The Republican Party hasn’t come to terms with doesn’t have a problem with racism (via The Hill):
Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term “uppity” to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.
Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.
“Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they’re a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they’re uppity,” Westmoreland said.
Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”
Yes, this is only one congressperson, but I have no doubt that many, many other Republicans feel similarly. Indeed, the GOP’s anti-Obama narrative is driven by the claim that Obama is an “elitist” who can’t understand “regular people.” Now, this is thrown at any Democrat running for higher office (see John Kerry, 2004), but when applied to Obama, it can’t help but sound like code for “uppity.” I think the folks on McCain’s campaign realized that, and I think they’re running with it. One Drop at Too Sense says it best:
Whenever one of Obama’s critics talks about “average Americans” and makes reference to Obama being an “elitist” or a “snob”, this is what they are saying to working-class and lower-class whites:
“That nigger is looking down on you. How dare he look down on you? How dare he think he’s better than you and yours? How dare he talk like he thinks he knows better than you?”
Welcome to Nixonland folks, I hope you enjoy the ride.
cross-posted at my blog
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Of course elitist is code for uppity. The McCain campaign might be craven, cruel, unprincipled, pandering, and viscious, but few could say it was stupid. Calling Obama an elitist worked in a lot of states for Hillary, it got her strong support among a certain portion of white voters. McCain is after that same block of voters, and since when did things like taste or basic human decency get factored into electoral politics?
Surely the word “uppity” isn’t always racially tinged? He said he was using the word “as describing someone who is haughty, snobbish or has inflated self-esteem” and ” didn’t know that “uppity” was commonly used as a derogatory term for blacks seeking equal treatment”.
I personally had no idea that that word used in this context could be seen as racist – maybe that’s due to the fact that I grew up in the UK, because certainly here it has no nasty connotations.
Don’t you allow even the possibility that he was just being a bit clueless in his choice of word?
@Anna -
Actually, I find that really hard to believe. Words have impact and meaning, and even though I don’t belong to certain ethnic groups, a lot of terms are ill advised and unacceptable.
Around the same time the word “N*gger” was purged from accepted speech, “uppity” was close behind. While it generally refers to people who don’t know their place, uppity and N*gger/negro were heavily linked. It’s kind of like the word “inscrutable” and Asians, or using the word “articulate” to describe a black person who just speaks so well, or the word “dirty” and people of indigenous origins (often applied to Native Americans & Latinos), or how the word “illegal” has come to stand in, many times, for Latino immigrant. Words have a definition, but they also have a connotation and most people who grew up in the US should know that.
A lot of racism is dusted off as “cluelessness.” After all, no one would intentionally let their racism show.
That does seem very strange – several of those words (like “inscrutable” and “articulate”) wouldn’t be considered racist at all in England. OK, maybe the “clean and bright and articulate” comment would be dodgy (surprised, approving tone offensive) but in other contexts it would be normal.
For example, one I took part in a debating-like competition and there was an amazing guy who cut into everyone elso’s arguments and was also very funny etc. Several people commented on how articulate he was – would this be considered racist in America because he was black? The thought wouldn’t even enter into our minds….
I can imagine that this aspect might be tricky for English people coming to America – we’d cause offence without knowing it…
I suppose he has spent his whole life in America, though, and if it’s accepted as a racist term here then he should have known better/was out of line.
“That does seem very strange – several of those words (like “inscrutable” and “articulate”) wouldn’t be considered racist at all in England. OK, maybe the “clean and bright and articulate” comment would be dodgy (surprised, approving tone offensive) but in other contexts it would be normal.”
Uh, Anna… It’s not strange. Words have social contexts. Different words have different meanings and different histories in different cultural contexts. It ain’t rocket science. “Uppity” in the American context does very certainly have the connotations and history that Latoya explains. Domination and oppression where- and whenever they occur have a social context and a history.
Um… I have no idea about the debate you’re describing, but that seems like a major derail. I mean… I can’t believe I’m explaining this: Any time anyone travels to place with which they are unfamiliar, there is always the risk of ignorance and cultural insensitivity. That’s kind of how it works with travel when one is not exhaustively knowledgeable about the history, culture, and politics of one’s destination. Yes, an English person who used the word “uppity” might offend someone in the United States… What’s the big goddamned deal?
