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And I'm not sure this is the thread I'd be quoting Scarlet O'Hara in either, but maybe that's just me. |
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Re: "Southern accent" or "Southern speech". There are multiple videos/articles/programs etc. available on this topic. I'd start with reading this one. There's a segment of our profession (speech-language pathology) that treats "dialect" or "accent reduction".
So, bias against "Southern speech" = racist? Perhaps not. But discriminatory? Evidence says yes. GWTW seems an interesting choice in the context of this thread, IMO. Would strongly recommend that Ms. Deen read and study To Kill a Mockingbird for starters. She will now have plenty of free time, apparently. “I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.” Harper Lee. |
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JEFF FOXWORTHY: You know I mean some of the, the most intelligent people I've ever known talk like I do. In fact I used to do a joke about that, about you know the Southern accent, I said nobody wants to hear their brain surgeon say, 'Al’ight now what we're gonna do is, saw the top of your head off, root around in there with a stick and see if we can't find that dad burn clot.’ #onlythingiamcontributingtothisthreadbecauseithink pauladeenisamoron |
Screencap from the NBC affiliate here in Birmingham:
http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18rm...g/k-bigpic.jpg |
I grew up in Texas and Georgia and I know first hand that what Southerners say in public does not always align with their private feelings. Even so, I was shocked as a teenager to realize my own beloved grandparents were comfortable using racial slurs around close friends and family. I started to challenge them on this and they reacted with bewilderment that almost equaled my own.
Then I had an epiphany: They were 60. I was a teenager. Very soon their generation would transfer power to my generation. There was no way I was going to change their views at this late stage of their life, so my energy was better spent on my own generation and on the next. And that's what I did. At my first professional job, a member of management told a racial joke in a social gathering that only include white employees. I politely asked him not to tell those kind of jokes around me, and that my great grandmother was black. (Not true as far as I know, but I wanted to shake him up.) He looked at my fair skin and blond hair and I could see the question marks dancing across his brain. I don't care if he believe me or not. It made him think twice before he just assumed that a whole room of white adults were as racist as he was. In fifteen years or less, Paula Dean will be dead. She has already lost her public credibility and stage. But all this persecution is making her a martyr for the younger racists, which is just going to perpetuate it. Her empire is crumbling. The media needs to let it go before we make racism fashionable again in a certain segment of the population. |
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To say it's not racism doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It just means that this particular prejudice doesn't fall within the definition of racism, and calling it racism when it isn't can be a dialogue-stopper. |
Indeed, MysticCat. Thank you for the clarification and elucidation. Again you have read my mind and expressed my thoughts succinctly.
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I figure that since my great grandmomma who spent all her 98 years in the heart of Dixie and even knew people who fought in the Civil War could realize the horrible wrongs committed and went on to work in the civil rights movement, then there is no excuse for someone of Miss Paula's generation to continue to be this way. It's sad to say there are people who will still be racist and say horrible things in nonmixed company but I for one will give them a piece of my mind when they do!
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And I'm not saying it doesn't. All I'm saying is that things have progressed a long way. They just need to progress more.
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http://www.tracingcenter.org/ |
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Personally, I'm tired of everyone getting all upset because someone dropped the N-bomb. It's like when Whitey was going after Rev. Wright for things he said, everyone getting their panties in a twist because of words. I'm a proud, strong, well-eductated Black Woman and I don't give a damn if someone calls me That Word. It doesn't affect me one way or another and it shouldnt' affect you either. |
Aside from some discrimination when I was pregnant, unemployed and actively seeking work, I haven't experienced first hand the sort of issues I think Miz is talking about. It's hard for me to have a well informed opinion. Just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
I share my office with a 55 year old black man. I'm a 30 something white woman. He's become my mentor, and I learn more about geology and groundwater and soil remediation from him than I have anyone or anything else. Fifty years ago, this would have been seriously scandalous, if not completely illegal. Nowadays, it's not a biggie. (We call our office the Greek corner. He's an Alpha Phi Alpha and another guy whose desk is right outside is a Teke.) Since our groups share colors, we feel we share even more of a bond. He came from privilege though, so even he has admitted it's harder for him to identify with past history. |
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This came a week too later to inform my American Lit. 1865-present's class discussion on "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and the charge of racism. For the mid-term I had them write about the critical controversy regarding the portrayal of Jim and use of THAT word. I have a very diverse class this semester - several international students, who provided very interesting perspectives, and a cross-section of races. I got some really interesting essays. I told them that honestly I didn't care which side they came down upon, as long as they were thoughtful and backed up their assertions with quotes from the text. Good stuff.
