# Help, I have a new job in the ER and it is making me prejudiced **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506 "2012-12-29T19:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/181 "2012-12-30T20:17:38Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > It was more of a case of calling him out on mocking black English. You understand, that is what people are doing when they pretend to talk like black people and say, “My thumb be muthafuckin hurtin yo!” In the spirit of fighting ignorance, how would it really have been said? I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be an ‘is’ within a thousand yards of it, so you really could forgive somebody for fumbling the verb form. But on the other hand, Facebook has taught me that any time it’s mentioned that someone has “X dollars worth of tattoos” it means “hey everybody, look at the entitled negro.” There’s some magic property about black people that enables all white people within the immediate vicinity to be endowed with expertise in skin art appraisal. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/182 "2012-12-30T20:19:15Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > What judgments, accusations, and assumptions have I made against you or anyone else? Please quote something so others can see how much I’ve bullied you. Maybe they can make you feel better. Make me feel better? What are you on about? Look, as far as I know I’ve never interacted with you before so I don’t know you _at all_ which (for me) means you don’t have the ability to make it so I would need to feel better. That’s not possible so no worries there. Also, bullied me? Huh? You are greatly overestimating your abilities I’m afraid. This is a messageboard, it isn’t possible for you to bully me here. Let’s be serious and keep this in perspective. Interacting with you in this thread has been kind of funny considering all of the mental twisting you seem willing to do to assume that it isn’t POSSIBLE for something to be said because (what it boils down to) you personally haven’t heard it. That (among your reactions and answers to other comments here) is a peek at how you arrive at your conclusions and that’s good info to have so I can give your future comments all the consideration they need as far as I am concerned. THAT is what I meant. If you think I’m going to waste more time breaking each thing down for you then you are wrong. I’ve wasted enough time. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/183 "2012-12-30T20:19:28Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > When did Run DMC get away with using it the way the OP did? 86 [You Be Illin' - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Be_Illin)’ ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/184 "2012-12-30T20:20:41Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > In the spirit of fighting ignorance, how would it really have been said? I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be an ‘is’ within a thousand yards of it, so you really could forgive somebody for fumbling the verb form. Maybe, “My thumb hurt”. I would have forgiven anyone for misquoting by mistake. The tone of the thread, coupled with the OP not clarifying when call out made me believe it was mockery and not mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/185 "2012-12-30T20:20:56Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Fair enough, but if someone were to relay what an Italian whose English isn’t so great said to me in a mangled up, fake Italian accent, I’d automatically assume that person was mocking. Just tell me what the person said, and stoppa talkinga likea theesa, with the exaggerated hand motions. No Italian guy talks like that, and saying he did is bullshit. I deal every day with people whose first language is not English of any sort and yes, when they quote other people it IS through a filter of their first language. At a certain point that happens less and less but when you have poor skills in a dialect/language that is exactly the sort of thing that can happen unintentionally. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/186 "2012-12-30T20:21:17Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > But on the other hand, Facebook has taught me that any time it’s mentioned that someone has “X dollars worth of tattoos” it means “hey everybody, look at the entitled negro.” There’s some magic property about black people that enables all white people within the immediate vicinity to be endowed with expertise in skin art appraisal. Actually, when I hear comments about tattoos on someone, I usually think it’s about someone white. The tattoos naturally stand out a lot more on white skin vs. dark. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/187 "2012-12-30T20:21:51Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > 86 [You Be Illin' - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Be_Illin)’ This is so frustrating. ‘You be illin’’ is perfectly good Ebonics. It uses ‘be’ in the habitual aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/188 "2012-12-30T20:24:58Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > This is so frustrating. > > You be illin’ is perfectly good Ebonics. It uses be in the habitual aspect. And I assume dude’s dick was hurting for some time before he sought help, and continued to hurt until he received treatment. I’m seriously concerned about dude’s dick now. Sleeps, did anyone straighten it out? Man, Snit n’ Huff week is overstaying its welcome. