Lisa Benson for January 12, 2010

Exactly. People 70 and older like Harry don’t see it as racist. This is why all politicians should retire at 65.

I don’t think Reid’s remark was racist. He made an observation that Obama’s lighter skin color and no “negro dialect” would make him more palatable to the public as a candidate for president. He spoke the truth, though used a very out-of-date word. George Will, diehard conservative, acknowledged it wasn’t racist and wasn’t equivalent to what Trent Lott said.

Good one Lisa! I agree with this ‘toon.

Now if we were to get into why he’s embarassing I doubt there would be any overlap in our thinking. But at this level I’m looking for the positives.

Strictly politics. Lott made a racist observation that would exclude blacks from the political process. Reid’s comment involved bringing an African American to the White House. No comparison. But like throwing raw meat to a hungry Pit Bull.

One would think perhaps a US Senator would be somewhat more in touch with the body politic and words that aren’t any longer used .

Just when one might suppose that political correctness could get no goofier, along comes something like this pother over Reid’s remark. That is, “Negro” is a term of abuse only to those who have tapioca for brains.

I thought it was hilarious that Michael Steele is trying to get him fired for a racist remark when in the same sentence he said he was “Honest Injun on that.”

Seriously, is “Negro” actually considered a racial slur, or simply an old and seldom used word? I was taught that it has simply fallen out of favor, but is not considered offensive (unless someone is intentionally looking to take offense).

Sen Reid is probably not racist just not very bright. That is a problem with the senority system, time served is rewarded rather than merit. I don’t think what he said is racist but of course I didn’t think Sen Allen using the word macaca was racist and we all know what happened to him.

Reid just stated a truism, that Obama being black was a plus in net votes rather than a negative. I could never convince my liberal friends of that fact. Also Obama knew how to play to a black audience by turning on the dialect. Again we all knew that.

The problem with the statement is not the term negro. I have problems with the implications of his statement, that dark skin and a negro dialect are unacceptable characteristics. The message I got from Reid’s statement is that Obama’s OK because he’s almost not black. That is racist.

@4uk4ata - I don’t find any issue with the term negro (and I’m a black woman), I was taught – and according to some investigation done on the 2010 census – that it is a word “older black Americans relate to.” It’s certainly not the N word with 2 G’s that people like to call one another in a derogatory sense, negro is Spanish for Black. =\

@HOWGOZIT - It’s just the way both sides work. Like how everyone jumps to Palin’s defense over pregnancy and femininity issues, but bashed Clinton for the same thing (“whining about media attention,” to quote Palin).

thanks jae’da - strange that what reid said is just true right now

i don’t think his statement came from the heart of prejudice -he’s a pretty practical guy - reid is

maybe one of these days a brilliant black american can be elected to office without mention of stuff like that

Who cares about skin color? We need to focus on what it is we need to do to help this country and this lame-duck president out.

colored, black, negro, african american, cholcolate……it wont’t go away until it’s AMERICAN…..

^ Both sides do that. You just used “liberal” in a manner just as negative as “conservative” or “right wingers” coming from our mouths (twice in the same message).

I guess “negro dialect” is an expression. In french, “nègre” is also a racial slur but the expression “parlé p’tit-nègre” (little ni**er speak) is an politically correct expression that designates the simplified, childish and grammatically incorrect speech of stereotypical africans of the french colonies in the early XXth century. They didn’t speak like that, but europeans thought they did.

I wouldn’t defend Reid on this, but more fundamentally the whole kafuffel (sp?) shows that race remains charged in US politics and society.

The question of dialect in politics is fascinating and goes well beyond this particular incident. I remember when southern US accents were considered unacceptable in the north – people I knew even made fun of Lyndon Johnson’s way of talking – but then the south started to rule US politics and there was no way you could make fun of Southron dialects. The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu talks about the habit French politicians have of talking standard French in Paris and patois back home.

Wasn’t there just a comic mocking Obama’s articulation because he doesn’t “speak simply” to “normal Americans?” It’s really not that different. Read a newspaper, there’re studies that are done even these days about how Black men are less likely to get hired for a job they are qualified for if their dialect appears “black.” Reid’s comments weren’t well-put, but they’re true.

The reverse, however, is also true. I, too, do not have a “negro dialect.” The amount of rejection I suffered growing up when around other black people, was pretty noticeable.

“It is an extra plus if the liberals can compare those people to the kkk and Nazi’s.”

Right… because there haven’t been any comparisons by the Right of Obama to Hitler ad nauseum? Let’s not forget that being “gay,” typically considered a “Liberal” thing, is considered negative to the point that the expression “that’s gay” has nothing to do with the original definition of the word. AND the flat [Right-wing] assumption that being Liberal means “Godless and immoral.”

I grew up with “Negro” and “Mexican”. It wasn’t “racist”, just observation of race or ethnicity. “Black English” was called by my Linguistics professor a “language”, my black friends thought it was just street slang. Dialects are notable all over our country- even large cities have different dialects, or “accents”, within them.

I do remember during the campaign that folks from BOTH sides debated whether President Obama was “too black”, or “not black enough”- and it was all in context of political potential- “sales” if you will. Exactly why DID Sarah Palin get selected as, 1. a governor, or 2, a woman? Right, a pit bull with lipstick.

Gladius said: ”The message I got from Reid’s statement is that Obama’s OK because he’s almost not black. “

Reid didn’t say Obama was “OK” because he had light skin, no “Negro dialect.” He said those two characteristics would make him more palatable to the voting public. Not the same thing, not even close. Reid spoke a truth, even if there is residual racism contained within that truth. Speaking this truth has made some uncomfortable, but it is still a truth. Some day perhaps it will not be a truth, but today is not that day.

dtroutma – your linguistics teacher was right. It’s mostly a political accident which dialect becomes standard. Every dialect has the potential to be as good at communication as every other.

I love good slang – it can be energetic and vivid, if used well. The question is always what’s appropriate. There are situations (such as my classroom) where the standard language is appropriate, and situations (such as the local pub) where a non-standard dialect is appropriate.

Jae’da - The use of the word “Gay” to refer to homosexuals has always bothered me, too. The word means, according to Webster’s, “joyous, lively,merry, light-hearted,… wanton, licentious.” How is that appropriate? From my experience, the light-heartedness of their personalities pretty much matches the spectrum of the heterosexual people I know, ranging from very personable to downright nasty.

hey wasn’t LBJ negro - he had a hell of a dialect

bc, I did use the word impression. I don’t expect everyone else to have the same take on it. I do believe the statement is not worth the amount of abuse that is being heaped upon Reid. Unfortunately, we’ve had worse examples of racism from our elected officials.

Cat- I agree on the slang- the hazard is that you sometimes have to be VERY WARY that what one dialect perceives one way, another- across the country- or county- may apply the exact OPPOSITE meaning to! “Bar dialects” can REALLY get you in trouble!

dtroutma – when my grandmother, who was Scottish, first came to the US way back around 1910 or so, she asked someone to recommend a hotel because she was knocked up. In Scotland at the time that phrase meant tired out. But it didn’t go over very well in the US.