Prometheus 6

This was interesting to me in that I don't have the same mistrust for a black person using a "white" accent -- I have the opposite. Of course, my life experience was not average, and I was probably exposed to a higher percentage of well-educated black people than the average person.

Language is something that is hard wired into our brains. One of the video projects I worked on was one for a NY institute that was studying infant comprehension of language, and the experiment that I worked on was one that used an audio track that was mismatched with time shifting to the video. I believe that the study found that infants of any age were very disturbed and upset by half-second mismatches, and children as small as nine months or so were disturbed and upset by mismatches as small as two or three frames (1/10th of a second.)

I think this really goes back to expectations. Steroetyping is human nature, and the real issue is why we pick the stereotypes we do. Black or white accents on black people don't disturb me, but I tend to be put off by black people with NY accents (we don't get many here) while I have different expectations of white people with NY accents (expecting them to be gruff and impatient without them expressing anything else that would lead me in that direction.)

Accent has always been important, and for a long, long time has been the biggest barrier to class (something that George Bernard Shaw harped on over and over.) People distrust blacks with "white" accents? Throw off ebonics anyway. It is better to be slighly distrusted than to be assumed ignorant and stupid. Having spoken ebonics isn't bad, but it is limiting, just like someone from Marshall Texas who can't speak in anything other than a thick drawl.

Ebonics is enriching of one's communication.

Like other counter-cultural vernacular, including say vulgarity, it can often add a great deal while making a point. This forum is far more entertaining (sorry, p6) for the richness of prose found here.

After all, we're not applying for a job around here.

You were already nutty enough the last year. I tried coming back in mid-December or so but you were still pretty deranged, so I gave you more time to cool off.

I damn near got busted on fruitcakes this year. I sent out six of the things -- five at $25 a pop, and a big ass $60 to my cousin who is being an "evil mercenary contractor" in Iraq teaching Marines to be firemen. (If he got more than one piece of it before he was overrun by homesick Marines I'd be surprised.)

Well keep in mind I ban people that call me racist after being welcome for months on end to express themselves freely in my space.

Most folks don't know that because it's only happened once.

But I know YOU know.

DW, I don't mind if you're entertained. I mind when that's your reason for participating.

chmod 444 entertainment

Are you talking about banning me? If you are, I don't recall it. As I recall the exchange, you got crazy, I said, "hey, if you are going to keep being crazy I'm leaving," you said, "I'm gonna be crazy all the way through the election!" and I said "okay" and took a few months away.

Okay.

Still, keep it in mind, because I remember you becoming offensive for no reason.

I was curious myself, and it was this post on Feb 24 that sent me away. I still say that you were acting like a bigot, and I'm still not convinced that anything has changed.

I hung out here before because it was someplace that I could disagree without being shouted down or have my sanity or intelligence questioned. At that time, this turned into a place where I could simply disagree and then get ridiculed, and I had no reason to stick around.

You need to leave again.

You may be right -- if I do, I'll shake the dust from my feet and be gone. I want to remind you of something your wrote a while ago and directed me to:

Let's examine the facts here. According to the Census Bureau's Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin [PDF], six out of eight people in this country classify themselves as white. Black people are approximately 12% of the population; that's roughly every eigth person..

What I want to do is reverse the situation.

Imagine that of every eight people you see in public spaces, six are Black. Your bosses are Black. Your kid's teachers are Black. You go to the newsstand and see Ebony and Savoy but not Time and People.

Now, imagine that roughly one third of these Black people, that's one out of every four people you encounter lets you know, through body language, shying away or even sometimes a direct statement, that they think you are a racist bastard.

These are people who don't know you and never will. But it's pretty clear—not blatantly obvious, by pretty clear—that they are uncomfortable around you. They visibly relax when you say something that indicates you're not going to invoke white privilege. A few that do know you will ask your opinion with the inflection that indicates the collective "you." A few others will occasionally squeeze their butt-cheeks tight and add a nasal twang to their voice as a sign of solidarity with you. And you know if you, even accidentally, validate those assumptions in any way you will be ostracized to some degree, even my other white people.

You with me? Really?

Good. You now have your own personal Negro. Feed it well and ask it questions once in a while.

I don't need to do that as an exercise. You described my childhood very well (in addition to the wrong of putting a child in the position of being something to be feared.)

The problem is when I showed up and you started asking me questions, you didn't like the answers.

The problem was you called me a pig and a bigot.

Shake the dust and begone. I'm not wasting my time clarifying the situation any further than that. Any more comments and I'll block every IP address at Haynes and Boone, L.L.P.