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And if some Republicans are calling for Reid to step down, shouldn't they also call for Michael Steele to step down for his comments about being an "honest inj*n" and his comments last year about attracting blacks to the Republican Party with fried chicken?
I think that if you took all of the statements made by people in DC, you would probably have people on one side or the other asking for them to step down. I agree, what Steele said was wrong.
I actually know people who know Senator Reid, and to a person they say that he is a good man; I believe them because they are very decent people. Some of them disagree with him strongly but have said that he always gives them respect on their take of the issues. One of my friends is in the media and has interviewed the Senator and said (again) that although he disagreed with him Senator Reid would always show up (for a broadcast interview on a conservative station mind you) and showed him respect. After learning a little more about the man he sounds like a "true" liberal, which is not a bad thing.
First of all Obama is not black.
Obama is light skinned because he is half-white.
Obama is mixed.
Its funny how so many people are racists against the white part that actually is in his blood. Its no fun if Obama actually has a white background.
LOL is this a joke? There are light skinned blacks, lighter than Obama with two Black parents. Colon Powell is not Black now right? Oh I get it, since he's president he can't be considered Black. You have no idea what racism is. Drop Obama off in 1960s Mississippi and lets see if he's not Black
no its not racism, its realism, realism that people look at people based on looks, actions, and backgrounds
No it's not about racism but, he made it that way when he brought up his race to describe his dialect.....as if all people of his race speak with the same dialect....a negro dialect. You see that's the part that made it racist. You're explaining what he intended to convey (which I understand already), while ignoring the fact that it ended up racist in the way he said it. I'm sure it was unintentional but, that's the whole point....he wasn't aware that by saying Obama didn't have a negro dialect, that it showed in his mind, that was something important to point out....as if most african-americans do have a negro dialect and he was an exception....that's the racist part. Everyone can see and hear for themselves how Obama speaks
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Originally Posted by workingclasshero
look at all the people that were afraid of JFK because he was catholic, or all the people from the left that were fearmongering at mitt romney because he is mormon
That's not looks or actions (I guess you can say it's his background but, so is everything else....everything can be a person's background), religion is how a person thinks....it's their belief in a god (or how they were created).
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Originally Posted by workingclasshero
the facts are that the general population would not have voted for President Obama if he acted like a rapper punk gangster, they would not have voted fro him if he wasn't well spoken as he is, and he spoke in ebonics...these are FACTS.....it would not make him a different person, but the APPEARANCE would be drastic
If someone wasn't well spoken people aren't going to vote for them regardless of what race they are so, why bring that up about Obama....because he's black? Why mention ebonics....because he's black? Ebonics is not the only the only time grammar is used poorly. The fact is that if he acted like a "rapper punk gangster", then he would be a different person (if that's the way he acts) and people probably wouldn't hae voted for him.
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Originally Posted by workingclasshero
....the people voted for obama because he was a well spoken, articulate, educated statesman..not a street hood...and that has nothing to do with color....
That is exactly right....you couldn't have said it better for me. That's why talking about something like "negro dialect" only brought race into it and that wasn't necessary but, in Reid's mind it apparently was.
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Originally Posted by workingclasshero
and negro is ok as a term,,,please dont use wiki which is only an opinion,,, negro means black in at least a dozen languages, negro is also the shrt term for the SCIENTIFIC term of the black race...negroid.................................... .....now if he had used nigg(er)(a), then yes that is definatly racist........
No wiki is not an opinion, it has to be verified with references or it's removed (and until that time, it's noted that's it's missing credentials and needs verification). That particular paragraph has footnotes on it if you go to wiki to read (along with the rest of the page). It comes from Latin (which I took for 4 years) so, it's going to mean black in a lot of languages but, that doesn't any difference to what it means in current U.S. culture. If you get a modern dictionary, like this:
....and this is why I posted the wiki link....because if you read it, it explains why this has come about....that in current U.S. culture, it's often considered a slur. If you go look up what "negroid", you'll find that in anthropolgy, it's no longer used.....my dictionary on my computer (which is old and from 1993) states after the definition, "No longer in scientific use"....even there, it's culture that changed it.
he wasn't aware that by saying Obama didn't have a negro dialect, that it showed in his mind, that was something important to point out....as if most african-americans do have a negro dialect and he was an exception....that's the racist part. Everyone can see and hear for themselves how Obama speaks
You folks just make this stuff as you go along? "As if most african-American do have a negro dialect and he was the exception," that is pure conjecture and supposition on your part, inferring upon another person what they were thinking!
Just an aside, if you listen to Bill Cosby and you would come to the position that Obama is the exception.
Quote:
If someone wasn't well spoken people aren't going to vote for them regardless of what race they are so, why bring that up about Obama....because he's black?
