# Don't say "That's awful white of you," please. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 3, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941 "2006-03-03T19:32:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/241 "2015-03-24T11:13:42Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > When I say “That’s mighty white of you”, I’m inevitably referring to the colour of said person’s robes and hood. Plagued by druids round your neck of the woods too eh? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/242 "2015-03-24T11:32:23Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Plagued by druids round your neck of the woods too eh? Naah, [Catholics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capirote). ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/243 "2015-03-24T11:38:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Naah, [Catholics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capirote). Holy shit! I like this bit in the wiki article: > [@](#): > > The capirote, which predates such hoods, **is not to be confused** with the pointed hoods worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Um, yes. Yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/244 "2015-03-24T11:58:38Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Um, yes. Yes it is. To be fair, only the white ones are confusing. [Other colours](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Week_in_Spain#/media/File:Capuchones.jpg) are less shocking. Well, no, “less shocking” isn’t the right term 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/245 "2015-03-24T12:51:00Z")
I wouldn’t recommend calling the whaaambulance unless it’s a true PC emergency. Response times are spotty and you’ll get a bill for services that your victimhood insurance may not cover. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/246 "2015-03-24T13:01:39Z")
If your victimhood lasts for more than 4 hours, consult your physician. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/247 "2015-03-24T13:51:46Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I wouldn’t recommend calling the whaaambulance unless it’s a true PC emergency. Response times are spotty and you’ll get a bill for services that your victimhood insurance may not cover. Who needs the whaambulance–people sadfaced that someone told them they were being racist? They’ll get over that sadface soon enough, I’m sure. As I said a decade ago, much more politely than I’m likely to be now, using “mighty white of you” in any context other than mocking someone’s racism itself carries an undercurrent of racism. It implies that there’s something noble about being white. That’s gross. It’s not like I think you’re gonna put on the white robes of the Catholic Church (seriously, wtf?) or anything, but if your response is to call the whaambulance, I’ll think less of you than if you say, “holy crap, I hadn’t thought about that, I’ll stop using it that way.” What I won’t do is to refrain from pointing out the problems with the phrase because I’m concerned about your feelings. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/248 "2015-03-24T14:07:23Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Holy shit! > > I like this bit in the wiki article: > > Um, yes. Yes it is. And what are they burning with those club-like candles?! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/249 "2015-03-24T16:12:05Z")
At least people aren’t naming their black dogs “Nigger” anymore (I never experienced this in real life, but that was the name of the family dog in Sinclair Lewis’ race novel “Kingsblood Royal” (and apparently some people actually had dogs named thusly (circa 1947)). For awhile Mrs. J. and I were considering getting a yellow Lab pup and naming it “Buckwheat”, but figured people would get the wrong idea. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/250 "2015-03-24T20:04:50Z")
I’ve never heard the phrase spoken IRL other than ironically (and that rarely), but I’m a big fan of old movies. This was a not uncommon phrase in movies in the 30’s and 40’s (maybe even into the 50s), and it was definitely racially based. I even remember some old B movie where the main character (white) referred to a black character using this phrase. The black actor (Stepin Fetchit, IIRC) did a big googly-eyed double-take to make that impression over-the-top obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941/251 "2015-03-24T22:36:44Z")
> [@MrBlack](#): > > I am offended by your post. > Don’t you remember the lesson ‘sticks & stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me’. When I was a kid, saying that kind of thing inevitably resulted in someone getting beaned by a rock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-say-thats-awful-white-of-you-please/346941.md?page=12)