Salon: Obama is "uppity".

[BlooInBloo]

Phew - busy day for the DU bigot-defense brigrade.



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

:rofl: Then they changed the subtitle without so much as an "if you please". :rofl:

Same old, same old.
Male: go-getter. Female: Bitch.
White: motivated. Black: uppity.

It really makes one wonder how they've been able to run with the same trick for so long. (No it doesn't: "good whites" let them.)


EDIT: Linked to pic.

[illinoisprogressive]

1. Salon is known to have a real problem with Obama. They have been

trashing him for months. some bloggers have even called them on it and asked what their problem was.

[NobleCynic]

69. If they've been running negative press on Obama

and they used the phrase uppity, it is quite difficult to see it as anything but subtle racism. I've heard the phrase used to describe whites before, but only if the person being described was either a child or being treated as one. And only very rarely have I seen it used so. Using it this way here leaves little to no defensible ground for them to stand on. Withdrawing the comment and changing the subtitle to say smug instead of uppity mitigates the harm, but does not exactly atone.

It certainly doesn't help that the tone of the article is ... postive-ish. Well, maybe... I'd call it mostly positive press. I'm not sure whether or not the amount of time they spend taking about his negative qualities helps to humanize him or just make him seem arrogant. A little of both perhaps.

Still, I think Salon has a decent record on other issues so I hesitate the call them outright racist. In this case however, I think "unmitigated, insensitive pricks" might be appropriate.

[Quantess]

2. That's a cheap shot

and it makes Salon look bad, in my opinion. They should be ashamed.

[azurnoir]

42. Not just Salon

Consider that they're blog reporter Peter Daou is on hiatus to work on Hilary's campaign it makes all their Obama stuff look like left handed shilling for Hilary

[Bicoastal]

3. I'm just curious...

...can the word "uppity" be applied outside of a racial context? Recently, I've only heard it used ironically by blacks and unironically by racists, but doesn't it technically mean the same thing as "stuck-up" or "arrogant"?

[BlooInBloo]

4. Aaahhh... I knew they couldn't be far away....

[originalpckelly]

8. Just a sample from Google, search results for uppity, with black or white behind:

"uppity black"
10,900 results

"uppity white"
584 results

It is a term used to disparage what is thought, by certain Neanderthalesque white folks, to be a black person getting "out of their place" or something similar.

[tblue]

25. I can think of several uppity whites: Ch*ney, *, and R*ve, for starters

[RagingInMiami]

28. "Uppity N_gger"

40,500 results.

[originalpckelly]

30. Well, actually, when I search I actually searched for that particular phrase...

"uppity n****r" returns 686 results.

"uppity honky" returns 127

"uppity cracker" returns 644

"uppity whitey" returns 53

[BlooInBloo]

37. Make it into "uppity negro".

[pnwmom]

38. I don't know where you searched, but I found 134,000 hits

for "uppity Negro."

And 10,900 for "uppity black."

[originalpckelly]

46. I used the one...

and not the other. It's absolutely astonishing how many hits are returned with that exact phrase. Saddening and maddening.

[Quantess]

53. Saddening and maddening, but not surprising,

given that uppity n____ is a stock phrase from the 20th century.

[RagingInMiami]

47. I am looking at the top right hand corner where it says

"Results 1 - 10 of about 40,500 for uppity nigger. (0.06 seconds)"

Where are you looking?

[originalpckelly]

50. If you put quotation marks around a search term in Google...

it will only return pages with that particular phrase.

If you don't put the quotes in, it will return any pages with uppity and n-word on them, but not necessarily together.

[RagingInMiami]

54. Yes, I know

[tblue]

9. Back in the day it meant 'acting confident around white folks.' That used to justify a beating or

a lynching.

[BlooInBloo]

12. Everybody knows that. The reason for such questions...

... is to get an it's-theoretically-possible-that-it's-not-racist-so-they-should-be-given-the-benefit-of-the-doubt thing going. It's white folks' favorite tactic.

[originalpckelly]

14. You're right, and I'm white too.

That's exactly what it is. No one wants to admit racism is still a problem, because then folks would have to do something about it.

[BlooInBloo]

16. How else would I know? (grin)

[tblue]

15. Ohhhh. Sorry. It's a way to remind people on the QT "Obama's black, I mean really really

black." Don't let the light skin and the way he talks fool you.