This a overused canard that black speech patterns can be equated with being inarticulate. I have posted enough examples of extremely articulate black speakers to belabor the point any further.
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Ebonics is not the only the only time grammar is used poorly.
Ebonics is not the end all, be all of black syntax (see above). The relegation of black speech patterns to be solely comprised of ebonics says more about you than it does about Reid.
Negro is not a racist slur. Geeze. And yes, I've been Black all my life so let's move on.
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Originally Posted by Danno3314
Is this, "he just understood human nature and how ignorant the voters can be", just a nice way of saying some oters are racist? Regardless of that, what you're saying is that his comments were just because he needed to relate to the voters that are "dumb" or racist. I don't think so....besides that, for anybody that would actually think like that, do you think Reid's comment would make them change their mind enough to even consider voting for Obama.
Has anyone ever expressed concern for a politicians accent (New York, Boston, southern, etc.). His comment was out of line....to think it's necessary to make a comment like that (even if it's for the sake of others), you've got to be somewhat racist to think like that.....that kind of thinking stems from racism....worrying that some of the public will draw conclusions about how extreme or radical he is based on how dark his skin is. The people that came to the conclusion that he was too extreme, did so based of the company he kept (and those people are from all different races).
His choice of wording didn't help either...specifically, using the word "negro".
You folks just make this stuff as you go along? "As if most african-American do have a negro dialect and he was the exception," that is pure conjecture and supposition on your part, inferring upon another person what they were thinking!
No, nothing is being made up...it's my opinion of what it revealed when he said it....which is no different than others explaining what his comments were intended to mean when he said them.
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Originally Posted by ovcatto
Just an aside, if you listen to Bill Cosby and you would come to the position that Obama is the exception.
Some might say Bill cosby is the exception when it comes to publicly expressing his opinion regarding the topic and yet he did not find it necessary (to my knowledge) to make the same comments publicly that Reid made (or something similar to them).
Quote:
Originally Posted by ovcatto
This a overused canard that black speech patterns can be equated with being inarticulate. I have posted enough examples of extremely articulate black speakers to belabor the point any further.
Ebonics is not the end all, be all of black syntax (see above). The relegation of black speech patterns to be solely comprised of ebonics says more about you than it does about Reid.
My comments were in reply to workingclasshero's comments in his post......including his use of the word "ebonics"......you're expressing some of the same criticism I was toward him.
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Originally Posted by ovcatto
When I think of modern dictionaries, Answers.com doesn't readily come to my mind.
Mirriam-Webster
sometimes offensive : a member of a race of humankind native to Africa and classified according to physical features (as dark skin pigmentation)
Sorry, it was near the top of the google search I did which was in reply to workingclasshero's comment to me about using wiki as a reference. Although, if you check the original wiki link I gave, it explains the point you made about the United Negro College Fund.
Quote:
It fell out of favor by the early 1970s in the United States after the Civil Rights movement. However, older African Americans from the period when "Negro" was considered acceptable, initially found the term "Black" more offensive than "Negro". Evidence for this is in historical African-American organizations and institutions' use of the term—such as the United Negro College Fund. In current English language usage, "Negro" is generally considered acceptable in a historical context, such as baseball's Negro Leagues of the early and mid-20th century, or in the name of older organizations, as in Negro spirituals, the United Negro College Fund or the Journal of Negro Education. The U.S. Census now uses the grouping "Black or African American." In 2010 the U.S. Census added the term "negro" in efforts to include older African Americans. This revival of the term is controversial.
Negro is not a racist slur. Geeze. And yes, I've been Black all my life so let's move on.
I thought the wiki link did a good job explaining when and why it might be considered an ethnic slur and when and why it may not. I thought Reid's usage leaned more towards being a slur (although I would assume it as unintentional) but, perhaps this applies in his case (also quoted from the wiki link):
Quote:
"Negro" superseded "colored" as the most polite terminology, at a time when "black" was still generally regarded as negative.
First a disclaimer..I am a conservative Republican who is looking forward to voting against Harry Reid in November. But I understand the context in which he made his "negro dialect" comment He did nothing wrong in this regard..
According to the Game Changer book Reid and other Dem leaders thought that Hillary Clinton was too polorizing to be elected President. Reid correctly thought that Obama could win and asked him to run. Reid was NOT being racist when he made the "light skinned African-American without a Negro dialect" comment. He knew that the American people who would normally not vote for a black man would be comfortable with Obama.
Many of the same voters who voted for Obama would not vote for a black man with darker skin and a stronger African-American dialect. Even if the darker skinned man was more moderate than Obama the (dumb) voters would incorrectly conclude that Obama was a moderate because of his looks and mannerism while the man with darker shin was the radical leftist. So it's not Reid who is racist, he just understood human nature and how ignorant the voters can be.
Yes, and his point is at the top of his head.
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