Does it surprise anyone that she, and probably plenty of other white southerners (and republicans) think of him as an uppity nigger? Forgive me for use of that term, but I'm sure we can all agree that is what we are talking about here.

That is pretty lame but how is it much different from Biden saying Obama is 'articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy' other than one being a backhanded complement and one being a criticism? They're both still words tinged with racism.

Alice, as a fiscally conservative white southerner, I resent the hell out of comments like that. I've lived in the northeast, southern california and all over the south. The south is the most intergrated, least racist of all the places I've lived. Yes, there are idiots here but trust me, the south has NOTHING on the northeast in terms of racism.

Suck, I live I Texas currently, just outside of Dallas. I lived for several years in North Florida. Half my family is from Baton Rough, La. I had the great misfortune of spending a couple of my teen years in Baton Rouge. No place I'd ever lived in this country could have prepared me for Baton Rouge. The word nigger was so common their that I nearly got used to hearing it. Also, my mother and I are Jewish. I had never heard the word kike until I lived in Louisiana. It was in the Baton Rouge than I learned that I was a dirty jew :(

Florida and Texas are equally racist, just more towards latinos than blacks.

I have also lived in the north. I lived in Boston, Derry, New Hampshire, Seattle and Tacoma Washington, DC and a million little towns in between (my mom is in the tech field, so we moved a lot). While there is some racism in the north it's nowhere near as vile, loud and blatant as it is in the south. You can deny this all you want, but I've lived there and seen it first hand.

My experience is just the opposite. I've lived in Atlanta, Charlotte, Durham, Asheville and Birmingham and thought I'd heard some nasty stuff in regards to racist name-calling. I was just knocked out at the mean-spirited things I heard people say about blacks, latinos and jews when I lived in CT & NH. It just blew me away.

Regardless, the stereotype of the racist southerner is just tired. I've seen it here in comments and Cord's posts before and it always suprises me that those who prides themselves on being progressive would resort to that stereotype to make a point over and over again.

Well, I can only go by my own experience. The racism of the south, in my experience, if incredibly overt and high disturbing. Obviously you and I have had different experiences.

I disagree that the stereotype is tired. Nearly all stereotypes are based in at least some small fact. There is truth there. We would not still be having this conversation were there not some problems.

Not to interrupt, but where did Cord mention the south? Is he writing in invisible typepad again?

maybe I'm missing something, but I've never heard the terms 'articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy' used in a derogatory way.

"uppity", however…

Janice, this Westmoreland gal is from Georgia.

Damn, my husband and I had a bet as to how long it would take for that word to be used by a public figure. I owe him $5. I thought it would take longer.

I love a good throw down!

And I think I am the only person who would not be offended if I was called "uppity." I would probably respond with "Yeah, so?"

Yeah, but she (Westmoreland) made the comment, and the article mentioned her origins, not Cord. Things just get all heated up in here when people start the whole "stereotype-of-the-south" debate, and I think this post actually tried to avoid highlighting that stereotype.

I live in Alabama but am from up north. Racism is alive and well everywhere, but down here it really seems to be a constant undercurrent on BOTH sides. As a black person my experience has been this; in the north when a person is racist they'll be that way in your face. In the south it's usually behind your back and in other subtle ways. It's still very rare to see a black and a white person socially associating unless they are under 25.

Well Mae, from you Myspace page I see that you're white. I'm white. I don't think we can really undestand the black experience, do you?

I don't know, let me ask my half black daughter.

Lynn is a man - btw.

Mae, you do that at get back to me. Seriously! I'm sure you know that her experience will be different from you own.

Tangerine, thanks for the heads up on Lynn. Hehe.

Wonkette called McCain "uppity" - does it go both ways?

http://wonkette.com/401576/upp.....-president

salon.com said Obama used to be "uppity"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/11/223840/971

Well, I guess I am pretty sheltered…growing up in the suburbs or whatever…but I didn't know that 'uppity' was racist. Doesn't it mean snobby? I dunno. I'm not disagreeing with the assertion that it is racist, but I would have used the word never knowing it was offensive.

Cord didn't mention the south this time but has in the past. Alice brought it up this time in the first comment, though if she hadn't, it was inevitable. One dumbass who happens to be from a southern state says something stupid and it's just a matter of time before someone starts slamming white southerners.

