money off of your bloated estimation of yourself.
Twit.
ObjectionSustained on January 11, 2010 at 11:14 PM
This reminds me of Pulp Fiction when Jules was talking to Marcellus Wallace when Jules and Vincent were hiding out at Jimmie’s house after Vioncent shot that guy in the back of their car:
I roar with laughter, every time.
SlimyBill on January 11, 2010 at 11:18 PM
C’mon folks! Have you forgotten already that the Democrats soon will execute a “hard pivot” to focus on jobs after they get ObamaCare thrown under the bus, er, signed into law? This is just a “hard pivot” warmup to prepare for that!
ya2daup on January 11, 2010 at 11:24 PM
In that respect, yeah. Obviously that definition has carried through to today.
crr6 on January 11, 2010 at 11:28 PM
Nice post. But I think you forgot to provide the quote in full context.
crr6 on January 11, 2010 at 11:29 PM
First, way to congratulate yourself. Canada has a 2% black population. The difference between Canada and the U.S. is that blacks in America reliably vote 88 to 95 percent for democrat candidates in major elections. There is a vested interest for democrats to keep that fire stirred, and they do so expertly. There is no similar incentive in Canada because their 2% will rarely, if ever, swing an election. Make no mistake about it, the racial fever in this country is all about keeping a reliable voting bloc for one party, and that bloc is “all in” for the democrats.
Now, as far as Canada’s enlightened treatment of blacks (African-Canadians?), they are incarcerated at 3 times the rate of the Caucasian population. And by the way, what is with calling the indigenous population Aborigines? That’s about as colonialist as you can get. Let’s not get all smug, my friend.
If you want to understand modern race relations in America, you need to think in terms of the democrats and the race hustlers as running a protection racket. Throw into the mix an accomplice liberal media that understands all too well that race stories put a lot of eyeballs in front of TV screens and you get a pretty evil dynamic.
ObjectionSustained on January 11, 2010 at 11:35 PM
Our country, thank to the liberals’ ‘standards’ is now a theater of the absurd.
Schadenfreude on January 11, 2010 at 11:38 PM
Barack and Michelle had an interview after the elections in which they said they decided to run in order to be an example. I assume that didn’t mean to be an example of Hawaiian pampered kids being able to get to the presidency.
Phoenician on January 11, 2010 at 11:39 PM
That carries us into whole new territory. I’ve always refered to people who are half white and half black and half white as Mulatto, but I believe I read that is offensive. I honestly don’t know. I think it depends on the context.
NathanG on January 11, 2010 at 11:40 PM
Effing hilarious. This white-haired toad is such a perfect Democrat, I hope he stays in office for a while longer. You can’t invent someone that stupid.
Jaibones on January 11, 2010 at 11:43 PM
Let me give a shout-out to all my Negros….
What’s up my brothas?
…..Yep, nothing wrong with that, perfectly acceptable from any government official, especially the President. Maybe he should have start off his Olympics speach like that, Chicago may have gotten the nod to host.
saltyrover on January 11, 2010 at 11:46 PM
For once I agree with crr6. We didn’t just jump from 1860 to 2010. Things happened during the intervening years. I explained last year how Americans of great or little acknowledged or known African ancestry got to be considered ‘black’ and how this has started to change but only in the last generation or so.
baldilocks on January 11, 2010 at 11:59 PM
Pretty much completely off subject, but I didn’t realize that Japanese, German, and Venezuelan meant white. Apparently to Sinbad it does.
NathanG on January 12, 2010 at 12:19 AM
Really? That’s it? That’s all you’ve got? Wow. I must have caught you on a night when you were distracted watching the Alan Alda movie fest on the O! Channel.
ObjectionSustained on January 12, 2010 at 12:21 AM
Who let this “negro” off the plantation….hey Clyburn, it’s in the context.
United Negro Fund…you are just a dumb negro…see the difference?
right2bright on January 12, 2010 at 12:37 AM
“Negro”. It’s gonna take a lot for me to get used to saying the word, since I’m from the South and pretty much thought it was banned from spoken English. Who knew?
TN Mom on January 12, 2010 at 12:40 AM
Meh. Frankly your post wasn’t interesting or challenging enough to provoke a real response. Sorry if that hurts your feelings.
crr6 on January 12, 2010 at 12:55 AM
Yeah. You probably still shouldn’t say it.
crr6 on January 12, 2010 at 12:58 AM
But crr6, your “people” said it’s O-ta to say Negro…..you’re not trying to apply some double standard to us, are you?
saltyrover on January 12, 2010 at 1:32 AM
Well, I’m glad you honored me with your original reply, then, because its intellectual virtuosity has instantly converted me to your point of view. In fact, the entire conservative edifice has been shaken to its foundations. My hope is that AP deletes this entire thread because your original reply will serve as the liberals’ coup de grace unless it is immediately suppressed from the eyes of the unsuspecting.