Regarding Paula Deen - I've long thought she was over-exposed. I'd gotten tired of her southern butter schtick. Her rabid fans will keep her in butter, no doubt. I'm disappointed that now we will have even more "southern = racist" stereotyping.( I heard the n-word more when I lived in New Jersey then when I lived in Virginia, Tennessee or Texas - admittedly, a limited survey sample.) I always fear that the rest of the country seems to like to make the south their racism scapegoat, so they can smugly believe that it is a problem THERE and not HERE. On the plus side, it's at least got people talking about racism. |
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My turn to chime in! First, the trolls are awesome in their obviousness and desire merely to stir the pot.
Second, while I am a born and bred Upper Midwestern gal, I used to work occasionally in Atlanta. To my surprise the office where I worked seemed more racially inclusive than any I'd ever been involved with. I contend that in southern cities where they really addressed the issue, they have achieved a higher level of racial neutrality (for lack of a better phrase) than in northern cities that never felt that they needed to or were compelled to. But back to the issue at hand, there has been some pretty negative stuff floating around about Paula Deen for years. I don't recall it being racist as much as being "I'm rich and you can suck it," which is disappointing considering her back story. There was a time when she seemed folksy and down to earth, but now she seems like a too much makeup too much jewelry money grubber. IMO of course. |
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Colored?
How do people feel about the use of Colored in this regard? I've got an 86 year old neighbor who will still use this term sometimes. Note he voted for Obama, twice.
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Aw man, I came over here to see if "Arnold Poppi" replied to Mizeree I2K. He's gone. :( Just the username alone was freaking hilarious! :p
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My (black) mentor uses the word colored and so do I sometimes. It does not bother me but I also do not use it in mixed company. Note: White people, please understand that just about any word can be used in a demeaning way as well as a neutral way and endearing way. Me being an example of someone who tolerates the word "colored" is not a pass for you to use it. You've never used it before and you're just trying to be slick. |
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As for the 86 yo neighbor, he has either been ignored or cussed out over the years. Voting for President Obama means absolutely nothing. Nothing. People do not receive a "pass" for voting for President Obama. As always, I do not call individuals racist because racism is a structural and institutional pattern that has never solely relied upon individual hatred and prejudice. The importance of behavior that spans beyond individual intent and prejudices is why people are able to say things like "I'm not racist...I love everyone...I took a diversity workshop 20 years ago, married a Latina 5 years ago, and voted for President Obama for goodness sake!!! But I can't hire you because my customers are afraid of nonwhites...and I need money in this tough economy...but, on a personal level, you and I can hang out sometimes...you seem really cool...." Real talk. This thread had so much potential to be a GC Race War. I commend IotaGuy for his hard work and determination and I agree with much of what you all have said. There were a couple of comments that I considered...special...but the comments were indicative of the GCers who typed them. /This thread is really not about Paula Deen and I do not hold any ill will toward Paula Deen. This is definitely not only a southern issue (not only a North American issue either) although the overt nature is (not was) characteristic of the south. As always, people use news stories to share sentiments that they do not regularly feel comfortable sharing. This is why I hate "diversity training" and things that give people "permission" to express certain beliefs. My personal and professional realities are such that I talk about these topics everyday with people. Therefore, people don't have to bullcrap and wait for news stories like Paula Deen to share wider opinions on the -isms (racism and other -isms). People don't have to be passive aggressive and look for quick complaints and therefore quick fixes--humans are extremely lazy and shortsighted. *Eating a Paula Deen Sambo Burger while watching Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC. Watching a Black person on TV buffers the impact of the Sambo Burger.* Oh yeah, welcome to DST christiangirl. :D I could not post without saying that. :D *hug* |
:) DrPhil, you've been missed. (It's not obvious to me if you've been here under other names. But I'm happy to see "DrPhil." )
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I always have and always will let you all know when I am posting. I do not hide under random usernames (and I do not research GCers' personal lives and post their information on GC). Therefore, I do not know who the hell those other usernames are and, if they are trying to make people think they are me, they can kiss my Sambo Burger ass. Now...can this thread or IotaGuy's other thread become a GC Race War? There is so much potential. |
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