Say What- Chris Rock probably demonstrated it best in one of his comedy routines… "What's the first thing they say when they talk about Colin Powell? What's their compliment? He's well-spoken. Well-spoken is not a compliment. Well-spoken is something you say about people you don't expect to be able to speak. How do they expect Colin Powell to sound? Like, "I'm gonna drop me a bomb today!"

Hmmm, looks like the term may have been co-opted:

uppity
1880, from up; originally used by blacks of other blacks felt to be too self-assertive (first recorded use is in “Uncle Remus”).

Tangerine, surely their is a difference between comments by bloggers and comments by members of congress? Shouldn't we hold congress to a slightly higher standard?

I was just surprised that it came up bang! first thing, despite its rather tactful exclusion from the post. Whatever. I just know the discussion ends in people leaving huffy and exhausting their Caps keys. I'm going to take a different tangent on the whole argument: West-by-northwest side.

Tangerine, I cannot believe your citing Uncle Remus as a good representation of how blacks spoke of other blacks. You might as well have brought up the Klan. Joel Chandler Harris was a fantastic racist.

Tangerine, unfortunately, it does not. when you have a term that has, in the past, been used in a derogatory way, it will always retain that. Like the n-word…

as for salon calling him that, it's just as offensive as some republican politician saying it.

I'm from Michigan and went to Canada on vacation a few weeks ago. On our way back into the US, the border guard asked why I didn't have the same last name as my husband. I didn't really feel like telling him my life story, that I have my own career, own identity, own name. . . so I just told him it was because I was uppity. He must have believed me, because he let us through. But, I am Caucasian, and I can understand how that could really be offensive to an African American.

As for articulate, I would really like to have an articulate president after suffering through the last 8 years with the "decider".

I was citing its etymology was all - I thought it might be interesting to note that it was originally confined to use amongst African Americans as opposed to a slur by others against an African American - I can kinda hear Jesse J. saying it, can't you?

No, it doesn't go both ways. "Uppity" was (and apparently still is) a word that was typically used, by both black and whites, to describe black people who were acting in a way perceived to be above their stations. And if you are confused by why that's offensive, ponder for a moment the idea that "acting above your station" in this context might mean anything from having the nerve to conjugate verbs correctly in public to…well, running for president.

But half-black daughter or not, you are white, Mae. So being called uppity may not seem as offensive to you because it lacks the same context that it might have if you were black–particularly if you were a black person over the age of 45 or 50. It's similar to a white man calling a black man "boy". Is the word itself that offensive? Not really. It's the connotations and history behind the word that cause offense.

funny, I would have thought that "well-spoken" WAS a compliment.

He IS well spoken, regardless of his skin-color. So, as much as I love Chris Rock, I can see that he was using that for comedy's sake. He also said that while he didn't think OJ should have killed his ex, he "understood" it. not exactly the kind of person I look to for guidance when it comes to my views on race. or on anything else, for that matter.

Tangerine, I'm not sure that I buy the idea that it was originally used by blacks to describe other blacks. If Uncle Remus is your only proof, it's basically the same as no proof at all. Uncle Remus was not an accurate description of blacks. Not at all. To say it is, well, is quite foolish.

Alice–it is not so unbelievable that black folks used the term first to describe other blacks (although I don't think it really matters who used it first). Hatred and negative stereotypes wouldn't be half as disturbing if the groups they were aimed at didn't internalize and then regurgitate the same hateful and hurtful prejudices back into the community.

TangerineSpeedo: It may have been coopted, and you may be right about the etymology, but that was almost 130 years ago. I have done the same thing to take the piss with people, but the reality is that present day context usually determines the real meaning. That being said, there are probably 3 white people in the south of adult age that have no idea that calling a black man uppity is a bad thing, and my guess is two of them are in a coma. I can't imagine Westmoreland is the other one.

Most everyone I know understands that when a white person says it they mean that they think the recipient of the label has ideas above their social station. In the south if you mean snobby you say snobby, because you know the wrong term will get you stoned really fast.

By "I have done the same thing" I mean I have quoted etymology to be inflammatory.

Chris Rock may not be the person to look up to but your VP candidate should be and Joe Biden has a history of racial remarks. Google it or search on youtube.

I always heard uppity in relation to women. And can't we all agree to hate uppity women? They should be baking biscuits and ironing!