But, hey, thanks for playing our game. You’ve been a good sport. You get a date with an attractive liberal politician as a consolation prize.
ObjectionSustained on January 12, 2010 at 1:33 AM
That’s like saying he won a Unicorn, or a goose that lays golden eggs….
saltyrover on January 12, 2010 at 1:43 AM
Well the great negro James Clyburn must know what he is talking about, so from now on Negro it is. Obama, the great America Nero uh no Negro President.
Brae on January 12, 2010 at 2:17 AM
Have we reached the part of the poem where “white does what’s right?” Are the yellow people mellow? It has been a year, after all. I thought the progress was supposed to go in the other direction.
di butler on January 12, 2010 at 3:53 AM
What is worse for the Democrats, anyway? Having a totally ignorant Senate Majority Leader who used several anachronistic terms like ‘Negro accent” and “Light skinned” or a Senate Majority Leader who uttered race based comments that some would equate with racism?
I’m going with ignorant being worse. It is much easier to define and harder to defend.
Hey Dems: Keep your seventy year old ignorant white guy in a position of leadership. Let Harry Reid the Ignorant, be the face of your party. I’m just sitting down here in little ole North Kakalacky laughing at your party trying to reconcile all this to save a guy who is getting his pink slip come November. Bawahahahahah . . .
BigAlSouth on January 12, 2010 at 6:23 AM
“If they are citizens of the United States, why can’t we just call them Americans?”
He, da one think he be a citizen of da world, other folks kinda act that way.
5% of the slaves were delivered to the colonies the bulk went to Brazil.If they want reperations send the bill to the Queen,the Dutch the Portugeze and to the African chiefs who captured the slaves.
Col.John Wm. Reed on January 12, 2010 at 6:30 AM
Then how would they maintain their status as perpetual victims of white American racism?
SKYFOX on January 12, 2010 at 9:09 AM
Anti-French sentiment gone wild, again.
“Negro” (black) is not the “N”-word.
The slang is.
Either black (“Negro”) is beautiful, or not. Let it be beautiful. It is the official birth certificate word designating many people’s identity since the first US census, and is back on the 2010 Census as determined by the DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY CONGRESS last year.
All of these bleeding heart liberals and their red diaper doper babies would believe otherwise, ANYTHING in order to have another ax to grind at what is not white guilt any longer. The only guilt today is the Elitists’ guilt, no matter what color it gets expressed through, as only their own matter; no one else counts as anything but property to be exploited, abused and even consumed (for DNA and body parts) at the will of the global elitists. Here goes another gauntlet of PC revisionism.
Reid simply spelled out the unspoken bi-partisan elitists’ agreement as to what markets well enough to win the contemporary mass vote. Gwen Ifill admitted that much in her apology on behalf of Reid on television Sunday. But no matter Reid’s intent or the spin, or the botox revised image, Reid is NOT getting re-elected. Boot him out if it helps prevent the passage of EugeniCare. But if instead this ends up a distraction from the assault against EugeniCare, who benefits from the free publicity given Reid, Inc. to revamp/revise the record at the expense once again of Americans?
Insensitive to “feelings”? Yes, Reid was to those who speak with a non-accepted dialect. That insensitivity applies against Red-Necks, too. Regardless of color or “nuanced” shade, any “country bumpkin” — that label the Left still inaccurately pours over Palin — is unacceptable amongst the Marxist elitists from our Ivy League who insist that only those from their pirate-aristocracy may rule the masses.
Get over the damned chips on shoulders that are so self-imposed and ANTIQUATED. Referencing 19th century slavery in the 21st century is out of touch with present circumstances. It isn’t the blacks getting enslaved today, but EVERYONE who isn’t “in” on the global Marxist Empire coup. 150 years have changed everything, not nothing. Elitists are enslaving the middle-class working Americans, otherwise known in French as the American bourgeoisie-proletariat. Not only are the wage earning skilled tradesmen sold out, so are small business and huge corporations. The only means that our Ivy League elitists allow for profits is to bet against America, against our Constitution, against our Economy, against American industry and against the will of the American citizens.
When wheels spin that fast, the eye can’t tell which way they turn, forward or back, left or right. “Negro” may be the straw breaking today’s media’s back forcing some quick back-pedalling, but don’t let it be a means that distracts the focus against Obama’s agenda. After all, Rush Limbaugh’s satirist has been singing “Barack The Magic Negro” all along. “Negro” is NOT the N-word.
My point is this: Negro is a race. Denigrate the word “Negro” and you perpetuate the denigration of the race. Honor the word, honor the people.