In response to the actual post: The anti-Obama rhetoric that drove the Clinton campaign was also linked with the claim that Obama is an “elitist.” As to whether or not many Republicans also feel the same way–Of course, they do. And so, I am sure, do a number of Democrats. Even Obama’s running mate has been caught making incredibly racist remarks over the years.
As for the “elitist” line–We need to be calling out those who call themselves progressives when they pull this shit as well. At least the Republicans don’t bother pretending to be anti-racists. We should not pretend that the Slightly More Progressive candidates whom we support in the Democratic party are doing substantially better when it comes to this kind of thing. They aren’t.
“Uh, Anna… It’s not strange. Words have social contexts. Different words have different meanings and different histories in different cultural contexts. It ain’t rocket science. ”
Sorry, bad choice of words – I didn’t mean “strange” as in bad or odd, just unusual/something not obvious.
“Any time anyone travels to place with which they are unfamiliar, there is always the risk of ignorance and cultural insensitivity.”
I know, but you don’t really think about these things when you’re travelling in America – in so many ways it seems similar to England/Europe (especially in places like San Francisco) – it just seems (slightly) daunting that someone might think I was racist and launch this kind of an attack on me because I used words that are normal here.
“Yes, an English person who used the word “uppity” might offend someone in the United States… What’s the big goddamned deal?”
It clearly is a big deal for people to think you don’t “have a problem with racism” when you do – I also don’t like to go around offending people with no cause.
“Um… I have no idea about the debate you’re describing, but that seems like a major derail.”
I wasn’t trying to derial my comment – I was just describing an incident where it seemed perfectly natural to describe a black person as being articulate, and was wondering whether this would still be offensive. Would it?
If the person using “uppity” to describe am upwardly mobile black man in America had been from another country, sure, maybe it was a clueless choice of words. After all, connotations are different in different places and if you’d never been exposed to a certain use you might not recognize it. I might even be willing to consider that the speaker didn’t know what they were saying if they were from an area in the US without a considerable black population. But for a guy from a South in a state with a significant black population and a history of intense racism, the clueless defense beggars belief.
Uppity isn’t used sometimes as a racist term and sometimes innocently in the US. With only a handful of exceptions, every time I have ever heard the word used was in a racial context. Sometimes it was being used as a racist attack, sometimes it was being used to make fun of racists, sometimes it was just being used as an example of coded language, but you just don’t hear the word uppity used in a nonracial context very often on this side of the Atlantic.
Probably. The use of the word articulate to describe a black person in the US has everything to do with context. If I call a white person articulate I am complimenting them on their better than average verbal expression skills. There is no assumption that they would have poor speaking skills, so theres no offense to be taken. There is, however, a perception that black people are poorly educated/stupid/unable to speak well. As a result, many black people have been told they’re articulate for simply not living up to the stereotype and they rightly identify that praise as a means for a white speaker to alleviate their cognitive dissonance when their bias is challenged.
Dear Anna,
I am going to put this as simply as possible. Using the word uppity to describe a person of color, especially an African-American, is racist. Period. End of story. I don’t mean to be unkind (but I have just about lost all my patience with people this week on progressive blogs feigning ignorance at the racial connotations of the word “uppity”), but if you are someone who is reading this site (and presumably other feminist and left-leaning blogs and news sites), you honestly should be getting all of this. Also, I have read more than one comment from the UK in the threads and they were all aware of racist connotations of this word.
Finally, as I have posted on a zillion sites this week, this is NOT a term used solely in the American south, so don’t let anyone try to pull that one on you, too. I grew up in the northeast, and it was used all the time. Thank you for trying to educate yourself on this.
“I wasn’t trying to derial my comment – I was just describing an incident where it seemed perfectly natural to describe a black person as being articulate, and was wondering whether this would still be offensive. Would it?”
I think this has already been explained: offensiveness of a word is heavily dependent on the cultural context. ‘Articulate’ can be offensive in the US. Nothing more to say.
In the US, ‘uppity’ collocates with derogatory words for African Americans and sometimes for women. This is a connection that is unmissable to a person raised in the US, ESPECIALLY a person from the South. Westmoreland should be run out of office.
Anna–I don’t know. I don’t know anything about the context of your debate. I mean… It was offensive when Joe Biden announced that Obama was the first “articulate” and “clean” African-American to run for such a major office. That’s certainly racist, you know? I would think that kind of comment would be racist in most contexts and is not some specific cultural thing. He was implying that all of the Blacks who’ve run for major office in this country were *not* articulate and were *not* clean.