[pnwmom]

31. I have never seen it used except to mean "outside of your station."

And I've never seen it used except with regard to African Americans.

Salon should have known better.

[uppityperson]

34. Yes. I almost chose a different "uppity" name

uppitybitch, but decided I didn't want people to focus on what sex I was. It took me a while to do my profile, a lot of people thought I was male.

[Quantess]

68. I have seen bumper stickers that say

"Uppity Women Unite" or something like that.
So that gives me a wider context on the usage of uppity. However, we all know "uppity women" is code for "bitches", and, that nobody would actually say "uppity women", they'd just say "bitches".

I would guess "uppity negro", or worse, "uppity ______" are phrases that most people over the age of 25 have heard, unfortunately.

[Kixel]

39. It was used in a LTTE to describe a friend of mine

A white, middle aged woman who's an anti war activist. I have been calling her uppity for fun, but in reality, it was obviously meant to marginalize her credibility. She's obviously acting up in the eyes of the pro war nut job.

[badgerpup]

41. Term gets applied to women too...

...regardless of skin color...and we get writ about too!

http://www.amazon.com/Uppity-Women-Ancient-Times-Vicki/dp/1573240109/sr=1-1/qid=1171256175/ref=sr_1_1/103-6199519-2063069?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Uppity-Women-Renaissance-Vicki-Leon/dp/157324127X/sr=1-2/qid=1171256237/ref=sr_1_2/103-6199519-2063069?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1573240397/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-6199519-2063069#reader-link

:headbang::toast::grouphug:

[alittlelark]

61. Who ya gettin your TALKIN' Points from, Willis?

Linguists all over are salivating for an answer.

[originalpckelly]

5. Maybe a collective foot should go "uppity" Salon's ass!

:grr:

[qanda]

7. LOL

Good one.

[originalpckelly]

11. I'm just so sick of this racist bullshit, you know, people don't have to be...

a member of the KKK to be racist. Hell, they don't even have to use the n-word, they just have to have a racist mindset.

[qanda]

26. That is so true.

Then when people call them on it, they blame the victims for being too insensitive.

[Clark2008]

74. And its these types of people I worry about in a general

election should Obama be the nominee.

There are far too many of them, IMHO. I saw a lot of them when Ford was running for Senate. People you would never DREAM of being racist... but, when they thought a black man might get into a position of power... wow, there they were.

Sad.

[tblue]

10. Or go medieval on they hiney

[originalpckelly]

13. Well, it looks like someone's at least gone a little Jim Crow...

this is sickening. :puke:

[tblue]

6. Did somebody photoshop him a blond natural?

Salon can be sa-limy. They couldn't call him 'outspoken', 'bold', 'self-confident'?

[Bonobo]

17. No, they DIDN'T! Holy sheet! How does that get by editors!

[BlooInBloo]

18. Self-answering question.

[Spider Jerusalem]

19. Is Joe Biden writing headlines for Salon these days?

That's even worse than "clean and articulate".

[originalpckelly]

20. Yeah, because that word "uppity" used to be followed by the n-word in the South...

[BlooInBloo]

23. Used to?

[spacelady]

62. Hey, at least he is not "niggardly", Barf to Salon & their

Gaily grasping golddigging articulate spawn. I smell something & it is not Parfum.

[Colobo]

21. Subtle racism at it's best

This is just the beginning, folks... but I feel Obama will overcome all of this, and make history.

[pnwmom]

36. Nope. Not subtle at all.

Disgusting.

[BuelahWitch]

22. Salon is a has-been news source

The bloggers surpassed them years ago. They're just showing how irrelevant they are.

[Warren DeMontague]

24. They. Did. Not. Say. That.

Goooooooooooooood Grief.

[incapsulated]

27. Freudian Slip, heh?

Assholes, I'm glad they were caught.

[ariesgem]

29. Submit a letter to the editor here.....

http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/new/form.html

:mad:

They're getting bombarded with complaints
http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/view/?show=all

[BlooInBloo]

33. Thank you!

[originalpckelly]

32. The article was written by Edward McClelland...

"Edward McClelland: Edward "Ted" McClelland is the author of The Third Coast, a Great Lakes travelogue to be published this fall by Chicago Review Press. His writing has appeared in Mother Jones, Utne, Salon, Stop Smiling, and Potomac Review. This article is a companion piece to his essay "Living the Lansing Dream," which was included in the anthology Next: Young American Writers on the New Generation. That book was published by W.W. Norton in 1994, when McClelland was still young. McClelland also perpetrated Horseplayers: Life at the Track, an account of his jones for playing the ponies. He lives by the water, in Grand Beach, Michigan."

