Sarah Palin

[Eric_T_Cheng]

Arianna Huffington’s editorial on Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin: A Trojan Moose Concealing Four More Years of George Bush.

Did Sarah Palin wrongfully push to have her ex-brother-in law fired? Was she really against the “Bridge to Nowhere?” Did she really sell Alaska’s plane on eBay, or just list it on eBay? Did she actually have any substantial duties commanding the Alaska National Guard?

The correct answer to all these questions is: who cares? Which isn’t to say these aren’t valid questions, or that Palin and the McCain camp aren’t playing it fast, loose, and coy with each of them. The point is that Palin, and the circus she’s brought to town, are simply a bountiful collection of small lies deliberately designed to distract the country from one big truth: the havoc that George Bush and the Republican Party have wrought, and that John McCain is committed to continuing.

Every second of this campaign not spent talking about the Republican Party’s record, and John McCain’s role in that record, is a victory for John McCain.

[PeterGinsberg]

I’ve seen it used a lot, and I can’t recall a time when it was used in racial context. And most Dictionary entries mention no current racial connotations, although one etymology refers to blacks using it in reference to other blacks.

Yes, the word was born in the south as black slang, and then was used for 100 or so years by white southerners to talk about blacks who didn’t know their place. Or, let’s quote the AP attached to the story: “Westmoreland — a white man who was born in 1950 and raised in the segregated South — said he didn’t know that “uppity” was commonly used as a derogatory term for blacks seeking equal treatment.”

I appreciate that you haven’t run into it in your life, but it’s way more connected to racism than the word gypsy whatever internet dictionaries say.

If you think Lynn “10 commandments on the courthouse” Westmoreland doesn’t know the connotations of the word, you’re kidding yourself.

[Rimbo]

I dunno, I grew up in the South, and you didn’t hear the word “uppity” without the word “nigra” (the “more polite” way of spelling it) right after it.

The contexts I’ve most heard it used was in reference to women, but almost always sarcastically.

[russellmz00]

Wait… “uppity” has racist connotations?

This is some kind of a joke, right?

let’s use some numbers:

1,900,000 results from google for uppity
773,000 for uppity -black

[Rimbo]

Yes, the word was born in the south as black slang, and then was used for 100 or so years by white southerners to talk about blacks who didn’t know their place. Or, let’s quote the AP attached to the story: “Westmoreland — a white man who was born in 1950 and raised in the segregated South — said he didn’t know that “uppity” was commonly used as a derogatory term for blacks seeking equal treatment.”

I appreciate that you haven’t run into it in your life, but it’s way more connected to racism than the word gypsy whatever internet dictionaries say.

If you think Lynn “10 commandments on the courthouse” Westmoreland doesn’t know the connotations of the word, you’re kidding yourself.

Lynn’s usage is pretty clearly racist, but not because he chose to use the word “uppity;” if he’d used a different word with the same meaning (like “presumptuous” or “acting above their station” or something), it still would have been racist.

And as for “more connected to racism than the word gypsy” – you might want to read up on the word “gypsy” and its history before you go there.

[Rimbo]

let’s use some numbers:

1,900,000 results from google for uppity
773,000 for uppity -black

Of course, the fact that recent news and blogs and BBS posts are all yappin’ about this affects those numbers not one bit, eh?

[russellmz00]

Of course, the fact that recent news and blogs and BBS posts are all yappin’ about this affects those numbers not one bit, eh?

Results 1 - 100 of about 904,000 for uppity -obama
Results 1 - 100 of about 611,000 for uppity -obama -black
Results 1 - 100 of about 582,000 for uppity -obama -black -african -negro.

[russellmz00]

Of course, the fact that recent news and blogs and BBS posts are all yappin’ about this affects those numbers not one bit, eh?

if only there were some sort of way we could take obama out of the equation.

Results 1 - 100 of about 904,000 for uppity -obama
Results 1 - 100 of about 611,000 for uppity -obama -black

[magnet]

The contexts I’ve most heard it used was in reference to women, but almost always sarcastically.

That’s probably because nowadays most (but not all) people have the good sense not to use it in reference to blacks.

Read the autobiography of Malcolm X, and you’ll see that not long ago people were more … insensitive.

[Lizard_King]

Lynn’s usage is pretty clearly racist, but not because he chose to use the word “uppity;” if he’d used a different word with the same meaning (like “presumptuous” or “acting above their station” or something), it still would have been racist.

See, here’s the thing, Rimbo. You’re going on your initial gut feeling plus a few internet searches. Despite the potential in the latter, you have no frame of reference for understanding how fucked you are in the former.

You’ll often see derogatory terms for one group passed over to another, thus “doubly” insulting the current target by connotation. That’s why it’s not surprising to see it used on women acting above their station.

The point is that it’s a term specifically adopted by a majority group in order to describe a problematic member of a minority one wishes to keep in their place. And for most of its lifespan thus far, the focus was on African Americans.

And as for “more connected to racism than the word gypsy” – you might want to read up on the word “gypsy” and its history before you go there.

I wouldn’t have said it like he does, but set the measuring contest aside for a moment. If you can understand gypsy as a potentially problematic term, it shouldn’t be a stretch to understand this one as having specific (and important) racial connotations that reveal a lot about the person who uses it, depending on the context and situation (plenty of room for satire, irony, etc).

But here’s the point of contrast I would use: I can believe some random guy in America would use the term gypsy without meaning any harm by it. Not because it isn’t potentially bad, but because it’s common to be ignorant of it. But I don’t believe this guy in this place with that history would say uppity without it being a loaded term in precisely the way malphigian described, and I think it’s a safe generalization to make about the word.

