n_j writes:
Boy?
What's wrong with saying that??? If it was a female and I said, what in the world was that girl thinking, would you be as incredulous?
Only slightly less incredulous--both when applied to adults are belittling reflections of bigoted thought. The customary term for an adult male is man; the customary term for an adult woman is woman. You didn't say guy, or dude or fellow, after all.
I see two options: one, you truly are so racially insensitive and historically ignorant that calling an adult black male boy was a naive act; two, you are not that ignorant, and while it was not a conscious act of bigotry, as you say, it did reflect an unthinking bias.
I've scrolled back through a lot of your posts. I couldn't find any examples of you calling an adult white man, boy. You see?
Omni, reserve the soapbox for what we're actually dealing with.
Referring to "that Bush boy" was a relevant example. I thought you might find the notion of calling the President boy as jarring as African Americans find obnoxious the same term applied to adult men.
Can I assume that you are defending Vick or are you merely questioning the integrity of the prosecution?
No, I am not defending Vick. His behavior was despicable.
But dogfighting has been an underground sport in the south for a long, long time. I doubt very much that we could find an example of a white man being so raked over the coals on the same charges.
While African Americans dominate many professional sports, the position of quarterback (like manager in baseball and, until recently, coach in basketball) is still reserved almost entirely for white athletes.
I think the overwhelming reaction from the public and the prosecution alike stems from a sense of outrage at this behavior by a black man who has been so favored. That notion itself is racist: it's the "I'm don't want to sound like a racist, but he should be more careful about fulfilling his people's sterotypes" type of bigotry writ societally large.
His prosecution and public condemnation should have proceeded like those of any other person convicted of the same crime. That's not what I see.
Real things always push back.-William James
Save lives! Click here!Join the World Community Grid with Team EvC!---------------------------------------
™ Version 4.2
