Depressing.... - Page 8

ellemenope · 09-05-2008, 11:53 PM

What you have here is a tri-fecta:

Man from the deep South, use of the word "uppity", applied to an Af-Am person.

2 out of 3 may not bring up visions of a racial slur. 3 out of 3, though?

Hunt · 09-06-2008, 07:01 AM

After sleeping on this, I do wonder if those of us who are so sure this is a racist slur are all above a certain age? I grew up in the South, and only heard this term used in one way, but I'm (wheeze) years old. It could be that someone a lot younger hasn't heard it as much, and isn't as aware of the connotation. It's still a dumb thing for a politician to say, because it will offend older constituents.

parent2noles · 09-06-2008, 09:54 AM

It was dumb and probably racist. Those of us who grew up in the 60s and earlier know what it means. Folks don't use it so much now. Of course, we have so many Yankees down here (in FL) they don't know beans about these phrases and the old terms are going the way of the dodo.

alwaysamom · 09-06-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

I do wonder if those of us who are so sure this is a racist slur are all above a certain age?

I wondered this, too, Hunt. So I checked to see how old Lynn Westmoreland is. He's 58. As I said before, there's no doubt in my mind that he knew what he was saying.

calmom · 09-06-2008, 03:38 PM

As long as we are discussing racist words, this article deserves a mention:
Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is ?Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean.? | The LA Progressive

Hindoo · 09-06-2008, 03:45 PM

My God, if that's true, that's awful!

collegemom16 · 09-06-2008, 03:54 PM

The LA Progressive, plllluuuueeeesssseee.

calmom · 09-06-2008, 04:05 PM

I realize the it is the word of only one person, but its not hard to find mainstream media articles confirming the "vindictive and mean" part. See, for example, Nation & World | Palin's swift rise wins both admirers, enemies | Seattle Times Newspaper

This is a woman who tried to fire a small-town librarian for saying she wouldn't censor books; who drove out her town's museum director, planning director, and public works director as well as firing the police chief. See: The Wasilla museum and museum politics Public Historian

The ongoing investigation in Alaska is also a direct result of vindictiveness, as it is a result of a her on-going effort (now documented in emails) to destroy the career of her ex-brother-in-law well after the matter had already been resolved through the normal employee discipline process.

parent2noles · 09-06-2008, 07:15 PM

^Find more witnesses.

97.9% of all communists agree that Palin is evil.

zoosermom · 09-06-2008, 07:23 PM

Isn't that another collection of blogs?

Quote:

This is a woman who tried to fire a small-town librarian for saying she wouldn't censor books; who drove out her town's museum director, planning director, and public works director as well as firing the police chief. See

They were political appointees, Calmom. That's the nature of the business. Do you propose that when new officials are elected, they don't bring in their own people? Then what's the purpose of winning an election for heaven's sake?

Drove them out? Was she holding a gun or flaming pitchfork?

calmom · 09-06-2008, 09:14 PM

Snopes has confirmed the veracity of the link I posted to the Ann Kilkenny letter, here:
snopes.com: A Note to All by Anne Kilkenny

Quote:

So, we checked it out. Kilkenny does exist, and she does live in Alaska. We reached her by phone and asked if she wrote the rather long note that calls Palin "smart" but also questions her abilities.

We asked Kilkenny, "Did you write that letter?" She replied skeptically, "Well, I don't know. Read me parts of it. I'll tell you if it's mine or not."

After we read it to her, she said, "Yes, I wrote that." She sent it out to 40 people, brothers, sisters and friends, on Sunday -- two days after U.S. Sen. John McCain announced Palin as his choice. On Wednesday, if you enter Kilkenny and Palin's names on Google, about 200 sites refer to this letter.

Why did she do it? Kilkenny told The Daily Journal she wanted to offer people information and her experiences

The sites I linked to in post #113 are a news article from The Seattle Times and a history web site maintained by a PhD historian from Minnesota.

It is not typical of small town politics for mayors or other officials to fire public officials based on political viewpoint. Usually in a small town the idea is to try to get along -- these people are friends and neighbors. So you don't go around firing people without cause such as malfeasance or incompetence. So yes, it is particularly disturbing to me to see targets such as a librarian & museum director.

barrons · 09-06-2008, 10:00 PM

You might want to read up on that trooper's history a little bit. The guy is a danger and a nut. Typical case of the police shielding one of their own.

"Wooten has a history of reprimands as a trooper, along with a series of personal indiscretions as well. Perhaps the most heinous of these is the one Wooten has admitted to: electrocuting his 11-year-old step son with a taser, allegedly to teach him a lesson. He's also been accused of drinking on the job (which he denies), killing a moose illegaly (which he also denies), and according to this story at DigitalJournal.com threatening to kill Palin's father -- a retired elementary school teacher.

zoosermom · 09-06-2008, 10:20 PM

Did anyone see the Wooten interview on CNN?

Hanna · 09-06-2008, 10:22 PM

"It is not typical of small town politics for mayors or other officials to fire public officials based on political viewpoint."

Hell, I'm from Chicago, and it would be strange HERE for a new mayor to drive out the chief librarian and museum director! Lord know, it's not because we don't understand about political patronage.

zoosermom · 09-06-2008, 10:27 PM

Strange? Maybe, but employment at will is just that and one sinister motive can be substituted for another. Or none at all.