# Urgh! Enought with the "black people" examples! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907 "2003-10-01T12:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/1 "2003-10-01T12:50:32Z")
I’m tired of being in so many hypothetical situations! It seems like no matter what the argument is, a “black people” parallel will be brought up as an example. For instance: Person A: I hate seeing Macs on TV! Everybody uses PC’s in real life. Macs are unrealistically overrepresented in the media! Person B: Hey, I like Macs! Would you say “I hate black people because they’re too many of them on TV compared to real life”? See! It’s like you’re being racist. People can’t discuss [MP3 downloading](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=4032281#post4032281) without a “black people” example popping up! First of all, it’s cliche now. Apparently it’s way too easy to come up with a “black people” analogy, so lets try to be a bit more intellectually rigorous from now on and avoid them, even when a situation seems to beg for one. Example: Person A: I hate Indians! They’re all stuck up and rude! Person B (with new “black people anology filter”): What a dumb thing to say. You don’t even know all Indians. You hardly know any! Besides, is there anything about yourself that you can say every single person of your nationality also shares? I thought not! Second of all, it assumes that all involved audiences share the same sympathies towards racial issues, which is obviously [not](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=4032360#post4032360) [always](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid3932297#post3932297) the [case](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=3618369#post3618369) (I had some better examples but I couldn’t find them in the search). Attention is nice but it gets annoying being constantly invoked for analogies over the slightest, irrelavant disagreement. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/2 "2003-10-01T13:02:42Z")
You go, boy. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/3 "2003-10-01T13:28:22Z")
I thought this was going to be the pit rant I’ve been meaning to start for the past two weeks. I see that it is not. Mind if I add on to it, though? No? Aw, thanks, pizzabrat! I’d just like to thank all the kind, well-meaning people who always dispense sage advice whenever a ‘why are those silly negroes doing that’ thread emerges. I write down each pearl of wisdom on a 3x5 index cards and sort them according to relevance to my daily life. I’ve learned _so_ much by adopting this system. I hope the rest of you folk are jotting these nuggets (yeah, that’s the word I want, nuggets) down and keeping them in a safe place. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/4 "2003-10-01T13:40:58Z")
So, **JuanitaTech** , you’re saying you’ll have a calendar to pass out to the rest of the group by the end of the year? I want kittens on mine, not dogs. Oh, wait. I guess if I said that I wanted white people on it, not black people, that would be racist. So no kittens either. Umm, Indian people? How’s that? Damn! My filter isn’t working - filter down! filter down! Look, I’m just going to get back on the bus with the rest of the white people and drink champagne. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/5 "2003-10-01T13:42:37Z")
…and enjoy your free newspaper? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/6 "2003-10-01T14:17:52Z")
No, no, no, get back in that box where you belong. Haven’t you guys learned by now that you’re not allowed to have diverging, individual points of view as individuals? Black people are not supposed to be, you know, _people_, but to be convenient props to serve the rhetorical purposes of white folks. For the liberals, you’re supposed to be the grateful recipients of their help and the _de haute en bas_ patronization. In additon, as the OP so trenchantly observed, black people are supposed to function as the baseline for inappropriate racial analogies to enable well-meaning but misguided white folks to score points in a debate. For suburban teens, black people are the barometers of coolness, because as we all know, every black person is the living embodiment of the funky and the hip. If white suburban kids were to see a black rapper wearing a straw boater and bow ties, the next day all the kids at school will be looking like 19th century carnival barkers, too. For conservatives, black folks are convenient scapegoats to blame for any and all problems that bedevil society. Drugs? Blame the black kids. School violence? Blame the rappers. If the conservatives didn’t have black people, they might actually have to delve into the complex causes of societal ills and, god forbid, use rational thought instead of fearmongering. If white people were to regard black people as white folks regard each other, as people with individual thoughts, desires, and personalities instead of as interchangeable members of a racial demographic, mass chaos might result. We’d have to have to find a whole new group to objectify. Hmm, I wonder if the Irish need a new gig. . . ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/7 "2003-10-01T15:11:51Z")
> [@](#): > > because as we all know, every black person is the living embodiment of the funky and the hip. \ Yeeeeeeaaaaah, boy! ---
**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:** [October 1, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/8 "2003-10-01T15:25:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*If white suburban kids were to see a black rapper wearing a straw boater and bow ties, the next day all the kids at school will be looking like 19th century carnival barkers, too. > \*\* Sweet! \*\* > [@](#): > > Hmm, I wonder if the Irish need a new gig. . . \*\* :rolleyes: Please. Would you ask if the Blacks needed a new gig? [sub]okay, sure, it was obvious, but I’m really bad about giving in to temptation[/sub] Daniel ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/9 "2003-10-01T22:23:04Z")
This is bullshit. The Civil Rights movement is a unique and important chapter in American history and offers many parallels for other contexts, and is a perfectly valid subject in such debates. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/10 "2003-10-01T22:40:08Z")
No, no. The Irish need a new jig. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/11 "2003-10-01T22:51:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > **We’d have to have to find a whole new group to objectify.** Just you wait. As soon as we confirm the existence of some intelligent extraterrestrial species, their name will become the immediate label of denigration, and the rhetorical representative of _us_ vs. _them_ that underlies the device. Your hair will be blown back by humanity’s collective sigh of relief when we’re able to replace “that’s so _gay_” with “that’s so Zenogular.” ---
**Author:** ![Wabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/12 "2003-10-01T22:59:24Z")
I have a friend who is a Zenogular so I’m an expert on what that entire group is thinking. Now sit back and enjoy as I tell you what the Zenogular’s think about a variety of issues! ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/13 "2003-10-01T23:06:47Z")
[“Names you associate with niggers”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=214795) A perfect example of this phenomenom! And right here in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/14 "2003-10-01T23:08:03Z")
> [@](#): > > _Wabbit_ > I have a friend who is a Zenogular so I’m an expert on what that entire group is thinking. Now sit back and enjoy as I tell you what the Zenogular’s think about a variety of issues! I don’t care what they think! I don’t want to know anything about them except when we blow their last UFO out of the sky! I’d hope we could all agree to that! ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/15 "2003-10-01T23:09:41Z")
Great, more zeno’luvvahs, just what this sapien world needs! all ya’ll zeno luvvan whimps can go play with yer little zenogular FREAKS!! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/16 "2003-10-02T00:26:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*The Irish need a new jig. \*\* Zoinks!! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/17 "2003-10-02T00:44:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ryle Dup \* > \*\*Great, more zeno’luvvahs, just what this sapien world needs! \*\* Sapiens are a bunch of homos. ---
**Author:** ![Etherman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@Etherman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etherman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/18 "2003-10-02T02:11:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wabbit \* > \*\*I have a friend who is a Zenogular so I’m an expert on what that entire group is thinking. Now sit back and enjoy as I tell you what the Zenogular’s think about a variety of issues! \*\* Hell no I am not Xenophobic, why I have freinds who are Zenogular, but really, even they admit they aren’t any good at checkers. ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/19 "2003-10-02T02:46:07Z")
Buh, buh, but [black people love us](http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907/20 "2003-10-02T03:23:17Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve learned _so_ much by adopting this system. I hope the rest of you folk are jotting these nuggets (yeah, that’s the word I want, nuggets) down and keeping them in a safe place. You know, some people consider ‘nugget’ a racist term referring to a black person with a big head. Just a thought… (I personally use it to refer to idiot second lieutenants, but that’s just me.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urgh-enought-with-the-black-people-examples/204907.md?page=2)