As an American born some years after WWII, it was respectful to say “Negro” and NEVER SAY THE N-WORD slang. Reference Martin Luther King, Jr. and every great Negro American in our nation’s history. When baby-boomer youth chose “Afro” we all went along as peers. Then it was “Black” and finally into the PC realm of hyphenated-American when our generation settled into the professional world, and Bill Ayers spun how things were to be from Chicago. If indeed “African-American” is the only accepted “accurate” continental term, then drop the inaccurate “Caucasian” and change the “white” to the continental “European-American” term, or even “Eurasian” if indeed the Asians are termed “white” these days (and not of THEIR choosing, but by some people who see everyone else as “white”). Color coding is an old habit and fast losing “authenticity” because to some degree or another, we’re all mixed shades of earth tones. It is obviously a hard task to find a black Black or a white White human let alone an entire race in the USA. Given mixed marriages and sexual liaisons in America, E pluribus unum happened racially.
Getting any government to honestly admit why they want to know your racial make-up will never happen beyond statistics “For Science” which birth certificates already provide. So, the 2010 census color coding is to record the waves of illegal immigrants, for political manipulation. Regarding government EugeniCare, as the old saying goes, too much of a good thing isn’t good any more.
Don’t miss the intent of Obama’s conclusion, that Reid is a closed book. Finished. Obama got what he wanted out of Reid, and those bus wheels get their best mileage during election campaigns. No lost love between those two men. There are plenty of Washingtonian back-scratchers itching to replace Reid. So it “becomes” Obama to appear above the fray, particularly having messed up so badly with his uninformed ASAP “stupidly” racist comment denigrating the Ivy League town’s police officer who responded appropriately to the break-in call. The Obama calling card is two-faced; B+rry was already termed African-American by his PC media, but as “a Black Man in America” as Michelle put it herself in their personal familial context as black supremacists.
maverick muse on January 12, 2010 at 10:00 AM
…a different rhythm to you speaking’. Is that when you bring out the negro dialect, Barry? Being from the South, I recognized it the first time you opened your mouth. Worse case of pandering ever.
Kissmygrits on January 12, 2010 at 10:01 AM
“A different rhythm“–that tacky racist Obama choice of words stuck out like a sore pandering thumb.
maverick muse on January 12, 2010 at 10:13 AM
Negro.
davidk on January 12, 2010 at 11:04 AM
The use of the word “Negro” has been totally vindicated.
I’m sure glad they cleared THAT up.
Obama is officially the First Negro President,
with rhythm.
*snicker*
franksalterego on January 12, 2010 at 11:34 AM
Negro is “black” in Spanish. And most likely Portuguese. And probably the basis of the development of the word n*****.
But still, negro means black. I suppose referring to someone’s race or skin color in any way is one definition of racist. I don’t think so. I think this whole thing is ridiculous and stupid.
The word negro is a perfectly useful word, as is the word black.
There is a double standard of course and on that basis Reid should be embarrassed by using an old fashioned but not racist term.
I know I am late to this debate–but how is what Reid said different from Biden saying Obama is “clean and articulate?”
They both meant the same thing. And only offensive in assuming the stereotype that most blacks aren’t like that…
Reid needs to go but not over this. This is stupid.
In fact I think negro whould be brought back as an appropriate term.
I don’t know all the history of the name calling associated with Jim Crow. I just missed all that. I didn’t live in a place or among people who treated blacks openly hostilely.
I lived in a small farming town in WA and a small town in AZ. Race was an issue with “Spanish” and “Indidans” which were the racial terms I remember. Neither of which were accurate but they are terms we used. (This was before Nixon coined the term “hispanic”.)
If I remember right “negro” was considered a polite term back then. My guess is Reid had this same kind of experience. He lived in small town Nevada. I doubt he knew many AA people at all. So he didn’t really grow up with a negative feeling towards them. I didn’t.
I was curious but not negative. My folks never mentioned race and my dad’s best fishing buddy had an “Indian” wife and his daughters were among my best friends.
petunia on January 12, 2010 at 12:50 PM
Okey. I’ll bite.
OBAMA IS NEGRO.
WRONG and RACIST!
The non-racist statement should be:
OBAMA IS HALF-WHITE AND HALF-NEGRO!
TheAlamos on January 12, 2010 at 1:31 PM
Thanks Baldilocks, very informative, I learned something.
4shoes on January 12, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Ironically, the N-word is Latin for “black”. (now pronounced differently – soft g – and used in the name of 2 African countries.)
lonesomecharlie on January 12, 2010 at 2:46 PM
Obama is an American Negro.
.
ms on January 12, 2010 at 3:11 PM
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