Boy oh boy.
April 15, 2008 4:49 AM Subscribe
Yahoo! Answers answers the question "since when is the word 'boy' a racial slur?"
Best Answer: "Boy comes from the days of slavery. It's only current for someone who is hypersensitive and has a bone to pick with any perceived racist slight.."
It's current for 49 year-old Kentucky Congressman, Republican Geoff Davis who in reference to the 46 year-old Senator Obama recently remarked: “I’m going to tell you something: That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button.”
At least he didn't say Macaca.
Best Answer: "Boy comes from the days of slavery. It's only current for someone who is hypersensitive and has a bone to pick with any perceived racist slight.."
It's current for 49 year-old Kentucky Congressman, Republican Geoff Davis who in reference to the 46 year-old Senator Obama recently remarked: “I’m going to tell you something: That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button.”
At least he didn't say Macaca.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Man, being coy about gossipy election posting doesn't actually make it better. -- cortex
I'd quite like the answer to the age old question "When is a shitty post offensive?"
Lordy lord. Best of the web indeed.
posted by seanyboy at 4:59 AM on April 15, 2008
Lordy lord. Best of the web indeed.
posted by seanyboy at 4:59 AM on April 15, 2008
Though this post might be deleted for electionfilter reasons, I was pretty astounded when I first read it. It's a crazy thing to say. Though, I guess as it is coming from Jeff Davis oh, no, wait a minute...
posted by From Bklyn at 5:04 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by From Bklyn at 5:04 AM on April 15, 2008
I'm thankful for AskMeFi. And the mods.
Who will delete this.
posted by allkindsoftime at 5:04 AM on April 15, 2008
Who will delete this.
posted by allkindsoftime at 5:04 AM on April 15, 2008
This should be deleted, but not because I disagree with 3bm. Very important, very relevant and very much in need of discussion. But with a better starting point than this.
posted by DU at 5:17 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by DU at 5:17 AM on April 15, 2008
This post will no doubt get deleted, but I thought I would say that while growing up in east Texas, "boy" was used all the time by whites to refer to other adult white males. It was generally somewhat derogatory, but often in the vein of "That boy ain't right." While it does have a history as a racial epithet, I don't think peoples' perception of it as such is universal. I was probably a teenager before I heard of it being used in a racial context, and was rather surprised to learn so.
posted by gngstrMNKY at 5:18 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by gngstrMNKY at 5:18 AM on April 15, 2008
As this is going to be deleted anyway...
In the 70s Muhammad Ali came out to Australia to be a presenter on our equivalent of the Emmys: the Logies. A much loved Aussie tv personality was acting as emcee and was engaging in banter with Ali when, as an aside to the audience, he goes: "I like the boy".
Ali shaped up like he was going to thump tv guy, who immediately asked aloud (to the audience really) what he had done wrong. We of course don't really have the acute history with respect to that term. Everything turned out ok after profuse apologising of course and that little segment is trotted out every so often as one of the great gaffes of live local tv.
posted by peacay at 5:21 AM on April 15, 2008
In the 70s Muhammad Ali came out to Australia to be a presenter on our equivalent of the Emmys: the Logies. A much loved Aussie tv personality was acting as emcee and was engaging in banter with Ali when, as an aside to the audience, he goes: "I like the boy".
Ali shaped up like he was going to thump tv guy, who immediately asked aloud (to the audience really) what he had done wrong. We of course don't really have the acute history with respect to that term. Everything turned out ok after profuse apologising of course and that little segment is trotted out every so often as one of the great gaffes of live local tv.
posted by peacay at 5:21 AM on April 15, 2008
Sigh... I really hate this PC society we live in sometimes. You can't say anything without fear of hurting someone. Skin needs to be thicker. People need to go out and be happy sticks and stones are not being thrown. Will this be deleted... more than likely.
posted by Mastercheddaar at 5:22 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by Mastercheddaar at 5:22 AM on April 15, 2008
It continually baffles me that Yahoo apparently has a community of people who ask and answer each other's questions. Seriously? Yahoo?
Guess it doesn't help that both groups seem to be largely made up of the YouTube commenter brigade.
posted by m0nm0n at 5:22 AM on April 15, 2008
Guess it doesn't help that both groups seem to be largely made up of the YouTube commenter brigade.
posted by m0nm0n at 5:22 AM on April 15, 2008
I've seen much more ridiculous rhetorical questions on YA.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 5:26 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 5:26 AM on April 15, 2008
Is there any evidence "Yahoo! Answers" has ever successfully answered a question?
posted by furiousxgeorge at 5:26 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by furiousxgeorge at 5:26 AM on April 15, 2008
You can't say anything without fear of hurting someone.
