PC Madness- Child suspended for saying 'Brown People'

[Julhelm]

A friend of mine refers to all blacks as "bluemen".

[Pulp Hero]

I prefer to "those fine negro fellows" in a ye olde voice.

[TithonusSyndrome]

I call me and my white friends "cracker" all the time. We're "reclaiming" the word!

[Adrian Laguna]

I call me and my white friends "cracker" all the time. We're "reclaiming" the word!

I can't think of "cracker" as an insult. Every time I hear it I don't picture a type of pale coloured food, I picture someone who cracks heads. That's not much of an insult, if anything if a sort of screwed-up compliment. Anyone who cracks people's heads open is bound to be one scary and violent fucker.

[Civil War Man]

I call me and my white friends "cracker" all the time. We're "reclaiming" the word!

I can't think of "cracker" as an insult. Every time I hear it I don't picture a type of pale coloured food, I picture someone who cracks heads. That's not much of an insult, if anything if a sort of screwed-up compliment. Anyone who cracks people's heads open is bound to be one scary and violent fucker.

Cracker, IIRC, is actually supposed to refer to the slave overseer. Crack the whip and all.

[Flagg]

I find racist terms against whites to be pretty funny, actually. Cracker, honkey, greymeat... It's such camp.


This story sounds pretty ridiculous. He has an issue with some other kid who I'm assuming is black and then the parent of that kid is allowed to "interrogate" him on tape? And only then does he utter the dreaded "brown people" phrase? What the hell is going on in that school?

[darthbob88]

I call me and my white friends "cracker" all the time. We're "reclaiming" the word!

I can't think of "cracker" as an insult. Every time I hear it I don't picture a type of pale coloured food, I picture someone who cracks heads. That's not much of an insult, if anything if a sort of screwed-up compliment. Anyone who cracks people's heads open is bound to be one scary and violent fucker.

Cracker, IIRC, is actually supposed to refer to the slave overseer. Crack the whip and all.

If memory serves, it's derived from the term corncracker, referring to the poor whites that ate cracked corn, rather than superior food.

[NeoGoomba]

I am reminded of a spirited racial discussion from Venture Bros, where a vampire hunter explains why he only kills "blackulas"

"Why dont you just call them African-American vampires?"

"Because there are black vampires around the world, so theyre all Blackulas, dammit!"

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I thought Cracker just meant that you were as white as a cracker.

[TithonusSyndrome]

I thought Cracker just meant that you were as white as a cracker.

Yeah, me too. If it does refer to a whip user, then I'd develop some serious qualms about tossing the term about casually.

[Flagg]

I thought Cracker just meant that you were as white as a cracker.

I've heard both explanations. The whip one sounds like it's probably the actual origination of the word, though.

[B5B7]

I agree there is overreaction and possible hypocrisy with this situation, but three additional points struck me:

A Glendale elementary school principal has admitted to telling a 9-year old boy that it is OK to have racist feelings as long as you keep them to yourself.
“As we said to (the boy) when he was in here, in your heart you may have that feeling, and that is OK if that is your personal belief,” Abraham Lincoln Traditional School Principal Virginia Voinovich said in a tape-recorded parent-teacher conference.

Well, I disagree with this attitude - I think it is silly; it is better to encourage him to realize it is wrong, instead of the bullshit American feelgood idea of it's OK believing wrong things, because it's all about personal freedom. I suppose they think it is alright if the children believe Earth is flat, etc.

In an interview Monday, Voinovich would not address her comments, first saying she didn't remember the incident, then demanding a copy of the recording and finally insisting that she could not talk about a student's discipline.

Who provided the recording?

After that was reported to the boy's teacher, he was made to stand in front of his class and publicly confess what he'd said.

Again, I think this is the wrong way to deal with the boy - public shaming/humiliation won't achieve anything; is counterproductive. Should be dealt with privately, sensitively and without the huge punishment of the suspension.

[Zablorg]

Pff, they are brown people. They are people, and they are brown.

This multiculturalism thing has gone too far when you can't state the glaringly obvious.

[Hillary]

It's black. If they're in America, they're fucking Americans. What do you call them if they're in China? Sino-Africans? We don't split hairs with whites, so this bullshit "African-American" term for any African who isn't donning tribal wear and doesn't get ghetto/rap/whatever is annoying.

I guess in the US they DO split hairs with whites to some degree. Irish-American and Italian-American are obvious examples.

I have never heard a black person refer to themselves as African-American over here (although I have seen it on forms). It's either "black" or, for some of the older generation, "coloured". I'm not really sure why the fuck it matters - as long as the person is not using a term for derogatory purposes (and surely everyone knows not to use the obvious shitstorm terms), why should it matter?

[Gil Hamilton]

It's black. If they're in America, they're fucking Americans. What do you call them if they're in China? Sino-Africans? We don't split hairs with whites, so this bullshit "African-American" term for any African who isn't donning tribal wear and doesn't get ghetto/rap/whatever is annoying.

I love how some people also can't wrap their minds around the idea of white Africans.

Actually, hairs are often split for white people in America, depending largely on whether or not there was a large amount of bigotry against them as well. You frequently hear Irish-American (or just Irish), Italian-American, Polish-American, and a few other hyphenated Americans typically from slavic countries.

However, I've always wanted to see what happens if an Afrikaaner put down minority status on various forms and applications as an African American, since such a person would almost certainly have a more direct lineage back to Africa.

EDIT: Curse you Hillary. I need to finish reading the page before I click reply.