[PeterGinsberg]

And as for “more connected to racism than the word gypsy” – you might want to read up on the word “gypsy” and its history before you go there.

I’m familiar with it. I meant that practically no one using the word “gypped” in the U.S. has any clue about it’s connections, unlike the word “uppity”.

[John_Many_Jars]

Rimbo, seriously. This is the main connotation of that word — it exists to modify “nigger” just as “pendulous” exists to modify “breasts.”

If you don’t believe it, ask ten random white men if they’re feeling uppity today, and then ask ten random black men.

[Phil_Stein]

let’s use some numbers:

1,850,000 results from google for uppity
773,000 for uppity -black

First - let me be clear. I have a vague sense that uppity is a negative word used somewhat disproportionately in describing blacks, though I also think I’ve heard the word being used in other contexts. Anyways, I don’t really have a dog in the “uppity” fight overall.

But I thought the above analysis was interesting, and I wanted to extend it a bit…

Results found via Google for the following:
uppity : 1,850,000 *
uppity -black : 816,000

Hmm, ok, roughly in line with the quoted figures. But then:

uppity -white : 792,000

Hmm, interesting…

OK, let’s go a little further:

uppity -green : 1,010,000

Are they talking about environmentalists?

uppity -purple : 1,260,000

Well, only a few hundred thousand of the purple folks are uppity.

uppity -gray : 1,230,000
uppity -grey : 1,280,000

Can we just agree on a spelling, folks?

uppity -yellow : 1,190,000
uppity -blue : 957,000

Yeah, so there are a lot of uppity primary-color folks.

But what about decorator colors?

uppity -beige : 1,330,000
uppity -teal : 1,330,000
uppity -mauve : 1,340,000

(Actually, I don’t know if those are decorator colors or not, but it’s hard to think up weird colors past 11 pm.)

uppity -ochre : 1,950,000

Hey, this ADDS to the results total - no fair!

*The 1,850,000 overall figure changed over the course of the time I was playing with this stuff. IIRC, it was a bit higher when I started doing this tinkering. It’s at 1,850,000 at the moment, though.

[Angie_Gallant]

Gov. Palin charged the state for nights that she spent in her own home instead of the governor’s mansion, and claimed reimbursement for flights for her 7 year old daughter since she was “conducting state business.”

[Eric_T_Cheng]

Arianna Hoffington brought up a good point. Why are people wasting their time on Gov. Palin when they should be hitting Sen. McCain’s relationship with President Bush? Gov. Palin is a distraction.

[Dave_Markell]

Gov. Palin is a distraction.

Given the big bounce the Republican ticket has seen since her selection, I’m not so sure of that. For the past week, she’s been the story.

[Creole_Ned]

Yeah, after all this, who gives a flip about Palin (or Biden)? Have VP candidates had any kind of impact on voting in the past?

The obsession over Palin is silly. The focus should be on Obama and McCain.

[tomchick]

The difference with Palin is that no one knows who she is. Folks hadn’t heard of her before the Friday announcement. She’s new, exciting, sexy*, and even mysterious. This will die down, but for now, everyone’s talked out about Obama and McCain. Heck, most of us have already talked out the stupid stuff about Biden’s plagiarism. Hence, the fascination with Palin.

-Tom

• Literally!

[Rimbo]

Let’s start with where we agree:

But I don’t believe this guy in this place with that history would say uppity without it being a loaded term in precisely the way malphigian described, and I think it’s a safe generalization to make about the word.

Yes. And I believe that in this case, the comment was racist even if he’d chosen another word, because his intent was clear.

That’s why it’s not surprising to see it used on women acting above their station.

The whole idea that a person could believe another is “acting above his station” implies some kind of bigotry or superiority issue. It doesn’t have to be specific to a particular race, or racism in general.

See, here’s the thing, Rimbo. You’re going on your initial gut feeling plus a few internet searches. Despite the potential in the latter, you have no frame of reference for understanding how fucked you are in the former.

Lizard_King, right now all I have is the word of a handful of Dictionaries plus my gut feeling going against a handful of random internet posters’ gut feelings. Dictionaries, as a general rule, don’t tend to be shy about covering connotation and etymology.

This is the main connotation of that word

Then why don’t any dictionaries cover that? Why is it that after 25 years of living in Texas and certainly more than my fair share of racists, I’d never heard of this?

If you don’t believe it, ask ten random white men if they’re feeling uppity today, and then ask ten random black men.

I wouldn’t say it to anyone, because as I explained to LK above, the word represents a dirty, nasty idea whether it’s specific to any race or not.

[Jason_McCullough]

Dictionaries, huh?

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
uppity from up; originally used by blacks of other blacks felt to be too self-assertive (first recorded use is in “Uncle Remus”). The parallel British variant uppish (1678) originally meant “lavish;” the sense of “conceited, arrogant” being first recorded 1734.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

Why is it that after 25 years of living in Texas and certainly more than my fair share of racists, I’d never heard of this?

You got lucky? I sure heard it.

On a related note, check out the one for cotton.

1286, from O.Fr. coton, ult. (via Prov., It., or O.Sp.) from Ar. qutn, perhaps of Egyptian origin. Philip Miller of the Chelsea Physic Garden sent the first cotton seeds to American colony of Georgia in 1732. Cotton-picking was first recorded in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, but the noun meaning “contemptible person” dates to around 1919, probably with racist overtones that have faded over the years. The Cottonian library in the British Museum is from Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1570-1631).

More.