That has been happening too much lately… 
askeptic-born in Bessemer, Alabama.
There was a flap earlier in the year about an art installation in Tallahassee: The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag. It was suggested that the work might be in violation of 256.051 Improper use or mutilation of state or Confederate flag or emblem prohibited.
The law contains an exemption for “decorative or patriotic purposes,” and to my knowledge no legal action was ever taken. So if anyone does get a hankering to defile the Stars and Bars, just make sure to do it in a decorative manner. Use pinking shears or something. Maybe apply some glitter.
It is nice to know that Florida law retains such respect for the traditions of yore. Jefferson Davis’ birthday is still an official state holiday here too, although my work supervisor looked at me funny the one time I requested that day off to celebrate.
Then by all means, provide that information.
Until then, the “soon to be debunked” story stands.
None of those things were stated or suggested in my OP.
The point I sought to make is that the persons who endured fire hoses, police dogs, and more to further the cause of civil rights were strong individuals, and a mere word was insignificant to them. Instead of becoming incensed about a word, take action on a topic of worth, such as black on black inner city crime, raising black education and graduation rates, etc.
Should western movies be banned because they feature nooses from which the lawless were hanged? Should a gallows be removed from the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA lest some person of color be offended by its presence?
Placing words on a “don’t speak” list does no good service to any one, and harms us all, IMO.
That sort of conflates two rumours that I heard - that the noose must be made with 13 turns, and that it was illegal to tie it except on official hangman’s business. (Which, since at the time there was no death penalty over here except for high treason, piracy, and arson in a naval dockyard, would have meant it was kinda seldom needed.) So, teenage boys being teenage boys, we were naturally as keen as all get-out to learn to tie it.
No noose is good noose.
Maybe we should just make it simple for everybody and forbid white people to use words starting with the letter “N.”
No, more likely a lot people enjoy the pleasure of righteous hatred, and this endless witch hunt for racists gives them the perfect excuse to indulge themselves in it.
Has anybody ever actually been prosecuted under that law?
During the Satanic Panic of the 90s, a bored teen who wanted to stir up some excitement could would think, “All I have to do is spray paint 666 on a school wall, and everybody freaks out. Cool!”
Today, he’d think, “All I have to do is tie a noose with this piece of string, hang it on a locker handle, and everybody freaks out. Cool!”
The amusing thing is that progressives seem to think they’re somehow immune to irrational hysteria.
You know, when I think “noose” the first picture I get in my head is from near the end of “Pirates of the Carribean.” The second is from “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and the third is from “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” Then I veer to generic Wild West justice.
Just told the Hub that I suppose that makes me racist for not having enough of my mind constantly on the lookout for reminders of civil rights abuses.
Who called them Ghetto Blasters? I never heard anyone call it that except characters on t.v. and in movies when they were trying to sound authentically “street”. We called them boom boxes.
As far as the OP, it is all about context, isn’t it? A noose is fine, but if there are more nuances to this story, and I am biased to suspect that there are, then I can completely understand why the kid would be offended.
Think of a swastika. It has more than one meaning, the original meaning having nothing to do with Nazis. Still, so much hate has been associated with the symbol that one would have to be certain of the context of the situation when one hears one was referred to at school.
I know the swastika is an extreme example, but I think the point of paying special attention to ‘context’ is the same.
Even if it happened just as the parent claims it did, I see a lot of room for the kids to have made the child feel extremely uncomfortable. As a child, it is not hard to feel insecure, easily intimidated…it is not hard to take advantage of an opportunity to intimidate someone else, to combat your own insecurities.
The offended child may have had every reason to feel highly offended. That doesn’t mean we should all go ahead and ban nooses or the word noose. The school has a whole lot of other ways they can deal with the matter.
They should not assume the kids were being evil. They should not assume the children were all wide eyed and innocent.
Oh, I heard "ghetto blasters"plenty back in the '80s. There’s a reason TV and movie characters used the term to sound, as you put it, authentically street: because in at least some areas, it was. My experience, specifically, was in and around the NYC area.
I stand corrected. But I gotta say, plenty of stuff they put in movies to sound authentically street is not.
But again, I bow to a NYC native ghetto dweller’s experience. NYC was the mecca for ghetto slang. (still is, in my opinion)
We called them “Third World briefcases”, but that may have just been Wisconsin.
OK - 'from now on, white people may never -"
Oops.
"White people may not -’
Damn!
“White folks! Ix-nay on the ooses-nay!”
Whew!
Regards,
Shodan
Well, full disclosure: I was (and am) a white suburbanite who spent very little time in the ghetto proper–mostly going as fast as possible to get through it. But, I spent enough time in NYC during the 80s to have heard the term used frequently.
The thing about racist speech is that the actual words used make a big difference. Change one word in a sentence and you can go from saying something innocuous to saying something iffy. Use certain words and the iffyness goes away and is replaced by full-blown racial insult.
Some things are insulting or offensive even paraphrased. Other things aren’t. So this story is one of those occasions when the exact words really matter, and I’m not sure we’ll ever know what they were.
When it’s OK to use the “N” word. NSFW. (Take out space between colon and slash) http: //www.funnyordie.com/videos/3147
No idea. Apparently some legislator thought such a law was necessary, though. It’s a good idea to have it on the books anyway, just as a precaution. Astonishing as it may seem, the Confederate flag was not always the universally beloved symbol of brotherhood that it is today. “Freedom of speech” is all very well and good, but burning a Confederate flag only empowers the enemies of the Confederacy.
Say… Is this a new Party quirk?
Fuck 'em if they can’t take a joke.