|
|
|---|
|
American Politics Journal Atrios Barry Crimmins Betty Bowers Buzzflash Consortium News Daily Howler Daily Kos Democatic Underground Disinfotainment Today Evil GOP Bastards Faux News Channel Greg Palast The Hollywood Liberal Internet Weekly Jesus General Joe Conason Josh Marshall Liberal Oasis Make Them Accountable Mark Morford Mike Malloy Political Humor - About.com Political Wire Randi Rhodes Rude Pundit Smirking Chimp Take Back the Media Whitehouse.org More Links |
Subject: the N word
Bart,
I wish I was as lucky as Dave, the guy who's never heard the N word.
Since we sold our house a couple of years ago
we've been living and traveling in our motorhome.
We've met tons of wonderful fellow RVers, many
with more money than they know what to do with.
For example, a number of them already have a
huge house or two or three and then, for fun, they have
a half a million dollar or million dollar luxury
motorhome (yes, there are lots of them out there). They also
normally own property at a number of luxury motorhome
resorts where they can hang out and drink and
party with their friends. Lots which can also
run 100-500K. You probably wouldn't be surprised to learn
that a vast (almost all?) of them are Republicans.
They have owned their own businesses (or inherited them)
and don't like to pay taxes.
So, over the last couple of years we've met a
number of wonderful people who've become friends and fellow
travelers. All well and good. As a rule, we don't
discuss religion or politics because we're pretty sure that we
won't have anything in common so why ruin an
otherwise nice friendship? Most of them operate the same way.
But more than a few feel more than free to bash
Democrats and liberals. I speak up when they bring up the subject
but my husband gets really uncomfortable because
he knows if he talks about it he will lose it so he bites his tongue.
Last year, during the general election, he was
so sick of being in a group of white guys who flung the N word
around with abandon. One of the wives had switched
from being a lifelong Republican and was supporting Obama
and they would mercilessly torture her with jeers
of how we couldn't have a nigger for President, etc.
Another woman I had considered a nice friend came
over to visit me one day and told me that she had to get out
of her rig because her husband was watching a
basketball game and she'd had it watching "a bunch of niggers
running up and down the court". I almost fell
out of my chair. It was as if I was at a fine dinner out in public and
someone referred to another guest as a cocksucker.
(Ironically, this same woman was very disapproving of bad
language!) I told her that in my house, when
I was raising a young son, my dad would come to visit and use all kinds
of bad language and racial slurs. I told him
in no uncertain terms that I didn't give a damn what kind of swear words
he used but that the N word and C word (and their
other counterparts) were unacceptable in my house and especially
in front of my young son.
I asked her how she thought a black person would
feel if she used that word to their face and she said they'd be upset.
I told her I was upset because I have black friends
and fellow colleagues who I consider family. And that I would never
let someone talk disparagingly about my family
or friends - even her. So she stopped using the word but always took the
opportunity to use other more subtle jabs. Like
saying, "Oh, that's mighty white of you." Or seeing two blacks in a crosswalk
and saying to someone else, "Oh, boy! Two points
if we hit them!"
After the election this woman and I were driving
into town in her car and she was telling me how another wife
(an Asian woman) who had been campaigning for
McCain, came over to talk because she was so upset that a
black person had won the election. She was telling
my friend how her family had a business in Chicago and the
blacks were always stealing from them. My friend
said, "it's true. They'll steal you blind!" So I snapped and said,
"Really? So what did Obama steal from her?" She
said huh? And I repeated, "What did Obama steal from her?"
And then I went on a rant about the idiot-in-chief
and all the crap he'd done to ruin the country and if she was pissed
Obama won she could thank Bush. Things were so
bad that a black person won the election. Imagine that!
Over and over again we've made casual friends
who we thought we wonderful people, who, after they got a little too
comfortable around us, decided to let loose with
the N word. Just a couple of days ago, a really nice older couple,
otherwise very classy and refined (so we thought)
were telling us a story about her parents getting transported in a
wheel chair at the airport. The husband said,
"A nigger was pushing them. Let's call a spade a spade!" And he and
his wife laughed and laughed. I looked at my
husband and grimaced. Another friendship on the rocks.
So it's not just stupid Okies and Arkies or whatever
who use the N word. Believe me.
They're everywhere and in every walk of life.
It infuriates me that because I'm white
they feel like they can share their racist bullshit
with me.
I want to know where Dave lives and who he hangs
out with.
I'd like to live in an N-word free zone.
Keep hammering Bart.
Your old pillar,
PQ
Send e-mail
to Bart | Discuss
it on The BartCop Forum | Comment
on it at the BartBlog