Racist Teacher? Please Look

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
63

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
EmilyQ wrote:
He seemed to be saying in one breath that parroting the students is an accepted way to discourage derogatories, but then in the next breath he insisted at length that “nigger” and “nigga” are two very different things and “nigga” is acceptably nice.

We have to understand that words are just a convention to convey meaning. We must also understand that these units of speech take on different meanings depending on context and culture, and therefore should be considered different words.

The fact that the pronunciations, spellings, and meanings of the words “nigga” and “nigger” are noticeably different should also tell us they are not the same word. They are merely derived from each other.

Do you notice any similarities in the following words?

Negro; nigger; nigga.

They are all derivatives of the Spanish cognate for black which is negro. Should this word also not be shunned. Only one of those words is a spiteful word. I think you can guess what I am getting at here so I’ll just come out and say it.

I don’t think this guy was being hurtful which is one of the only instances in which I would be in favor of firing a teacher–not because he said something that sounded silly.[/quote]

Thank you for the edifying lesson. But what’s your point? First of all, the bit of mine you quoted was me pointing out that the teacher seemed to be contradicting himself. Certainly the poster I was quoting was open to the two possibilities (1. that he claimed he was saying it to be “one of the gang,” and 2. that he used it as a method to discourage its use).

And secondly, if the derivative “nigga” was not still closely enough connected to “nigger” that they mean virtually the same thing, the kid wouldn’t have become enraged when he heard it coming from a white authority figure. See? Because then the teacher’s point, that “Nigga, give me a pencil” is a nice, friendly thing to say, would have been valid. But it’s not.

Bringing up the Spanish word for black…again, your point? We use the word black, too, without any racial connotation whatsoever. No one gets all wadded up over it. But I suspect if I said “Negro, give me that pencil,” particularly as a white person speaking to a black kid, people would become very upset indeed.

So let’s see…

[i] “Negro, give me that pencil!”

“Nigger, give me that pencil!”

“Nigga, give me that pencil!”

[/i]These differ how?

64

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:
So let’s see…

[i] “Negro, give me that pencil!”

“Nigger, give me that pencil!”

“Nigga, give me that pencil!”

These differ how?[/i]

[/quote]
They differ immensely in spelling, meaning, and pronunciation. The guy is white and is being punished for saying something silly. He should have stood up for himself and demanded more respect for the language he teaches, for sure, but to say that mocking someone isn’t an effective method of teaching…well…nigga, please!

I wish I could bring dunce caps back into the classroom without all the uppity, political-correctness bull-shite.

This guy is right and the spoiled brat kid is wrong for thinking he can get away with trying to undermine the system by screaming, “Racism!”. The kid got called out in front of his buddies by this teacher and his feelings got hurt because he made the wrong choice. This issue is dead.

65

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:
And secondly, if the derivative “nigga” was not still closely enough connected to “nigger” that they mean virtually the same thing, the kid wouldn’t have become enraged when he heard it coming from a white authority figure. See? Because then the teacher’s point, that “Nigga, give me a pencil” is a nice, friendly thing to say, would have been valid. But it’s not.
[/quote]

“Excuse me, may I borrow a pencil?”
“Naw, get your own.”
“Stop being so niggardly, and loan me a pencil!”
“Excuse me?”

I refute you thus!

66

[quote]nephorm wrote:
EmilyQ wrote:
And secondly, if the derivative “nigga” was not still closely enough connected to “nigger” that they mean virtually the same thing, the kid wouldn’t have become enraged when he heard it coming from a white authority figure. See? Because then the teacher’s point, that “Nigga, give me a pencil” is a nice, friendly thing to say, would have been valid. But it’s not.

“Excuse me, may I borrow a pencil?”
“Naw, get your own.”
“Stop being so niggardly, and loan me a pencil!”
“Excuse me?”

I refute you thus![/quote]

I refuse your refutation! Because it looks like you’re bolstering my point!

Although they don’t share roots, I would bet serious money ($25, maybe more) that you would never say niggardly in a mixed-race school setting unless you were actively engaged in teaching vocabulary.

No, at the bar after work with your nerdy friends is the time and the place for that word, too.

“Stop being so niggardly, and loan me a pencil!”
“Bitch, did you just call me parsimonious?”

67

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:
…that you would never say niggardly in a mixed-race school setting…[/quote]

How about this one:

That lesion on my knee grows by the day!

68

[quote]pookie wrote:
EmilyQ wrote:
…that you would never say niggardly in a mixed-race school setting…

How about this one:

That lesion on my knee grows by the day!

[/quote]

Hahaha! You’ll want to take that kind of filthy talk to the bar, definitely!

69

I don’t think that white people should use that word more. I do think that black people should use that word less. A few weeks ago at the NAACP convention in Detroit they had a ceremony where they laid the N word to rest. So I am not alone in that opinion.

