<p>
[TheHill.com</a> - Westmoreland calls Obama âuppity’](<a href=“http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/westmoreland-calls-obama-uppity-2008-09-04.html]TheHill.com”>http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/westmoreland-calls-obama-uppity-2008-09-04.html)</p>
<p>It just depresses me to see this coming from the mouths of elected officials.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>I would suggest 1) or 2) given the fact that he was fine clarifying that he used the word uppity.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I agree it is really sad, especially when your running mate makes racial remarks.</p>
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</p>
<p>and on another occasion this gem:
</p>
<p>Senator Biden brags about his strong relationship with the growing Indian community, saying:
</p>
<p>or here:
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<p>It is so curious that he is on Senator Obama’s ticket and so depressing.</p>
<p>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!</p>
<p>Biden, Biden, Biden…</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The one thing that’s kinda sad though is that Barack’s story is a “storybook”… :(</p>
<p>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?</p>
<p>^^^
We must live in totally different worlds because I have never heard it used in any other way.</p>
<p>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…</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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</a> Etymology Dictionary](<a href=“http://www.etymonline.com%5DOnline”>http://www.etymonline.com)), 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.</p>
<p>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?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p>A film review by Max Messier - Copyright © 2002 Filmcritic.com</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>It’s not a word commonly used here in California and has never been in my lexicon. I have heard it, but had you asked me to define it I would have said snobby or elitist. Glad to know this NSM.</p>
<p>“Uppity” from the mouth of someone from Georgia in reference to an African-American…definitely a throwback to earlier bad times.</p>
<p>Being uppity could get you lynched in the old days…</p>
<p>Northstarmom - I m not denying that that is the way the word is used over here. But I had no idea of that till today so have spent 55 years (or from whatever age i first heard/read the word) thinking of it as a classist word rather than a racist word. I wonder if it originated in England as a classist word then developed the more racial connotations over here where people moved to get away from the upper/lower class system but then developed a different version of it.</p>
<p>Does make me wonder how many other words are out there that mean one thing to me but something different to someone else. Fortunately I am not in the habit of using demeaning terms so hopefully I wont say the wrong thin to anyone.</p>
<p>There are a lot of different meanings between English English and American English. If any of you go to England don’t use the word fanny.</p>
<p>You mean like “gay?” We could start a whole new thread…</p>
<p>Anyone from the south would know *exactly.<a href=“I’m%20from%20Texas%20and%20old%20enough%20to%20remember%20quite%20a%20few%20pejoratives%20that%20were%20common”>/I</a>. It’s no accident when the Westmoreland uses the term. (The Wikipedia entry on him might shed further light: [Lynn</a> Westmoreland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Westmoreland]Lynn”>Lynn Westmoreland - Wikipedia) ) On another note, Westmoreland is the one who wanted to sponsor a law requiring posting of the 10 Commandments in public buildings, but was unable to name more than 3 when challenged by Stephen Colbert. </p>
<p>[Steve</a> King](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_King]Steve”>Steve King - Wikipedia) is also a rather strange character. I don’t know what’s worse – the racially charged language, or just the fact that these nut cases can manage to get elected to Congress at all. </p>
<p>[Geoff</a> Davis](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Davis]Geoff”>Geoff Davis - Wikipedia) wrote an elaborate letter of apology to Obama, so we’ll leave it at that. No need to bash a guy after he’s already said he’s sorry.</p>