<p>Post 96 seemed to be implying that Clinton somehow endorsed Farrakhan so Hillary was hypocritcal when demanding that Obama renounce F. The articles cited for that implication do not in fact lead to that conclusion.</p>
<p>Plus, there was stuff in the litmus test article that said, well, if you’re going to go on about Farrakhan, then people should reject Don Imus and refuse to be on his show. If that’s going to be your analogy and argument, then reverse it and physically remove yourself from people who preach if favor of Farrakhan. Farrakhan and Imus are not comparable. I’m certainly not a fan of Imus, didn’t even know who he was til the dustup, but it’s still not comparable. That’s all I meant.</p>
<p>Given that you frequently oppose the Democratic Party and its candidates, to deliberately use a name that you have been informed irritates and offends many of them can only be taken as an intentional insult:</p>
<p>'Many members of the Democratic Party object to the term. New Yorker commentator Hendrik Hertzberg wrote: “There’s no great mystery about the motives behind this deliberate misnaming. ‘Democrat Party’ is a slur, or intended to be - a handy way to express contempt. Aesthetic judgments are subjective, of course, but ‘Democrat Party’ is jarring verging on ugly. It fairly screams ‘rat.’” '</p>
<p>“Democratic” is an adjective, used to describe a noun, i.e. Democratic Party. Democrat is a noun, which can be described by an adjective, or place name, i.e Ohio Democrat. It is a grammar issue, it seems to me…???</p>
<p>The fact that someone has heard a Democrat say “Democrat Party” at some point does not mean that it’s not an insult. I’m sure most white folks have heard African Americans use the N-word, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be an insult if they choose to use it too.</p>
<p>Whether in racial matters or political matters you can certainly be deliberately insulting if you want; it’s your choice. But don’t so dishonest as to pretend that such epithets are not insults based on bogus reasoning about having heard somone else say it.</p>
<p>“Whether in racial matters or political matters you can certainly be deliberately insulting if you want; it’s your choice. But don’t so dishonest as to pretend that such epithets are not insults based on bogus reasoning about having heard somone else say it.”</p>
<p>Don’t every call me dishonest again. I asked a respectful question and received (a) a sarcastic answer, (b) a respectful answer from NYMom, and (c) an insult from you. Nice. I would also venture to say that most democrats and republicans, you know, people who aren’t members of the great elite such as yourself, don’t know that it’s an “epithet” and couldn’t care less.</p>
<p>zoosermom- if you are referring to my original answer to you as sarcastic, you are mistaken. I was being sincere. I was very surprised by your answer to me, which I took as sarcastic.</p>
<p>"if you are referring to my original answer to you as sarcastic, you are mistaken. I was being sincere. I was very surprised by your answer to me, which I took as sarcastic "</p>
<p>I was referring to you. I thank you for the clarification and I accept your word.</p>
<p>This is one of those things where someone like me (and, obviously, the Pig People of Ohio – from whence hails my extended family – coincidence? you decide.) has no frame of experience to know that the average democrat is offended by the term without someone saying “hey, this bothers me because” and I’d like to make clear that I asked the question but didn’t use the term, so there was no dishonesty involved.</p>
<p>ZM - If you honestly did not not know that the term “Democrat Party” was insulting then my above comments do not apply to you, and I apologize for having stated it in such a way that it included you.</p>
<p>However, if after having been informed that the term is insulting to several people on this board and after having been presented with links doumenting that it is viewed as insulting in the wider world as well, then it’s no longer good manners to keep using the term. And the “I’ve heard others say it” defense is no longer valid. And to continue to use this invalid justification is dishonest. </p>
<p>Again, if this doesn’t apply to you, and having been informed, and you now plan to avoid using this insulting term. then I sincerely apologize.</p>
<p>And Democratic Party is a bold attempt to hijack a positive word in our country. I really don’t care if they think Democrat party is an insult. It’s a proper construction in English. A green belongs to the Green party. etc etc etc in every case in the English speaking world. They are trying to eat their cake and have it too.
And given they way they select delegates, they are FAR from democratic.</p>
<p>You have got to be kidding! Farrakhan has been a veritable lightening rod of controversy since well before 1995. Many American Jews still remember the firestorm engendered by a 1984 speech in which Farrakhan is credited with having called Judaism a “gutter religion”.</p>
<p>Then, there was the time Louis Farrakhan called Adolf Hitler, “A great man”. </p>
<p>Again, from Wikipedia:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh, and how about this?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My god, there are just too many shocking quotes and controversies to list here on this forum, going back more than 30 years!</p>
<p>If anything, it has only been relatively recently that Farrakhan has been somewhat removed from the spotlight of controversy. In 2006, he announced to followers that he had been “very ill”, and indeed had undergone periods of lengthy hospitalization and protracted surgeries. Only very recently, when he issued his endorsement of Obama’s candidacy, has Louis Farrakhan been back in the public eye. And Obama supporters everywhere (especially his black supporters) heaved a collective groan, knowing that an “endorsement” from Farrakhan was anything but helpful to the Senator’s candidacy.</p>
<p>The man is both wily and disingenuous, and most black people both “denounce and reject” the bulk of his politics.</p>
<p>I think after reading the complete comment, you may gain a fuller understanding as to why some of us find the use of “Democrat Party” to be a slur. I have no doubt that you have heard both Republicans and Democrats use the objectionable phrase, and that, in part, is why it is an issue. For many of the younger Democrats, Newt Gingrich is a quaint name from recent history, and they don’t have the memories of his emphasis on control through language. So what some younger voters (or less historically-aware) may see as convenient shorthand is really part and parcel of allowing Republicans to frame the debate.</p>
<p>What Democrats are finally beginning to learn is that we have allowed certain Republicans to frame the arguments in their own language for far too long. By reclaiming the proper name of the party, Democrats are also, in effect, saying, “We’re not going to take it anymore.” </p>
<p>I do find that most people inadvertantly use the slur, with no understanding of the background. However, those in the media or political positions who use it should know better. Re: fundingfather’s link to the Ohio Democratic Party…I e-mailed them to point out the presence of the slur on their site and will be very surprised if it isn’t corrected. But then, things are pretty busy in Ohio right now…</p>
<p>Mezzomom, I appreciate the informative post. I am very much interested in what you have to say. I’d also like to be honest about something. A while ago I posted (maybe a year ago?) the offensive term in the context of a post typed while eating. It contained no punctuation and I don’t think any capitalization, either, so I left off the “ic” for expediency. I was slammed on it then and, although I categorically disclaim any ill intent, and never used it again. That said, at the time of my prior post I researched the term and learned the “democRAT” thing and I sincerely, truly, honestly, on my kids, thought it was a joke. I mean, heck, I get called a “repug” all the time. By the way, I give you a lot of credit for emailing the Ohio party – I respect the fact that you don’t give fellow democrats a free ride on something that either is or isn’t offensive no matter who says it.</p>