Depressing....

calmom · 09-05-2008, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term "uppity" to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.

Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.

"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.

Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”

***

The Obama campaign, asked about the quote, did not note any racial context.

“Sounds like Rep. Westmoreland should be careful throwing stones from his candidate's eight glass houses,” said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.

Campaigning against the first black major-party nominee has already created some problems for Republicans.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said that Obama's middle name – Hussein – is relevant to the public discourse surrounding his candidacy, saying in March that if Obama were elected, "Then the radical Islamists, the al Qaeda, the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they will declare victory in this War on Terror."

At an April 12 event in his district, Kentucky Rep. Geoff Davis (R) said of Obama: “I’m going to tell you something: That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button. He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country.”

Davis sent a letter of apology to Obama in which he described his remark as a “poor choice of words.”

TheHill.com - Westmoreland calls Obama â€˜uppity'

It just depresses me to see this coming from the mouths of elected officials.

Northstarmom · 09-05-2008, 12:34 AM

I'm impressed by how Obama rises above those kind of statements. His being calm under fire and being willing to listen to his adversaries are among the reasons that I admire him.

WindSlicer · 09-05-2008, 12:35 AM

I've never thought of "uppity" as racially tinged, solely as an adjective to describe well-off people who acted as such. I'm not defending Westmoreland's use of a racially tinged word, just noting that I'm not sure he 1) meant to employ this non-universal connotation that the media has latched onto or 2) knows this connotation even exists or 3) used the word knowingly.

I would suggest 1) or 2) given the fact that he was fine clarifying that he used the word uppity.

And NSM, Obama made a quip concerning the number of McCain's houses, not relevant to the situation in any way and just a personal attack. I wouldn't say he noticeably "rise[d] above those kind of statements" in this situation, although he usually does.

Kenshinsan · 09-05-2008, 12:37 AM

It'll be interesting to hear Razorsharp, IDad, Barrons, etc. explain how this has nothing to do with race, as they always like to flaunt how racism has vanished from America.

collegemom16 · 09-05-2008, 12:47 AM

I agree it is really sad, especially when your running mate makes racial remarks.

Quote:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Joe Biden planned to spend Wednesday focusing on his official announcement that he was running for president, but the Delaware Democrat instead found himself defending remarks he made to the New York Observer about his Democratic opponents.

In the article published Wednesday, Biden is quoted evaluating presidential rivals Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois. His remarks about Obama, the only African-American serving in the Senate, drew the most scrutiny.

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."

and on another occasion this gem:

Quote:

Biden noted Delaware was “a slave state that fought beside the North. That’s only because we couldn’t figure out how to get to the South — there were a couple of other states in the way.”

Senator Biden brags about his strong relationship with the growing Indian community, saying:

Quote:

“You cannot go to a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian Accent. Oh, I’m not joking!”

or here:

Quote:

In what the Washington Post is describing as a “stumble,” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in an interview with the paper Wednesday that Washington’s high minority population is one of the reasons for the city’s education problems.

Explaining why schools in Iowa are performing better than those in Washington, D.C., Biden told the Post, “There’s less than one percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than four of five percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you’re dealing with.”

“When you have children coming from dysfunctional homes, when you have children coming from homes where there’s no books, where the mother from the time they’re born doesn’t talk to them — as opposed to the mother in Iowa who’s sitting out there and talks to them, the kid starts out with a 300 word larger vocabulary at age three. Half this education gap exists before the kid steps foot in the classroom,” the Delaware Democrat added.

It is so curious that he is on Senator Obama's ticket and so depressing.

Senator Biden has a history of racially insensitive and offensive remarks. Google “Biden + Racism” and you get over 440,000 results documenting his racist bloopers, if you will - oops!

Kenshinsan · 09-05-2008, 01:03 AM

Biden, Biden, Biden....

I disapprove of his first three comments, but his last one does have a grain of truth to it. I think Biden is racially insensitive, not a racist. If he was racist I doubt he would of joined the Obama ticket and even if he did I doubt he would be working as hard as he has and would be doing a lackluster job.

