Apparently, calling a black person "uppity" is racist. Being from the San Fernando Valley, I had no idea this was the case. But everyone (including my girlfriend who grew up in Davis) is in agreement that it is.
(Let me reiterate: I'm not arguing that calling a black person "uppity" is not racist; I am simply saying I was ignorant of this fact until I heard about this story.)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
First, I also didn't know that the word "uppity" itself had racial connotations. Maybe I'm too young? Was this usage more common in the civil rights era? (By the way, it's very sad even to say "the civil rights era" because it's sad that that era is over. It's sad because the goals that the civil rights movement was trying to reach have yet to be met.)
Second, in general, people need to be considerate of the socio-historical relationships that come in to play when they criticize others. In general, I don't think it's very productive when people criticize those who are of a different and largely separate community. People should focus their criticisms on their own communities, and should work to undo whatever it is they disagree with, within their own communities. That being said, Whites and Blacks are often in segregated (along economic, racial, and cultural lines) communities, and thus, typically Whites from White communities should focus on White issues and Blacks from Black communities should focus on Black issues. Unfortunately, Whites have historically oppressed and ridiculed Black people and Black communities, which makes White behavior an issue that Blacks must consider and criticize when trying to improve their own communities.
But, there comes a time when people act in an integrated way, and one could say that they are in an "integrated community." (I don't think there are many if any truly integrated communities in the US, but there's a gradient, and there are some communities that are partially integrated.) I think this is the case for Barack Obama. He is a Black man in a White, partially-integrated community. I say he is in a White community because:
1. His campaign frames him as a "post-race" person.
2. He is a candidate on a major party ticket, which means he is part of the main stream. The main stream is populated and controlled by a majority of White people.
Since Obama has decided to live in a largely White community, I believe it is perfectly fine for Whites to criticize him, so long as they refer to him in a "post-race" fashion. But, that means that the language of the criticism must be free of racial connotations. It seems "uppity" is not free of racial connotations, so it is not appropriate criticism.
Uh, is it freaking you out that Andrew Sullivan hasn't posted anything today?
Post a Comment