[AspenRose]

35. Good Lord.

Wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not.

[ellie]

40. They changed

uppity to smug.

[BlooInBloo]

43. Yup - That's what my "Then they changed the subtitle..." referred to.

[dysfunctional press]

44. uppity...but clean....AND articulate...

to quote joe biden- this guy is the whole package, man...

and people think that america is ready for a black president?

[treestar]

45. Them's fightin' words to me

Call someone "uppity" and I know they are in the right! That is, the good. (Not the political right, lol).

[Katherine Brengle]

48. Ew.

:puke:

[alittlelark]

49. Infighting is a nasty habit among progressives.

Competitors (pol or blog) create divisions among the 'herd of cats'.

[originalpckelly]

51. This goes beyond mere divisions, this is racist.

And it crosses the line bit time. I have to wonder who Salon is rooting for when I see something like this.

[alittlelark]

57. I understand the REACTION.

I also know that I subscribed for 2 years and have gleaned for a few more.

Either accidental (Contributor issue) or endemic.... I doubt the latter.



I'll be honest - they were around early and strong - but I will give the benefit of the doubt (for now).

[BlooInBloo]

60. which is why it still happens. Fucking "good whites".

[alittlelark]

64. I Replied further up the thread.

Yeah, the Linguists in our graduating class (Anth) were given multiple offers (1992). The rest of us floundered. Linguistics was the $$$ for the school and for the graduate specializing (so far beyond boring subject matter) - but I 'get it' now)- I have no contact w/ any - in fact they are not found in a Google search.

[autorank]

63. That has exactly nothing to do with a racist remark in a header.

Of course progressives do that. The point of this very smart OP is that they're a bunch
of goof balls who put blatantly racist remarks into a story header.

They should be ashamed.

[Clinton_Co_Regulator]

52. Why the hell isn't this on the home page yet?

K + R

[BlooInBloo]

55. (shrug) annanicolesmith is more important?

[blogslut]

56. Wow

I can't imagine anyone using the word "uppity" without knowing its implication.

[BlooInBloo]

58. Nobody does.

[midnight]

59. O really? Last I heard they were accusing him

of being a good speaker too.

[autorank]

Salon changed it...

The new word is, guess (there's a big clue)...

"Today he drips with charisma and inspires fawning admiration from all quarters. But Obama began his journey as a

smug

young man with little political future"

[BlooInBloo]

66. Yup.

[fortyfeetunder]

65. Salon is fishing for publicity again

Bashing Obama won't buy them anything. They are lowering themselves to the like of OxyRush.

[Chulanowa]

67. So, how long until they'll start calling him "boy", I wonder?

But only because he's, y'know, young!

Riiiiiight.

[Hekate]

70. Where he was born & grew up, the word uppity isn't even in the vocabulary

In all the many years I lived in Hawaii I never heard that word in a conversation. Heard it on television in the 1950s and 1960s, coming from the Jim Crow South. Never elsewhere or in any other context.

So not only is Salon being racist by harking back to that Jim Crow South, they are displaying incredible ignorance. By the time young "Barry" Obama arrived on the Mainland he was in college, and he didn't move East from California until later. I've never heard any Californians use the word uppity either.

When exactly would he have been among people who would ever have called him an "uppity young man"? They use that word at Harvard?

This is disgusting. I thought Salon was better than that.

Hekate

[autorank]

71. I have a special place in my heart for Salon (not;)

Salon, Mother Jones & the Tortured Dialog

Salon ran a drive by article on RFK's Rolling Stone article by RFK Jr. on the stolen election in
Ohio, 2004. The above was my response.

This post is still blowing my mind. What a total lapse in knowledge, taste, and common decency!

[Doondoo]

72. bump

[Solly Mack]

73. Just didn't know his place, I guess...

Damn uppity people, behaving as if they are equals

[JNelson6563]

75. "Uppity"?? Yeah, ever since the war of

northern aggression those blacks have been pretty uppity.

Oy. Truly stunning.

Julie

[salin]

76. Bah!

How disgusting. bye-be salon.

[Clinton_Co_Regulator]

77. K + R Bossman

Sho Nuff