I think white people need to get over the fear that they might be perceived as racist. I’m white too, and you know what? I would hate for something I said to be experienced as racist, but ffs… That’s small potatoes compared to actually *facing* racism every day. I mean, all the navel gazing in the world doesn’t take away from the fact that *actual people* do face racism on a day to day basis, and our navel gazing isn’t helpful and doesn’t make us anti-racist allies. It makes us self-obsessed.
White folks should not make these kinds of discussions All About Us. Jesus… I mean… If you say something racist (And, yeah, I do believe one can say something racist without *meaning* to or being conscious of the fact that they just said something racist.), there’s little to do but *learn* from it and not make the same mistake again. This is what I mean when I ask what’s the big goddamned deal? So you get perceived as racist? So? Listen, resolve to do better, and then move on and *work* to do better. When someone perceives something you said as racist, it doesn’t make you an evil person. It generally means you fucked up.
Anna–I don’t know. I don’t know anything about the context of your debate. I mean… It was offensive when Joe Biden announced that Obama was the first “articulate” and “clean” African-American to run for such a major office. That’s certainly racist, you know? I would think that kind of comment would be racist in most contexts and is not some specific cultural thing. He was implying that all of the Blacks who’ve run for major office in this country were *not* articulate and were *not* clean.
I think white people need to get over the fear that they might be perceived as racist. I’m white too, and you know what? I would hate for something I said to be experienced as racist, but ffs… That’s small potatoes compared to actually *facing* racism every day. I mean, all the navel gazing in the world doesn’t take away from the fact that *actual people* do face racism on a day to day basis, and our navel gazing isn’t helpful and doesn’t make us anti-racist allies. It makes us self-obsessed.
White folks should not make these kinds of discussions All About Us. Jesus… I mean… If you say something racist (And, yeah, I do believe one can say something racist without *meaning* to or being conscious of the fact that they just said something racist.), you *learn* from it and don’t make the same mistake again. This is what I mean when I ask what’s the big goddamned deal? So you get perceived as racist? So? Someone might not like you? And…? You’re privileged on the basis of your race. Listen, resolve to do better, and then move on and *work* to do better. When someone perceives something you said as racist, it doesn’t make you an evil person. It generally means you fucked up.
Gah… Sorry for the double post. I’m having internet issues.
@ Anna
“Surely the word “uppity” isn’t always racially tinged?”
I am going to say, yeah it kind of is. When has a white man ever been called uppity? One example just one. Google the term uppity and find one time a white man has ever been described using that word and compare that zero to the amount of times that it comes up with African-Americans.
Uppity is always racially tinged.
Browne
Kathy–I completely agree, although I do think the history of the word “uppity” in the United States is very specific and important in context. I agree that it’s always racist to call a POC “uppity,” but that word has a very *specific* connotation due to its pairing with “n****r” all over the US. That history may make it even *worse* and more blatantly offensive than it may be elsewhere. I would think this would be understood in the UK as well, but I am hesitant to generalize the specifics of American racism to the rest of the world. You sound much more informed on that account than me, though, so I’ll defer to you there.
Okay, as a white woman, I find it disturbing to see yet another white person taking a conversation about racism and making it about herself – her understanding of what’s racist, and actually challenging black people on their experiences living in a white supremacist society as to whether they really experience racism as racism. It’s not our place to demand explanations and tell people how they should experience prejudice. That’s white privilege.
Is it necessary to dissect every single thing to make sure it’s really as offensive as people say it is? Does anyone need the white seal of approval to say “Yes, uppity is racist” or is it just remotely possible to believe black people when they say uppity is racist because that word is used by white people to say that black people are out of line and need to be “put in their place?”
Does it matter if there might be a conversation that goes beyond that question, or do the ground rules have to be reestablished before there’s actual discussion?
And why can’t I travel five links in the blogosphere without tripping over another privileged person who wants 101 right now? Is google broken?
And what I think is far more important than whether any individual white person may or may not approve of the definition of uppity in this post is:
How the now-traditional elitist accusation is being bent to also serve as a dog whistle that Obama’s not only elitist, he is rising above his station to do so, because he’s standing where no black man should. How they’re twisting this from “Obama vs. McCain” to “Elitist Black Man vs. McCain” while at the same time trying to hold the democrats to higher standards of behavior by acting (and I do mean acting) outraged over any attention given to Sarah Palin’s family.
