I totally get this
I read the article posted by Cassandra. I don't think this is a ridiculous issue at all. Why wouldn't a person feel a bit less than complimented by this term, given the history? Should girls/women feel complimented by "you're really smart, for a girl"?Herring405
"That is the core of the issue. When whites use the word in reference to blacks, it often carries a subtext of amazement, even bewilderment. It is similar to praising a female executive or politician by calling her “tough” or “a rational decision-maker.”“When people say it, what they are really saying is that someone is articulate ... for a black person,” Ms. Perez said.Such a subtext is inherently offensive because it suggests that the recipient of the “compliment” is notably different from other black people.“Historically, it was meant to signal the exceptional Negro,” Mr. Dyson said. “The implication is that most black people do not have the capacity to engage in articulate speech, when white people are automatically assumed to be articulate.”And such distinctions discount as inarticulate historically black patterns of speech. “Al Sharpton is incredibly articulate,” said Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. “But because he speaks with a cadence and style that is firmly rooted in black rhetorical tradition you will rarely hear white people refer to him as articulate.”While many white people do not automatically recognize how, and how often, the word is applied, many black people can recall with clarity the numerous times it has stopped them in their tracks."
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Herring405
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I read the article posted by Cassandra. I don't think this is a ridiculous issue at all. Why wouldn't a person feel a bit less than complimented by this term, given the history? Should girls/women feel complimented by "you're really smart, for a girl"?Herring405
"That is the core of the issue. When whites use the word in reference to blacks, it often carries a subtext of amazement, even bewilderment. It is similar to praising a female executive or politician by calling her “tough” or “a rational decision-maker.”“When people say it, what they are really saying is that someone is articulate ... for a black person,” Ms. Perez said.Such a subtext is inherently offensive because it suggests that the recipient of the “compliment” is notably different from other black people.“Historically, it was meant to signal the exceptional Negro,” Mr. Dyson said. “The implication is that most black people do not have the capacity to engage in articulate speech, when white people are automatically assumed to be articulate.”And such distinctions discount as inarticulate historically black patterns of speech. “Al Sharpton is incredibly articulate,” said Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. “But because he speaks with a cadence and style that is firmly rooted in black rhetorical tradition you will rarely hear white people refer to him as articulate.”While many white people do not automatically recognize how, and how often, the word is applied, many black people can recall with clarity the numerous times it has stopped them in their tracks."