[Gil Hamilton]

I thought Cracker just meant that you were as white as a cracker.

My understand is that means "someone who cracks the whip".

[Illuminatus Primus]

Gil is correct; at least in what I can glean from my redneck contemporaries here in Alachua County.

[Turin]

It's black. If they're in America, they're fucking Americans. What do you call them if they're in China? Sino-Africans? We don't split hairs with whites, so this bullshit "African-American" term for any African who isn't donning tribal wear and doesn't get ghetto/rap/whatever is annoying.

Think that's stupid? There's this fucked-up "community" group here in Philadelphia called Uhuru that calls blacks "Africans" and whites "Europeans". As in, they leave off the "-American" part all together. They're allegedly multiracial, but really they're pro-segregation... the "Europeans" in their organization do all the fund-raising and the "Africans" do all the political action.

Actually, hairs are often split for white people in America, depending largely on whether or not there was a large amount of bigotry against them as well. You frequently hear Irish-American (or just Irish), Italian-American, Polish-American, and a few other hyphenated Americans typically from slavic countries.

And it's just as stupid then! For example, Philadelphia has a rather obnoxious "split" between the Irish-descended and Italian-descended communities. I've heard young people say things like they won't date anyone who isn't "hunnert puhcent Italian."

Oh yes, we've mastered racist idiocy here in Philadelphia.

[RIPP_n_WIPE]

*Looks in a mirror

*Take out a color wheel.

*Compares it to skin "Well I'll be damned..."

Honestly brown people is far more correct than black in any context regarding color so the kid shouldn't have been womped on. No one is black at all, just many many many shades of brown. If you want a really good idea of racial/color hair splitting go to south America. They quite literally have like 4-5 words for people of varying color and ancestry. When I think of black I think of black African ancestry and most definitely not in Africa, be it Europe or the Americas. Honestly I wish we could all just use folks color and not worry about race at all. Unfortunately people discriminate horribly, whether or not you have a term for it.

On the flip side Anglo-Saxon Americans were quite discriminatory against the Irish and the Italians, who weren't even considered "white" in certain context. Same for eastern Europeans. Thats probably why they are so defensive about their genetic heritage and I say genetic because if they are in America, culturally they're prolly a bit different than their cousins over seas.

[Flagg]

Gil is correct; at least in what I can glean from my redneck contemporaries here in Alachua County.

It's somewhat comical from a historic perspective, since IIRC it was mostly Mexicans employed as "crackers".

[Darth Wong]

My kids called them "brown people" because we never told them what the "correct" term is, and they watch very very little TV. So a child, if given no particular input, will naturally refer to them as "brown people" because that's the most straightforward description.

They're getting older now so they're using the more accepted terminology, but that was their first impulse, and why not?

[Lord Poe]

Avery Brooks

It is not necessarily a history of black and white that Brooks is interested in, however, but that of brown instead. In one of his rare interviews, he explained to Logan that he likes to refer to himself as brown "because I am brown in the color spectrum. I have studied the history and the journey of my people and the various labels that we have had to distinguish us from other peoples. I particularly like 'brown' because it is so very rich." Brooks is quick to point out that he does not correct people who refer to him as being black.

[Havok]

Gil is correct; at least in what I can glean from my redneck contemporaries here in Alachua County.

It's somewhat comical from a historic perspective, since IIRC it was mostly Mexicans employed as "crackers".

What's that? My people had others working hard under US?

This is just silly. The back peddling that the principal did was ridiculous, that they let an involved parent, employee or not, talk to this kid without his own parent there is just fucking stupid. That should be in Principling 101. This will probably end with a reprimand by the school board for both employees and a very strong apology to this kid and his family.

How does the news even find out about this shit anyway?

[Havok]

My kids called them "brown people" because we never told them what the "correct" term is, and they watch very very little TV. So a child, if given no particular input, will naturally refer to them as "brown people" because that's the most straightforward description.

They're getting older now so they're using the more accepted terminology, but that was their first impulse, and why not?

I dunno, if my little sister, when she was still young, called you a "yellow person" I would wonder why and make her stop. Of course I've never met a person of Asian decent that is actually yellow either. Brown is definitely a skin color though.
If I recall correctly, she just used the terms boy and girl and color never came into it. My mother is very anti-racist and may have corrected her at an early age, but I would have to check to be sure.

[Lord Poe]

Lessee...

I remember at a REAL young age, my sister and I being slapped in the mouth for using the term, "wetback". In the mid-70's, my gradfather had a hispanic friend he called, "the greasemonkey" because he was a backyard mechanic. In fact, this guy and a bunch of others, white, black, etc. called themselves "grease monkeys" because they'd fix all the cars in the neighborhood, because no one could afford to go to an actual shop. My father was included in this group. Now of course, "greasemonkey" is never used in this way.

We could use "wop" all we wanted, but it didn't sound really funny, and unless you were Italian, no one knew what it meant anyway. (I grew up in a majority hispanic neighborhood). The only time "nigger" was ever used was snickering in the back of the class, along with "pussy" and "cock". I honestly don't recall anyone yelling "nigger" to anyone. I went to school with a bunch of Beavis and Buttheads, who would point to "Niger" on the globe and laugh for an hour.

The middle finger was known as the "curse finger" in the mid-70's schools, BTW.

We'd giggle like madmen in a grocery store as we passed the "Nips" cheese crackers. Conversely, my mother recalls when she could go into a candy store and buy "nigger babies".
(Some kind of licorice).