interesting phenomenon going on right now.
an old white guy said “negro-dialect”. people said “ooooo!” republicans said “off with his racist head!” but barry and his peeps said “… now wait a minute, he’s a longtime friend…” facebook said “my negro dialect? wtf”? then democrats said “ssshhh, reid = healthcare” and facebook said ” hmmm… you know we need healthcare. we’re on facebook all day and our fingers aren’t covered.”soon people were crying in the streets “he just said what everyone was thinking! he light skindedededed. stevie wonder can see that!… and he’s errudite” (tilt of head)
i remember way back when “he speaks so well” was understood to be a put down. a sideways compliment dripping with low expectations. before obama announced his run for POTUS we (black folk) had already decided that “talking black” no longer meant sounding like an idiot. that, in fact, it didn’t mean anything because how you speak does not define your “blackness”. at least that’s what we said.
so now i’m confused. if reid’s comments were just a poor choice of words, how are we now ok with his suggestion that candidate obama had the opposite of a negro (read black) – dialect, and that his lack of negro (read black) – dialect would work to his advantage in an election. sounds to me like talking like a negro (read black person) is a bad thing. but wait, didn’t we leave that back in like, 2003? oh, but wait, that’s not what reid meant.
errrr… i don’t care what he meant. i can’t judge what he meant. i can only judge what he said (really what i read that he said). and what he said sounded ridiculous to me. this is not someone sitting in the woods with his shotgun for the last 50 years. this is a united states senator. even if somebody’s black grandmother still uses it, clearly this man knows that we’re no longer using the term negro. i find it hard to believe that someone would hold on to that word and not the ideology that went along with it. come on now. we’ve been black for a solid 40 years.
i don’t disagree with the backlash against the backlash. i get it.
one thing reid failed to point out and take note of is that being tall and handsome didn’t hurt either.
slate article on this history of colored, negro, black, african american and now, people of color
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkqwspFr3D8]
james brown would be too easy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOswi8am2MQ]
Its difficult for me to be mad regarding “Negro Dialet” when:
– A group of people have conceded to the fact that “Ebonics” is an actual language and is an effective tool as a means of teaching low performing children (predominately minority)
– NAACP was founded in 1910 and their name (or lack of name change) suggests they are more behind then Reid’s comments.
– The United Negro College Fund has not updated their name to adjust with the times
– “bootylicious” is actually in the dictionary
Regarding his comment about “light skin”….yeah, I’m mad that Reid didn’t know light skinned brothers went out of style with Chico Debarge.