And I do not look forward to how that’s going to evolve over the next three months.
Regardless of whether “uppity” is always racist in all situations, it’s without question racist when fucking Lynn Westmoreland, Republican Congressman from fucking Georgia, uses it in reference to Barack fucking Hussein Obama, the first black major party fucking candidate for president.
Lynn fucking Westmoreland, who was in his fucking teens in Georgia during the fucking civil rights struggles, knows what “uppity” means.
It may not have those connotations in the UK, but Georgia? Westmoreland doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
Dear Kristin,
You are totally correct. Of course the word “uppity” has a specific context related to the history of race relations in this country. But I can tell you from my own experience living, studying, traveling and working in many different countries that “uppity”, as the racist concept as we know it here, is used against oppressed minorities in other societies (albeit with their own specific histories, etc., but the concept is the same).
For example, if the Roma or Albanians in Macedonia owned successful businesses, or dated Slavic women (or were even perceived as “looking” at their women – does that sound familiar?), they were openly resented and felt to be “uppity”, or worse (I was always amazed by the similarities between the racist statements of people in other countries and the ones we hear in the US – I could right a book on this topic). There are things about racism that I have definitely found universal.
This is why I found it hard to be credulous about Anna’s claims to be unschooled in this, especially given the blatantly racist language and names used against South Asians in particular in her country (just read the comments section in The Guardian, for chrissakes, or like a poster here said, just google it, if you really don’t know). And I do agree with another poster that the term has also been used against women who don’t “know their place”, and are too outspoken and opinionated (my own mother called me this once!!), but not nearly with the same consequences as when it has been used against African American men and women, so please let’s not compare it.
“This is why I found it hard to be credulous about Anna’s claims to be unschooled in this, especially given the blatantly racist language and names used against South Asians in particular in her country (just read the comments section in The Guardian”
I don’t read the Guardian (the Times usually has much more a interesting analysis of issues) – the Guardian website in particular is known to be very wacky and not representative at all of what most people think. I was educated at a very successful school (basically everyone goes to top universities) with many Asians/black people (so racists might think that they were “rising above their station”) and the only racist terms used to describe them were specifically about their ethnicity (eg “paki”).
“And I do agree with another poster that the term has also been used against women who don’t “know their place”, and are too outspoken and opinionated”
Yeah, I have been called “uppity” when I was younger for being arrogant/strident and having too high a view of my own opinion, but it obviously wasn’t sexist, and so I wasn’t offended in the slightest (they were right!). I agree that using it in a racist way is imcomparable.
FUCKING HELL, ANNA. This conversation is NOT ABOUT YOU. Several people here have tried to explain this in the nicest and most diplomatic way possible. Why do you insist on coming in and centering your WHITE BRITISH EXPERIENCE in a discussion on racism in the US?
Hi Anna
As an Englishman and long-term resident in the United States, perhaps I’m well-placed to analogise this for you.
If I were in Britain, and used the word “bastard” to refer to a black male, I would be doing so in the full knowledge that British people often couple together the words “black bastard”, and it would be unquestionably racist for me to do so – whether I mentioned the fact the person was black or not. Think of “uppity” as occupying a similar place within American English. Here, “bastard” is very rarely used as a term of abuse, and I would say that an American using it to refer to a black American male would not automatically be racist.
There is a legion of differences between the two dialects, and as I have become more fluent in American English I have learned how to express myself more appropriately about sensitive subjects – and there is no more sensitive subject than race in American discourse. You are right to feel that, in the US or in conversation with Americans, you might misstep. You might, and so might I. But if you used the word “uppity” to refer to a black American before this conversation, you would probably have been being deeply patronizing rather than being racist. You, and the people you speak to, would simply have to be conscious of the possibility that your different dialects may – and do – talk about race differently.
Also, if you accidentally say something racist, it’s not the end of the world. If called on it, apologize, move on, and try not to do it again.
