It's 6:20 am, Bear With Me (Warning: the 'N-word' appears below)
I would just like to say I am terribly amused by the effect the internet (and the subsequent game of Mass Telephone) has on people. My work is calling the staff picnic a 'cookout' this year, because the word picnic is now offensive. If you are confused as I am, I'm not surprised. I wracked my brain trying to figure out how picnic could possibly offend anyone and was finally enlightened by one of my co-workers. It would seem, picnic derives from the phrase 'pick a nigger' which was an event during which white slavers would get together and hold the NFL draft of slavery. I forgot all about this conversation until I was awakened by the ungodly heat at 5:30 this morning, at which point, like all normal people, I was driven to etymological research. I found the true urban legend to be only slightly different, yet much more horrific: white people would 'pick a nigger' to lynch, not work on their plantations. The actual origin, of course, is innocuous. It derives from the French term 'piquenique' which is then broken down further into piquer (to pick) and gibberish that rhymes. It would seem the original picnics were what we now know as potlucks.
All this got me thinking about the gullibility of people, and our willingness to become outraged, especially in regards to things what may be racist.
"Many Black people are too quick to believe negative rumors; therefore, I refuse to contribute to national ignorance. These type of hoaxes only serve to make Black people look stupid and by no means is an advancement in education. It is too easy to go to the library and research the origin of words in dictionaries and/or encyclopedias to believe and spread every bit or garbage that comes through cyberspace."
--Richard R. Jones, Black Voice News (quoted from Snopes.com)
I think he's right, but I don't think the appearance of ignorance and stupidity is limited to Black people. This gullibility extends to sympathetic and guilt-ridden white people, as well.
As a side note, I realized I have an issue with capitalizing 'black' and 'white' in reference to race, but have no problem capitalizing 'African-American' or 'Caucasian.' I think my subconscious refuses to recognize the ridiculousness of the lengths we go to be PC.
Oh, and Brian, I thought of you while writing this jumbled mess of contemplation and exhaustion.
Note: this may get edited when I wake up in the morning and realize I've made a complete ass of myself.
Bibliography of sorts:
http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/picnic.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_etymology (filled with many other interesting factoids)
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blpicnic.htm
http://takeourword.com/Issue032.html (it's about 3/4 down the page and one of my new fav websites)
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/jan04.htm
All this got me thinking about the gullibility of people, and our willingness to become outraged, especially in regards to things what may be racist.
"Many Black people are too quick to believe negative rumors; therefore, I refuse to contribute to national ignorance. These type of hoaxes only serve to make Black people look stupid and by no means is an advancement in education. It is too easy to go to the library and research the origin of words in dictionaries and/or encyclopedias to believe and spread every bit or garbage that comes through cyberspace."
--Richard R. Jones, Black Voice News (quoted from Snopes.com)
I think he's right, but I don't think the appearance of ignorance and stupidity is limited to Black people. This gullibility extends to sympathetic and guilt-ridden white people, as well.
As a side note, I realized I have an issue with capitalizing 'black' and 'white' in reference to race, but have no problem capitalizing 'African-American' or 'Caucasian.' I think my subconscious refuses to recognize the ridiculousness of the lengths we go to be PC.
Oh, and Brian, I thought of you while writing this jumbled mess of contemplation and exhaustion.
Note: this may get edited when I wake up in the morning and realize I've made a complete ass of myself.
Bibliography of sorts:
http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/picnic.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_etymology (filled with many other interesting factoids)
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blpicnic.htm
http://takeourword.com/Issue032.html (it's about 3/4 down the page and one of my new fav websites)
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/jan04.htm