Hey Suck It! I'm black, from NJ, went to school in Virginia, currently live in HI, and guess what? Everywhere is freakin' racsists! There is no, good, bad, worse - they all SUCK!

I, too, had no idea that 'uppity' had racial connotations. Then again, I once referred to a friend (who happened to be black) as a 'porch monkey', as my cultural environment held the extension of that term as 'lazy'. But, seriously — uppity? I honestly wish that someone would tell me all of the (seemingly) innocuous terms that could offend people. I farkin' hate offending people. Or maybe I'm just sheltered.

I didn't know either. And I, like Suck it and dk, live in Birmingham, where you'd think that kind of thing would be known. And I promise I'm not some a-hole racist who is out of touch with other cultures.

pw- i didnt learn about that phrase until the last few years. all the time i'm learning these words as it's being EXPLAINED to me that they are racist…if no one told me, i'd never know, and i've never heard anyone say them without them being followed by the explanation that they are not to be said.

Okay, so uppity is out - how about bougie?

Bougie? That's a word? Do you mean booger, or boogie? I know those ones…

maybe i'm stupid, but since when is uppity a racist term? i thought anyone could be 'uppity'….

Truncated bourgeoisie - pronounced boo zhee. "that's a nice car TSP, you may be too bougie for me."

I think TS means the word that sounds like BOO-zhee. Right?

holy crap. Jinx on the pronunciation spelling. weird.

Music makes the bourgeoisie never ever! Yeah! (I don't know what Madonna is saying in that song but it seemed helpful to bring it up.)

Pronunciation spelling aside, who does that offend? The French? The nouveau-riche? Alaskans?

The only reason anyone is upset about this word in the first place is because there was not yet any official U-Word. There's already a B-Word so bougie is safe. For now.

In actual fact I think it may really be the modern uppity. I was at a club with a friend chatting up some girls one of whom was from his former 'hood, but when she found out where he lived now she said, "you think you some kinda bougie nigger now?" It didn't work out.

wtf. duh. f*****ing duh. I mean 2008 and you get these stupid, cheeesy, middle-class hillbillies getting away with this stuff. What? you want Obama to drive a 4×4, be a good ol' boy? seriously. some old man that went to saddleback college. and this lady that went to u of idaho, are jealous. McCain is a war vetran and that is about it. and that is fine. but the rest is too nauseating to comment on.

Oh dear shit. I read your first sentence and thought, "yeah, but with the modern connotation, not the racial connotation". Then I read the rest, and I was disturbed. Further - "bougie" doesn't really roll off of the tongue like most slanders should…perhaps I'm pronouncing it wrong to my cat, though. For the record, he's not offended.

Is he black?

Incidentally - yes. He's also French.

I have a confession. First I want to make this clear - I consider myself extremely socially aware, culturally sensitive, blah blah blah…but I don't know what 'blue gums' means, either…oh god, I AM sheltered.

Yeah. That one has me scratchin' my head too.

Does your cat have Grandpa Wang Fever? Most cats can't be bothered to be PC when they're looking to get with Brokaw.

Or Charlie Rose.

Oh… I think my cat is STM's grandma. I meant to tell her that earlier. Small world!

No, he mostly concerns himself with European economics and pottery.

Oh, yeah, I forgot it was Charlie Rose.

And Jerry Stiller for the cats who can't get with the real hotness. Maybe due to being fat cats, I dunno. I'm about to put duct tape on the keyboard so I stop saying these stupid things.

My cat is definitely hot. He's also somewhat fat, but in a hot way.

So is mine. He is the hottest grandma in all the land.

I've been calling my fellow crackers uppity for as long as I can remember. I've always used the word. I didn't realize that it could be construed in a racist way. I also use the term cracker a lot - is that racist?

oooh like Jack Black. Fat and hot is a great combo. But then… I'm sort of… maybe what you might call… a "tubby" chaser. ? Don't get too skinny on me, gentlemen.

Helen, yes, cracker is racist, but it doesn't inspire the same kind of passionate responses, mostly because if you called me cracker, i wouldn't be able to tell you where it came from or why it was supposed to be bad… it's not really out there keeping the white man down, you know?

Jesus christmas, an article on the word "uppity"? How about an article on the "Would it Still be Called the White House" buttons? Or the Obama Sock Monkey doll? I've never thought the term "uppity" was racist, then again, I am from Seattle, where we put the term PC to shame. Just the other day I was questioning whether or not a Craigslist ad for a barbecue that claimed "Works like a slave" was a hate crime or not. True story.