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/189 "2012-12-30T20:25:02Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > And mocked it in a way that so obviously did not happen. He may as well have said a guy walked in there and said, “Ah, yessuh, I shol’ is mad ‘bout you not fixing my thumb. It be hurtin’, ah yessuh, hurtin’ real bad.” > > “Yo.” I forgot to add the “Yo” part which also didn’t happen. People, please, if you’re going to tell me some true story about the shiftless negroes you’ve encountered, get the speech patterns correct. “Black people use the word ‘be’ wrong, right? Yeah, okay, so this guy totally said, ‘My thumb be hurtin,’ and then he said ‘yo.’” Yes, we do use “be” wrong, but that’s now _how_ we use it wrong. Get it right! Where might these rules be written down that, according to you, every single black person has to follow? Are they exactly the same for New Orleans and in Las Vegas? How about New York, Texas and Los Angeles? The dialect is exactly the same everywhere? And everyone _ALWAYS_ follows those rules? If so, please tell me how you manage to get every single person to follow your rules, that info might come in handy. You need to grow the hell up and realize that _YOU_ are one of the reasons it is impossible to discuss race and racial issues in this country without it turning into a giant stinking mess. YOU are a part of the problem. Running around calling newcrasher racist because you _know_ the way every single black person in the U.S. speaks is rather stupid. Calling him racist because he lists black people he has had relationships with is stupid. If he didn’t list them you’d call him racist. He did list them and you call him racist. See a problem with that? newscrasher created this thread stating ‘I am finding myself looking at black people differently. I know in my heart this is not right, but I don’t know what to do to stop it.’ and what happens? Instead of having a rational discussion, you jump on the ‘newscrashers a racist’ bandwagon and hit the gas. Way to go! That ought to help. Slee ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/190 "2012-12-30T20:25:11Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > 86 [You Be Illin' - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Be_Illin)’ Yes, you be illin’ as in… Okay, you know what? Not explaining this anymore. Gah! _flips over table and leaves_ ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/191 "2012-12-30T20:26:50Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > This is so frustrating. > > You be illin’ is perfectly good Ebonics. It uses be in the habitual aspect. Not in the Run DMC song context. One day when I was chillin’ in Kentucky Fried Chicken Just mindin’ my business, eatin’ food and finger lickin’ This dude walked in lookin’ strange and kind of funny Went up to the front with a menu and his money He didn’t walk straight, kind of side to side He asked this old lady, “Yo, yo, um is this Kentucky Fried?” The lady said, “Yes man”, smiled and he smiled back He gave a quarter and his order, small fries, Big Mac! You be illin’, illin’ You be illin’, illin’ You be illin’, illin’ You be illin’ Since presumably the author of the song didn’t know “this dude” before the incident, where does the “habitual” part come from? ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/192 "2012-12-30T20:30:32Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Yes, you be illin’ as in… Okay, you know what? Not explaining this anymore. Gah! _flips over table and leaves_ Sigh, when Dre signed Eminem, when the Beastie Boys went gold, and when Vanilla Ice beseeched us all to collaborate and listen, I thought we had this thing licked. This is bullshit!! _upends table_ ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/193 "2012-12-30T20:34:00Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I don’t know _anyone_ who speaks with perfect grammar all the time, even native speakers screw up on occasion. Yet communication happens. Yes, but the key word is “occasion”. Whenever I hear white people simulating black speech, they are more than occasionally wrong. They are usually ALWAYS wrong. As I said before, it’s gotten to the point where I don’t notice it anymore. I almost expect it, truth be told. I don’t go around trying to replicate other people’s accents and dialects. Why? Because I know how ridiculous I’d sound. When I hear people using “be” gratituiously in an effort to speak like black folks, they sound foolish to me. I’d rather they just paraphrase in their own way as opposed to trying to replicate a syntax they are so clearly unfamiliar with. At least when they are speaking to me. I can’t correct a bad Russian accent or Appalachian accent, but I know something about a blaccent. As obviously **Nzinga** and **MOL** do, too. It sure would be nice if our experience was given some weight. I like the Beastie Boys and all, but even they can’t tell me how black folks speak. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/194 "2012-12-30T20:39:38Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Make me feel better? What are you on about? Look, as far as I know I’ve never interacted with you before so I don’t know you _at all_ which (for me) means you don’t have the ability to make it so I would need to feel better. That’s not possible so no worries there. > > Also, bullied me? Huh? You are greatly overestimating your abilities I’m afraid. This is a messageboard, it isn’t possible for you to bully me here. Let’s be serious and keep this in perspective. > > Interacting with you in this thread has been kind of funny considering all of the mental twisting you seem willing to do to assume that it isn’t POSSIBLE for something to be said because (what it boils down to) you personally haven’t heard it. That (among your reactions and answers to other comments here) is a peek at how you arrive at your conclusions and that’s good info to have so I can give your future comments all the consideration they need as far as I am concerned. THAT is what I meant. If you think I’m going to waste more time breaking each thing down for you then you are wrong. I’ve wasted enough time. Lawdhamercy. I don’t know what bug crawled up your ass, but you need to go lie down somewhere and rest for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/195 "2012-12-30T20:45:01Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It sure would be nice if our experience was given some weight. I like the Beastie Boys and all, but even they can’t tell me how black folks speak. No, but Run DMC did have a played to death popular song that violates the grammar rules some of you are claiming. We do hear you, and understand that it’s offensive to describe a subset of black people by emulating Ebonics, but I’m pretty confident that the OP and all the posters in this thread know that the OP’s experience is not typical, and that’s what we’ve been saying the entire time. Impoverished, sick people dependent on government assistance can have bad manners. But they come in all colors. And it’s unlikely that any other posters will attempt to transcribe a conversation that reveals a subculture’s identity. Touchy subject. Shouldn’t be, but still is. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/196 "2012-12-30T20:45:35Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Lawdhamercy. > > I don’t know what bug crawled up your ass, but you need to go lie down somewhere and rest for awhile. If it makes you feel better to characterize me this way, okay. You are imagining me worked up and angry and upset and feeling bullied and whatever else you’re pulling straight from your various orifices but I promise you that finding you mildly amusing is the limit of the mood change you’ve brought about in me today. I can see why it would behoove you to try to paint me as hysterical or upset but you’re just wrong. Sorry, but you are again grossly overestimating your ability and/or importance. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/197 "2012-12-30T20:45:43Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Not in the Run DMC song context. > > One day when I was chillin’ in Kentucky Fried Chicken > Just mindin’ my business, eatin’ food and finger lickin’ > This dude walked in lookin’ strange and kind of funny > Went up to the front with a menu and his money > > He didn’t walk straight, kind of side to side > He asked this old lady, “Yo, yo, um is this Kentucky Fried?” > The lady said, “Yes man”, smiled and he smiled back > He gave a quarter and his order, small fries, Big Mac! > > You be illin’, illin’ You be illin’, illin’ You be illin’, illin’ You be illin’ > > Since presumably the author of the song didn’t know “this dude” before the incident, where does the “habitual” part come from? Well, I could answer, “in the other verses” but that is too easy. He is saying that this man is a man who ills. Not just right now. Often. Please trust me on this. Please trust me that I understand exactly what Run DMC means with this song. It wasn’t a big deal that OP got busted mocking the English. I wasn’t even sure it WAS mockery at first, but now, I kinda know it was. That wasn’t a big deal and it doesn’t make him racist. The frustration I am feeling is probably an over reaction, but black posters on this board have been fighting this ‘[be](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12073132&postcount=22)’ [misunderstanding](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8572719&postcount=207)for years. Years, lord. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/198 "2012-12-30T20:50:26Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Well, I could answer, “in the other verses” but that is too easy. > > He is saying that this man is a man who ills. Not just right now. Often. That’s not logical. He sees this man do something this one time and comments on it. Yet you think that he says that the man does this often. How does he know he does this often? Does speaking Ebonics involve some kind of psychic powers? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/199 "2012-12-30T20:52:07Z")
**Sleeps With Butterflies** , I wasn’t the only one who commented on your quote. There were other posters who shared the exact same sentiments that I shared. Since it is clear I don’t know what you want me to say, I’d like for you to stop addressing me in this thread. I would really appreciate this. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506/200 "2012-12-30T20:54:04Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > That’s not logical. He sees this man do something this one time. Yet you think that he says that the man does this often. How does he know he does this often? Does speaking Ebonics involve some kind of psychic powers? Ok. I’m beat up, but I’m gonna keep pluggin. In the song, there are several more verses. In those verses, more illin’ ensues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-have-a-new-job-in-the-er-and-it-is-making-me-prejudiced/645506.md?page=11)