2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumAbout the word "ghetto"
AS a baby boomer, to me that word means the section of town where African-Americans live. It does not necessarily imply poverty but does recognize housing segregation.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)A hard core social activist knows what a ghetto is.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)dana_b
(11,546 posts)for AA people and Jewish people due to the Nazis.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)What some folks here are doing is vile, and here is the transcript
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511439516
and a full discussionhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/12511436844
msongs
(67,407 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)KT2000
(20,581 posts)remember the Elvis song about the ghetto?
His use of the word only showed his age, nothing more.
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)That's what people associate with the word. Much like living in the "hood."
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)Full Definition of ghetto
plural ghettos also ghettoes
1
: a quarter of a city in which Jews were formerly required to live
2
: a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure
3
a : an isolated group <a geriatric ghetto> b : a situation that resembles a ghetto especially in conferring inferior status or limiting opportunity <the pink-collar ghetto>
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghetto
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)from your link.
GHETTO Defined for Kids: a part of a city in which members of a particular group live in poor conditions
pat_k
(9,313 posts)Your point, and his clarification based on the traditional use of the term, are correct, as indicated by definition in Wikipedia.
But, the traditional use of the term, particularly in the context he used it, creates a problematic generalization. I wish he had acknowledged this in his clarification.
I don't think there is much argument that his statements are not a problem. Clearly, the way he expressed himself was apparently offensive to at least some of his potential supporters, intended or not. And that's a problem.
I'm not trying to smear. I'm a Bernie supporter. As such, I wish he had expressed himself better during the debate, or failing that, had done a better job of clarifying.
But done is done. Time to move on and just avoid statements that appear to embody such generalizations.
Nobody's perfect.
BumRushDaShow
(129,047 posts)he should have gone on and completed the '60s visualization by saying that this is where his "soul brothers" the "Negroes" lived so "honkys" can never understand.
I.e., there are at least 2 generations that have been born since those terms were in de rigeur usage, all of which have taken on increasingly stereotypical alternate meanings.
It's like being a bug trapped in amber, forever preserved from some ancient past.