What I find interesting is that the word elitist is being used in two different ways based on different American social/cultural assumptions. Americans like to pretend that there is no class stratification in the US, that a working class person is as honored and respected as a wealthy person, we’re all equal with the same rights and opportunities. So using it against Kerry is all about that, saying this rich snob thinks he’s better than you and needs to be kicked off the pedestal he has placed himself. BUT the assumption when we are talking about class equality is that the working class is white and the wealthy is also white. Once race is in play, white people are always superior to black/brown people. Using elitist or uppity against Obama is saying that this n****r thinks he’s equal or better than you, and clearly he is not because black people are always subordinate. The two assumptions are that whites are always equal to each other and blacks are always less than whites.
(Ignoring the derail)
So, perhaps the source of my frustration is not clear. Here goes:
Nearly every time the racial oppression is mentioned on a mainstream feminist blog like Feministe, some clueless white person seems to jump in within the first five comments to say, “Hey, what about ME?” That’s offensive. It derails (And it has derailed, by the way.). Just last week, someone did this wrt the work that Incite! New Orleans was doing to assist WOC in New Orleans. It’s infuriating, and it seems to happen every time without fail.
We interrupt ongoing conversations when we do this, and we behave as if we are entitled to do so. You don’t understand what I’m talking about? Type in “race,” and read the Feministe archives.
And you know what? “Paki” is a racist slur that is used to refer to anyone believed to be of South Asian origin, not just Pakistani people. And I didn’t require British English fluency to pick up on that.
Oh, and? Proud subscriber to the Guardian here. Frankly, I value its perspective and its willingness to sometimes consider non-dominant perspectives to be…utterly fucking refreshing.
Oops, I meant to say, “Nearly every time *that* racial oppression is mentioned…’” Sorry for the misplaced word.
Yes, this. It sounds like the same language, but it means something completely different because of the racial context. There is no situation in American English spoken by a white person where calling a black man an “elitist” would mean something different – even if the speaker intends something different, the meaning is there, established by a few centuries of white supremacy.
When I read that quote I wasn’t all shocked, shocked or anything like that because I’ve lived in the South for forty-six years. D. D’Souza is fulla crap; racism still marches on down in Dixie. What got to me was the mad grammar funk of this one sentence fragment:
“they’re a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they’re uppity.”
As we know from that Colbert interview Rep. Westmoreland is no polished rhetor but even for a dim bulb that’s a pretty rockin’ string-o’-words. I mean just in terms of structure, content aside. Break down those twelve words:
“they’re a member” – either “they’re members” or “she’s a member”. “They” is plural, “a member” is singular.
“a member of an elitist-class individual” – can’t make sense any way you parse it, either “an elitist-class individual” (or “individuals”) or “a member of an elitist-class” (or “members”)
(Well there’s this: “The innocent young girl, during her first day as house-servant in Farnsworth Manor, was dusting the knick-knack shelf when Lord Farnsworth himself walked up behind her with his pants off and said, ‘Heh heh, my little working-class cupcake, here’s something I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen before, a member of an elitist-class individual.’ Startled, she turned to see his ancient claw-like hands reaching out to grab her. His eyes were glassy, his mouth agape. She shrieked, threw the feather-duster at him, and fled.”
Surely some young house-maid in one of Senator McCain’s seven or eight or nine houses knows exactly what I’m talking about.)
“that thinks” – “who thinks” or “who think”
“that thinks they’re” – this ain’t rocket-science, Rep. W., get it straight: “that” = just one, “they” = two or more.
“that thinks they’re uppity” – “who are uppity” That’s got to be what Rep. W. meant. Otherwise it’s just crazy. Fact: no one, not even the uppitiest of the uppity, thinks inwardly that they themselves are “uppity.” No one anywhere has ever sung:
Hey look over here, I’m uppity
As uppity as can a man be
Ain’t another soul in all Saint Louie
Half as uppity as me
or
I feel uppity
Oh so uppity
I feel uppity and witty and gay
And I pity
Any candidate
Who isn’t me today
“Uppity” is a word one applies to others, never to oneself.
After you boil out surplus words (“members of an elitist-class individual” => “elitist”) and patch up the grammar and logic errors, you end up with three words instead of twelve: “They’re uppity elitists.”
One last obscure Southron culture note. The unnecessary-to-speak phrase-mate to “uppity” is not “n***er”, it is “n**ra”. Don’t ask me why, that’s just they way these weirdos always say it.