I also call everyone monkey. I mean EVERYONE. My dog, my friends, random strangers. But I had to curtail my usage after I walked up to my friend John at a club and asked "how's my little monkey doing tonight?" John is black. And while he knows that I'm not racist, his friends who were within ear shot weren't so amused. Just like with uppity, it never occurred to me that calling someone a monkey was racist. Yes, I really am that blissfully unaware.

I learned from my African-American (then called "negro") second-grade teacher in 1968 that "uppity" and "articulate" implied overreaching one's station in life and condescention, respectively. This was a white, upper-middle class school, in the days following the assasinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. And I remember this clearly because I couldn't understand why anyone would not like Miss Owens. She was a nice teacher and she made schoo fun. It didn't make sense to me.

So forty years later to hear the word "uppity" used to describe another African-American, it sets me on edge and saddens me to know that there weren't enough teachers like Miss Owens for everybody.

And this is just getting started, folks.

Gahhhhhhhh…

*school

I just got home from crappy job #2.

Sorry.

Monkey = Inappropriate. Dog = Appropriate.

So again, that's 2 points for douches, and 0 for the common man, for those keeping a tally.

Poo - What an amazing, sincere take on this thing.

I'm definitely grateful for the things people, usually teachers, stopped and explained to me like that, and I don't often remember to credit those people with any sophistication I might have now.

Just for the record, I don't really use the term cracker. I have been called a cracker bitch before, and it stung, despite lacking the extensive history of hate that the n-word has behind it. I cannot imagine, nor do I pretend to, what hearing the n-word does to someone who is black.

I'm sorry for being naive (or, as you seem to think, a douche), but I just didn't get how calling someone monkey was racist, because monkeys are adorable balls of cuteness, and how could that possibly be bad? It was a term of endearment in my family. Then someone explained the term "porch monkey" to me and it started to make sense. I grew up in southern Virginia, and I had NEVER heard that terminology until about six months ago. (I now live in the DC burbs.)

I just never had my very own Miss Owens to teach me those kinds of things.

And sar, I'm glad that you at least approve of the dog.

Thank you, sar.

This all reminds me of a Designing Women episode
were Anthony talks about someone that is called Bomancias.

As it turns out, Bomancias serves his employer many years of loyal employment. It is then revealed that when Bomancias is close to retirement, and his employer wants to know how to spell his name for some kind of engraved something or other, Bomancias says:

"When I first started working here, you asked me my name. I said, I go By My Initials."

See also: Driving Miss Daisy.

upon second reading of the article, I think Westmoreland could have sufficed by just using the term "elitist". Thanks for the enlightenment, poo.

Helen!! I don't think you're a douche! I meant, the people who decided to use monkey as a hateful term… we let them win by not using it all because THEY couldn't use it correctly. That's all I meant.

Well I also meant Randy Jackson is annoying.

I remember that one, QC…wow. Way to dig deep! :)

randy jackson is god's gift to organized dance, sar. watch where you're stepping (that's what he said. no, he really did).

satines had it right in post 29.

i can't tell you how many times i've been told "gosh, you're so articulate." the negative pregnant is that black people are poorly spoken and uneducated. and because i am neither of those things, i'm some sort of anomaly.

i've also been told over and over by black people that i "talk too white." the sentiment is just as disturbing coming from whites as coming from blacks. to me, anyway.

ugh.

monkey is racist because back in the day, blacks were likened to apes, primates, and monkeys… implication that we lived like primitive animals in the jungle. we were uncivilized.

jungle bunny is another racist term.

you're not a douche helen, and you may not even be naive. it's just that if you didn't understand the historical meaning of the word, you would have no reason to think it racist. but you asked questions, which in my mind is aces.

some people (some on this blog… not on this thread, but some i've come across on other threads) will wonder if a certain term is racist, have the racist implications explained, and then be all "well, i don't care if it's offensive." those people are assmonkeys. you are not.

see what i did there? assmonkeys?

i should stop drinking.