It has reached an absurd level when you hear little white kids refering to their friends with that word. I’ve even heard a white kid call one of thier parents that word.

It is all because Blacks have made a concerted effort to make that word a commonplace part of our national discourse. That is why I say it is hypocritical to get upset when you have others around you using that word all the time and it is no big deal.

The NAACP is right. If you don’t want to hear that word, then you need to lay it to rest.

70

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:
“Stop being so niggardly, and loan me a pencil!”
“Bitch, did you just call me parsimonious?”[/quote]

Hey, I disagree with your analysis on the issue but seriously this is the funniest thing I have read all day…thanks.

The mere idea that one would question the use of the word niggardly is in fact a racist thought. When one edits his or her speech based on the notion that a person of a certain race might not understand it is considered racism–one is prejudging intelligence based on race.

71

[quote]WolBarret wrote:
- YouTube

Opinions please…[/quote]

Is it racist? By formal definition, absolutely.

Does that make it necessarily pejorative and thus deserving of punishment? Not at all.

Can’t an English teacher use a colloquialism?

Sit down, pal
Sit down, man
Sit down, dude
Sit down, squirt
Sit down, bub
Sit down, junior
Sit down, son

Sit down, nigga

72

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
EmilyQ wrote:
“Stop being so niggardly, and loan me a pencil!”
“Bitch, did you just call me parsimonious?”

Hey, I disagree with your analysis on the issue but seriously this is the funniest thing I have read all day…thanks.

The mere idea that one would question the use of the word niggardly is in fact a racist thought. When one edits his or her speech based on the notion that a person of a certain race might not understand it is considered racism–one is prejudging intelligence based on race.[/quote]

You’re absolutely right. It acknowledges race. I don’t say Neph shouldn’t say “niggardly” in any particular context, I’m only saying that I think he would choose another word in that context (a school hallway).

Regarding the assumption of intelligence…I wasn’t at all assuming that race would have anything to do with understanding it. My insult target group in this case was school kids. Many of them will know what it means - the readers will - but I think Neph would avoid it just in case.

For that matter I probably imagine that Neph would self-censor around any group he thinks might have difficulty understanding him. I don’t see him whipping out “niggardly” in a working class wharf-side bar, either. Simply out of courtesy. Of course with “niggardly” there’s the added weight of the word itself being an insult.

Neph, in looking back over my post I’ve better realized that I did say

So your refutation stands. I was still focused on LIFTICVSMAXIMVS’ assertion that the different spellings make one version okay and others not, rather than on my having insisted that a non-derivative would not have caused the reaction. And niggardly would cause it. I had your point backwards. I am refuted - I see that now.

73

[quote]Mick28 wrote:
meangenes wrote:
Bill Cosby is an uncle tom.

If by “Uncle Tom” you mean rich, successful, famous and has done much for society as a whole…yea okay. [/quote]

Don’t be mad that you’re not an Uncle Tom.

75

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
meangenes wrote:
Well. For one, black people didn’t go to Europe, steal white people away from their family, bring them to a new land and make them work for no pay, torture them, treat them like dogs, and kill them. Lots of them.

But if they could have they probably would have, no…?

In fact, we only notice it as white against black slavery because that is all anyone talks about – its always a race issue. Over there they enslaved their own people. You never hear history talk about that painful fact.

Slavery, though absolutely immoral, was purely economically driven – it wasn’t about racism. It was about cheap labor. We never hear about the horrors of Rome and Greece how they enslaved everyone they conquered – it wasn’t about race.

Racism is any thought, or action that is motivated by race. It does not have to be inherently mean spirited or hurtful. The whole notion of racism – or sexism for that matter – is so ludicrous because nearly every single person alive has these tendencies. It does not mean we have to be driven by hatred or intolerance. I would call people with these tendencies bigots.[/quote]

What if. What if. What if. Who cares, that’s not what happened.

Europeans didn’t enslave their own people as well?

Save your opinions for your children. No-one here gives a shit. “Oh man is so inherently evil!” Your viewpoint is ignorant. These cultural aspects such as hate and intolerance are learned. Not hardwired. So shut up Ghandi.

Oh welcome to western culture.

76

If Bill Cosby asked you to lick his balls from the ass crack forward, would you?

78

Nigga please. I’ll be proud that I wasn’t an angry Uncle Tom wanna-be.

80

Look if I’m a low life who is apparently unproductive then I guess you could call just about any student in their junior year of college with less than a 3.8 the bottom of the barrel.

FYI I’m two years past my teenage years in which I graduated high school 24th in a class of 760.

FYI I’m also multiracial (African American, White and Native American). That means that I can hold my opinion on any race in any of the above categories. Because I have actually experienced being it.

And yes, your famed idol. Bill Cosby is still an Uncle Tom. Period. End of discussion.

81

WAIT A MINUTE. I didn’t my thread was move and this many people posted.

Now why is Bill Cosby considered an Uncle Tom by Mean Genes?