Why N-word is racist and "cracker" is not.

[Pogo]

They're both racist. Are you saying they are not?

Neither is "racist". A word in and of itself can't be "racist" because racism is a value judgment. It's what's attached to the word that (may or may not be) racist.

For instance we used to use the word "retarded" to describe the mentally undeveloped. It was perfectly innocuous until it took on the baggage of being tossed around as an insult on the not mentally undeveloped. The move away from "retarded" to "mentally handicapped" or whatever euphemism carries its own baggage, that being the assumption that the former term carries the disparaging baggage. That assumption is not a given.

So -- sorry, a sentence with the word "******" in it can't be "racist" until you reach a verb. For a perfect example -- see the sentence before this one.

 

[mudwhistle]

If you have to ask, you're probably a racist.... just sayin'

Let's talk about the stupidity of people on the right and far-right claiming the left calls out racism when they have no better argument. No. That's not what the left does. Let me try to explain it this way:

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck.... it's probably a duck.

If you don't want to be called a duck.... stop quacking.

The problem with the right is the total denial of the racist undercurrents in the Tea Party and other right-leaning factions. The right wants to distance themselves from racist libertarian anti-government groups, except when the GOP needs their votes.

You can't have it both ways. People and groups that you go after for votes, your base, ARE you. The base is part of the whole. If they are racist and you don't distance yourselves from them, the rest of us will associate them with you. That's not unfair or guilt by association. It's on you to disown the racist faction of your base. Verbally. Consistently, until they go away and for their own party.

Start with Donald Trump.

WTF does the Tea Party have to do with this?????

Far as I can tell this is between Obama, Al Sharpton, our police departments, and the media. Obama and company are literally attacking our law enforcement all over the country because they claim they are racist. The only possible reason I can see is so he can control our police, making it easier for him to abuse the civil rights of our citizens. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Tea Party. BTW, how many Oklahoma University frat members are officially members of the Tea Party??????

I contend that our current administration is literally sponsoring racism in some groups at the same time they falsely accuse other groups of the same. Some protected groups are allowed to do anything they want while targeted groups have to walk on eggshells. Because they're in the cross-hairs of the feds every liberal in the country is sitting in waiting to pounce on the slightest infraction so they can use it to paint a wide brush over the rest of us. This is the very reason why all of those old white guys that have long ago passed on believed that giving blacks the same rights as the rest of us would lead to what we're witnessing today. Reverse discrimination sponsored by government.

White people when they have too much power can be oppressive, yet now we can see that black people in the same prominent positions are just as bad, or maybe even sometimes worse. The racism we see every day from our first post racial president is obvious and extremely upsetting to those of us that felt that this country was ready for a black president. After seeing Obama's act, I believe he has poisoned the well for years to come, and is currently in the process of destroying race relations even further. But what can one expect from somebody who had no leadership experience and made a living off of causing trouble.

 

[Pogo]

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck.... it's probably a duck.

If you don't want to be called a duck.... stop quacking.

I can't agree with this. It amounts to speech control. Or to put it more insidiously, it facilitates people-labeling. And once we start people-labeling, that is the exact point where we've stopped listening.

 

[cereal_killer]

~closed~

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