:)

S: (adj) overweening, uppity (presumptuously arrogant) "had a witty but overweening manner"; "no idea how overweening he would be"- S.V.Benet; "getting a little uppity and needed to be slapped down"- NY Times

[edit] Adjective
uppity (comparative more uppity, superlative most uppity)

Positive
uppity
Comparative
more uppity
Superlative
most uppity

Presumptuous, above oneself, self-important.
I think you are one very uppity young man.

I should look to my VP candidate for guidance on my racial views? um, NO….

I'll form my OWN views based on my knowledge and experience in life. I may look to my parents/family for guidance, but a politician? not so much.

I know i'm late in all of this, but how is 'uppity' derogatory? in any way? I'm starting to get the feeling that anything negative about Obama is being construed as derogatory. Maybe the guy is uppity. Why does everything have to boil down to race? can't someone just not like another human being because they suck anymore?

STM, i just read your explanation of 'monkey' and even though i am not african american, i don't see it the same way. you cannot tell me in all honestly you have never seen someone who did not CLEARLY resembly a monkey. just like i have seen plenty of people who resembly rodents (Eva Longoria) Or a foot (SJP) It doesn't mean that because someone resembles an animal in appearance that they are uncivilized. Just sayin'.

Kate, the historical usage of the word is explained up above. It has racial connotations that still exist.

and I agree that there in fact ARE some people who do resemble monkeys. our current prez is one of them. (check out bushorchimp.com)

But like "uppity", calling someone a monkey also has racial connotations as it was used to refer to black people in a derogatory sense.

Kate, some background on that 'uppity' word:

It fell out of popular use over the last 30+ years, but just like a lot of slang, this word does indeed have a racial tinge. It was used to refer to black people who didn't know their place in society in those times. It applied to anyone showing any education, pride, or independant thought. MLK was called an uppity n word.

That's why we see on network news, the Hannitys and O'Reillys of the world using words like 'elitist' to replace the old word.

Anyone who actually examines the candidate's background would see that he's actually the farthest thing from that image though. Of the 2 pres and veep candidates, he is the only one born to a single mother, who basically made himself without the help and advantages that family wealth brings.

So if the word uppity doesn't mean anything, then why are people trying so hard to stick that image to Obama? Especially when he doesn't compare to his opponents in wealth and background. Sarah HEATH Palin is a member of the family who owns that candy bar, and McCain is the ideologue of an establishment candidate. Connected family, and neither never had to work hard for anything. Yet Obama is uppity and an elitist. Go figure…

This just in…

According to a statement, the congressman (who was born in 1950 and raised in the segregated south) says he "wasn't aware of the word's racial overtones".

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....f2ERTCw5R4

in addition…

"Westmoreland is one of the most conservative members of Congress. He has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates on a number of issues, including last year when he led opposition to renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He also was one of two House members last year who opposed giving the Justice Department more money to crack unsolved civil rights killings."

I'm really hoping Helen saw me calling her not a douche. Helen?

sar and STM, thanks for the clarification. I stared at the ceiling for half the night last night trying to determine if I really was a douche. Sadly, the answer is yes, but it has little to do with my use of the word monkey, and more to do with being paranoid that people I have never met might possibly think I'm a douche. That's douche-tastic. And I'm okay with it.

I was worried bout that exact thing because I am the very same way. It's not weird… MG commentators are awesome, and it's easy to get me mixed up with the ones whose opinions matter. :) For the record: I pretty much like everyone.

this site needs a "jokes" button, similar to a Staples easy button.

I am trying to combine douche and uppity for maximum L O L S but nothing's coming together.

I've learned a lot of racist lingo from my black co-workers and friends since moving from Ohio to Chicago. I honestly had never heard some of the terms before moving here but it's not like I never heard completely racist bullshiz come out of white peoples mouths. I've never heard "blue gums" before this post though.

killorn, here are some JOKES buttons for you that take little effort:

CASTRO'S DEAD
Pee in my own eyes
Using, lots, of, commas
Pat O'Brien
May you down in flames!

I've never heard the term "uppity" used to describe black people. I've heard it used to describe people who are just snobby and carry an air of superiority.

That's what i always thought of too Blah. so many things these days have had a negative connotation years and years ago. Can't meanings sometimes change? I hardly think uppity is the same as the n-word. But…I'm not black, so i can't say.

sar, OK 4 adults in the south, but there may be more. living in the south means i don't cipher too well. i can't actually even type. my cat does it for me when i can keep him off Brokaw long enough.