Dear Alex,
I disagree that using “bastard” with “black” would not necessarily be racist in America (as we don’t go around calling whites “uppity”, neither do we say “That White Bastard!” as an epithet – I HAVE heard Black Bastard here, though not often.). It would have roughly the same meaning as in the UK (and thank you for giving us another example of racist terminology in your country. Paki is definitely the equivalent of a racist smear here, even though Anna might dispute this).
Dear Anna,
I continue to be flabbergasted by your comments. You don’t think the slander of “uppity” used against you was in any way sexist?! Are Blacks and Asians proportionately represented in the great schools you “all” go to in the UK (who do you mean by “all of us go to” – you mean poor whites in the public housing estates also get to go to great schools, along with Blacks and Asians? Seriously, where are your stats for that generalization?) And I also read the Times online (though not as much). Comments there not much better, perhaps because of a better site monitor, etc., but still there. So that means most of your citizenry are free of racism since they are somewhat more “polite” in the Times, and except for the occasional Paki slur you may have heard, which isn’t really racist, since it is used against an ethnic group, so in your opinion doesn’t count as racist.
Language used to demean and deny humanity, dignity and equality of any group of people in any society (whether a separate race or ethnic or religious group – knowing that race itself is a racist social construct), which then justifies and reinforces institutional discrimination and violence (even if policed and contained by the State) is RACIST, whether the targets belong to a social and anthropological racial category or not. Why, Anna? Because the ugly, caustic, destructive and sometimes genocidal results are the same. And we all pay for it in the end.
I know some people here won’t agree with me, but I really think McCain/Palin may win, and it will be in no small part because of racism, for the same reason far-right and demagogic politicians in many other countries are on the rise and being elected (and who, just like here, also offer their constituents very little way in the of substantive solutions to their economic distress and fears about the future for their families). Fear, racism and ignorance – politicians playing off this – this shit works everywhere, and I am not convinced a majority of Americans in particular are ready to move past it, even after the disastrous Bush Administration.
All I can say, Anna, is, please start visiting the blogs of Women of Color, books and articles on race relations, etc., both by American and UK women and women all over the world, and educate your self beyond the education you got at an allegedly great school in the UK, as well as feminist websites that, as much as I love and learn from them, are basically run by White women. You can read the Times, Feministe, AND Womanist Musings (Canada), Angry Black Woman, Angry Black Bitch, Black Women in Europe, Arab Woman Progressive Voice (Palestine), UltraViolet (India), Muslimah Media Watch, La Chola, Racialicious, etc. (I know I am leaving a lot of great ones off here – it could go on and on). It doesn’t have to be either/or. Caveat: Many feminist and anti-racialist blogs in English are still largely Western-based, but many do a great job of including international news and profiling the work and writings of non-Western-based activists and thinkers. Confessions of a Funky Ghetto Hijabi (Canada) has a good blog roll of lots of sites from all over the world (feminist, activist, community-based, etc.). Check her out!
W. Kiernan,
Are you saying that Rep. Westmoreland is inarticulate?
…although that’s not why I’m laughing. :)
It’s a racialized context even it is used against a white person…although people don’t seem to think of it that way b/c to being white is so normal and superfluous.
I remember when “elitist” was attempted as a barb against John Kerry, it’s like snow calling milk white. I remember thinking “You’re both rich, white and male…wtf?”
It’s like Donna said,
But when used against Obama, it is the same word but there is a whole other meaning.
Also..wtf, Westmoreland. I need you to explain yourself. You know, I’m downtown (ATL) everyday. I feel like I should pay him visit. I didn’t vote for him, but I’m still a citizen and resident.
A couple of days ago having one of my political ranty-times (every hour on the hour, you can set your watch by it) and I said to a friend, “You know what? I just want every fucking idiot who calls Obama an elitist to just once say what they mean and call him an uppity negro!”
Thanks, Republicans. You never let me down. Score +1 point for clear, direct speech and -100 for, um, everything else.
“I completely agree, although I do think the history of the word “uppity” in the United States is very specific and important in context.”
“You are totally correct. Of course the word “uppity” has a specific context related to the history of race relations in this country. But I can tell you from my own experience living, studying, traveling and working in many different countries that “uppity”, as the racist concept as we know it here, is used against oppressed minorities in other societies (albeit with their own specific histories, etc., but the concept is the same).”
For the record, none of the Canadians in the room with me right now knew that ‘uppity’ was racially-tinged. None of us had ever heard of it used as a slur.
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