Westmoreland on the other hand, used an obviously racially charged word as an insult. Uppity has ALWAYS been used as a word to describe black people. All you have to do is watch any movie that's about race (i.e Remember The Titans, etc) and it won't be long before you hear "that uppity (insert the multitude of creative words white people have use)" being uttered.

The one thing that's kinda sad though is that Barack's story is a "storybook"....

WindSlicer · 09-05-2008, 01:08 AM

Ok Kenshinsan please don't make statements you can't back up ("ALWAYS"?!?). Where I learned the meaning of "uppity" it did not refer to black people in any way, in fact I don't believe I have ever heard it used to describe black people. The campaign acknowledged that it didn't have racial connotations, so why the big fuss?

Kenshinsan · 09-05-2008, 01:18 AM

^^^
We must live in totally different worlds because I have never heard it used in any other way.

I've always heard it used in reference to black people in movies, and in any other media related outlet. I've always heard it used it as a way to reference black people that "don't know their place". I can't even think of a circumstance of when another white person would say it to another white person. Unless you're talking about lower class to upper class? And I've read a lot of books and watched a lot of movies and not once have I ever seen or heard it used that way. But I guess there's always a first time...

But, even my cousin was told by his "would" of been girlfriends white mother that he was acting "uppity" for trying to go out with her daughter.

WindSlicer · 09-05-2008, 01:21 AM

Yea it's lower class to upper class, non-racial, even upper class humble to upper class snooty where I'm from. I did some research, and the origins of the word uppity is racial (Online Etymology Dictionary), but I also found forums where people also expressed that they had never realized there was a racial connotation to the word, both in response to the current discussion we are having and to earlier discussions. The word 'Uppish' with British origins seems to be the exact definition that I see 'Uppity' as. Online dictionaries don't note the racial connotations, but that's not surprising. I guess the word has just lost that connotation in some communities.

I would like to note that the community that I learned this from is in the south, very close to Georgia so perhaps it's fairly regional?

swimcatsmom · 09-05-2008, 01:26 AM

I have never considered the word uppity as racial. I thought it referred to anyone putting on airs above their station. So while I think Rep. Lynn Westmoreland was certainly very rude and demeaning I don't neccessarily think she was being racist. I have heard and read the term uppity all my life and never in a racial context. I thought it was about class - like lower classes trying to get above their station. Definitely rude and insulting.

Northstarmom · 09-05-2008, 02:15 AM

When it comes to black people, the word "uppity" has often been paired with the "n" word. I've never heard "uppity" used to refer to white people, and I grew up in a virtually all white community.

swimcatsmom · 09-05-2008, 02:21 AM

I am not sure I have ever actually heard it used. I have certainly read it in books but it generally referred to peoples class. But I am from England so maybe it is used differently there. Not that it is a word I could imagine using even in the way I understood it.

Interesting (and a bit scary) to realise the different connotations of the same word. Makes you realise how easy it is to say the wrong thing.

collegemom16 · 09-05-2008, 02:26 AM

Here is a film critic using the term in a review of The Importance of Being Earnest. It is not a racial, but rather a class reference.

Quote:

Meanwhile, Algy has his own alter ego named Bunbury, a country-dwelling invalid friend who helps him avoid social engagements with his uppity social butterfly aunt, Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench), as well as the local bill collectors. During a trip to London, Jack proposes marriage to Gwendolen, which is halted by Lady Bracknell’s refusal of the proposal based up Jack’s inability to produce proof of his lineage: He was found abandoned as a babe in a London train station cloak room. As predictably as a Three's Company episode, all parties end up converging in the countryside in pursuit of the truth.

Northstarmom · 09-05-2008, 02:29 AM

To see how common it is for "uppity" to be used against black people, try Googling it with the n word. Even if you Google it just with "person", the first thing that comes up is a reference to black people.

swimcatsmom · 09-05-2008, 02:30 AM

And The importance of being Earnest is very English so maybe that is where I got that from. I think I have mostly come across the term in period novels. Not sure I have ever heard i in real life.