Well, I am sometimes seen wearing a codpiece…
Man, the logical contortions some folks are putting themselves through in order to deny the obvious is just a little too sad to be funny.
It all seems to boil down to one of two propositions:
- It can’t be racist because I like them, or
- It can’t be racist because I’m like them
By these standards then it’s not racist to claim that “The Jews own the banks, the media, and the government!” because this statement does not claim Jews are genetically inferior to Gentiles.
Similarly, claims that “the Asians are taking over” or “the Chinese are going to own us all” aren’t “racist” because again, they contain no claims about Asians being genetically inferior. If anything, just the opposite.
I’m not inclined to click the links to read the whole story. However, on the “savage” and “animal” references note that blacks have a unique history in America in that they were not considered to be human beings when first brought to the New World. During chattel slavery, they were bought, sold, traded and treated just like animals often with the justification that they were not actual human beings. It was also a common belief that many who resisted captivity were savage beasts in need of taming, which meant incredible torture in order to force them into submission to white slavers. So, to refer to someone who bears that history as savage or an animal is offensive. This is not simply about “anybody with a different ethnic background”, but is more about anybody with such a unique historical background.
I’m not Martin Hyde, but I get the impression he was talking about individual persons. Like, I would call a serial rapist, no matter what color, a savage, wouldn’t you? Or if I see someone eating like a pig, shoveling food into their mouth, spraying it everywhere, spilling beer all over the place, I’d say, “god, he has the manners of a fucking farm animal.” But I’m talking about behavior here, in individual situations, you know? I would never use a racial slur, nor imply they’re doing so because they’re black.
Does that make sense? I mean, haven’t you ever said, “that guy is such a pig!” Or, “this room is a pig sty!” Context, and all that. Some words have more than one meaning.
Cumia? Racist prick.
I have no idea why you would believe this. I’ve never heard or understood “black community” to refer to any group (in the US) except for “black people in the US”.
Newsflash – if someone thinks black people are inferior due to culture and not DNA, they’re still racist.
Apparently so.
He used slurs like “savage”, “not human”, etc.
As a rule, I don’t call people “savages” or “animals”, or other words that have some history of dehumanization behind them, no matter their race. I find I can get by just fine describing people using words that don’t have a significant history of being used to dehumanize people.
I’m just offering my approach, not claiming that other approaches to language are inferior.
While pointing out repeatedly that the “savage” attacked a white person. Let’s not forget the context of how the terms were used.
Yeah, actually I’ll use any word I want. If someone is acting like a savage, I’d have no problem using that word to describe the person’s actions, regardless of their color. But if you’re calling someone a savage because they are black, and blacks are savages–that is racist.
Sorry, but you don’t get to limit my lexicon. To be honest I have no problem using the word nigger either (in conversations about racism), and some people can’t even hear the word without squirming. Anthony Cumia was using the terms animal/savage in a racist manner, but unlike nigger (which is intrinsically racist), the words animal/savage are not. End of discussion on that one, but thanks for playing.
Well you live in South Africa, here in America you won’t be thought a racist for using the term animal / savage in a non-racist way. “Those animals that raped that girl” for example is still a common type of phraseology and would be directed at rapists regardless of their ethnicity.
I have to admit, “rot bung” is pretty funny.
If a black person commits an act of savagery and you point this out, you’re in the clear. But white folks can at times have a nasty habit of calling black people savages or animals every time they tick them off, sort of like in this case.
I wouldn’t use ‘n*****’ either, but otherwise I agree entirely with this comment. If people act like savages, then they need to expect to be called savages, and I’ve never particularly refrained from doing so. There’s a trend in some circles to elide the distinction between civilized and savage behaviour, and I think it’s a trend that needs to be resisted.
Because he wants to believe it.
As I’ve said, I don’t have a particular problem with calling an individual a savage or an animal. In some cases, it’s accurate.
The racism is not calling a black person a savage; it’s calling black people savages.
By refusing to give that power up, you’re helping yourself to ill-gotten gains, and demanding the right to hurt people who don’t deserve to be hurt. You’re the bad guy.
I would never use the term “savage” or “animal” to refer to a black person for any reason. I’d find some other word or phrase. Because if I’m excoriating a black person for some reason, I want to make damn sure it’s damn clear that my excoriation has nothing at all to do with his skin color. And if I use “savage” or “animal” I’m likely to invite exactly that confusion.
Savages:
http://dialecticalreasoning.com/images/passive_resistance_fire_hose.jpg
And this is MILD savagery by these particular savages’ standards!
You don’t even want to see the heavy duty shit!
Yeah, savages are fuckin’ nasty people.
For you stupid people, the savages are the ones aiming the savagery tool in the above link, not the ones being dehumanized by it.
Frylock, if you feel that way, that’s fine. I disagree. If you have a person that say, molests children, they deserve to be called a savage, no matter what their color. I’d definitely call this guy a savage, wouldn’t you?
And to apply it to a white person, let’s look at Jeffrey Dahmer. The guy ate people, for crissakes! I’d say that’s pretty savage. Gary Heidnik one of the inspirations for Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs”, kidnapped women and kept them chained up in his basement where he’d torture and rape them. None of them deserve to be called human, if you ask me.
But that’s for another thread. As to the topic at hand, I sometimes get the impression that some people think as long as you don’t use outright racial slurs (the “n-word”, for example), you’re not REALLY racist. Because hey, the term can also be applied to a white person! Never mind that it’s all in HOW it’s used, as I said before. It’s kind of a way of rationalizing things. “Hey, I didn’t say NIGGER!” I said ANIMAL!!!"
Or once when I was working at Kmart, two women in my checkout line got into a fight – one was white, one was black. I don’t even remember what it was about, but the white woman called the black woman a “black bitch”. The white woman couldn’t understand why she was so angry about it. “I mean, she IS black! I couldn’t call her WHITE, could I???” (I just kind of did the “uh huh” nod and let her rant and got her through as fast as possible)