Uh....a conservative southerner uses the word "boy" to refer to a black man and you don't think there was any racism involved? WTF?
posted by DU at 5:27 AM on April 15, 2008
Uh....a conservative southerner uses the word "boy" to refer to a black man and you don't think there was any racism involved? WTF?
posted by DU at 5:27 AM on April 15, 2008
I can't believe people actually use Yahoo Answers... it's like the AOL version of Ask MeFi. I just took a look at the new questions, with gems like -- "Me n husband r suffering from GOut problem is it true that babby cannot born while taking gout tablets?", "What's the best wa y to get runover by a bus?", Non & Believers in the Messiah, Jewish, & gentile, Do you have signs/miracles and wonders following U?Mark 16. Man, I am so thankful to have paid my $5 for a site where the bar is higher. Especially on stuff like spelling, for starters.
posted by crapmatic at 5:29 AM on April 15, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by crapmatic at 5:29 AM on April 15, 2008 [2 favorites]
In the film, "In the Heat of the Night," when Sidney Poitier's character responded to "boy" with "They Call Me Mister Tibbs!" it was so clear that "boy" was a racial slur they could make a sequel with the title "They Call Me Mister Tibbs." If it's not clear to people today because of the PC fog, that's the fog-dwellers problems.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:33 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:33 AM on April 15, 2008
You'd have to be pretty thick not to understand that "boy" could be seen as offensive. If its said in a condescending enough way, just about anything can be a racial slur. In particular, I'm thinking of the scene in the Royal Tennenbaums where Gene Hackman calls Danny Glover "Coltrane". "Coltrane" isn't generally on the list of slurs, but you understood what he was saying...
posted by Kiablokirk at 5:35 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by Kiablokirk at 5:35 AM on April 15, 2008
The term is very old - any slur that refers to an adult as a child is old. In fact, it's the origin of the so-called "Children's Crusade" - per Wikipedia:
posted by stbalbach at 5:36 AM on April 15, 2008
Recent research suggests the participants were not children, at least not the very young. The confusion started because later chroniclers (within about 30 years), who were not witness to the events of 1212, began to translate the original accounts and misunderstood the word ''pueri'' (Latin for "boys") to mean literally "children". The original accounts did use the term ''pueri'' but it had a slang meaning, similar to how the term "country boys" is used as a derogatory in the rural US. In the early 1200s bands of wandering poor started cropping up throughout Europe, these were people displaced by economic changes at the time which forced many poor peasants in northern France and Germany to sell their land - they were often referred to as ''pueri'' in a condescending manner. This mistaken literal interpretation of ''pueri'' as "children" gave rise to the idea of a "Children's Crusade" by later authors who found the story too good not to be, particularly with so much public support and interest in Crusading. Within a generation or two after 1212, the idea of children going on crusade became ingrained in history, retold countless times over the centuries with many different versions, and only recently has the myth been re-examined by looking at the earliest sourcesMaybe someone can post this older usage to Yahoo.
posted by stbalbach at 5:36 AM on April 15, 2008
Sigh... I really hate this PC society we live in sometimes.
There's PC and then there's this. I suggest you brush up on your history.
I do believe that while sometimes the PC police do go a bit far, the reason we've come this far in terms of the overt racism of the 70s, 60s and earlier, is precisely because of the education around why some words are considered hurtful by others.
posted by psmealey at 5:39 AM on April 15, 2008
There's PC and then there's this. I suggest you brush up on your history.
I do believe that while sometimes the PC police do go a bit far, the reason we've come this far in terms of the overt racism of the 70s, 60s and earlier, is precisely because of the education around why some words are considered hurtful by others.
posted by psmealey at 5:39 AM on April 15, 2008
if you call some of the peoples that i know a boy and your a white person will get you kill on the spot
What the hell do they think this is? Youtube?
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:42 AM on April 15, 2008
What the hell do they think this is? Youtube?
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:42 AM on April 15, 2008
And yeah, In The Heat of the Night is one fucking great movie. Sidney Poitier FTW.
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:44 AM on April 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:44 AM on April 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
The second part of the quote by Davis: “He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country.”
Rhetorically I'd have to ask: As compared to George Bush?
posted by rmmcclay at 5:46 AM on April 15, 2008
Rhetorically I'd have to ask: As compared to George Bush?
posted by rmmcclay at 5:46 AM on April 15, 2008
Hey boy! Mister 'MasterCheddar"; yeah, boy? I don't think you need to be on the internets anymore.
See? Even without race it's offensive.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:48 AM on April 15, 2008
See? Even without race it's offensive.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:48 AM on April 15, 2008
Interestingly, the use of infant terms for women is still very much acceptable and in common parlance.
I asked my girl about this the other night. I said - Hey baby, what's with the brouhaha over people calling Obama "boy". Well, she's a doll and all. She said if I weren't sure, then neither is she. You got to give the lass credit for something. Not like them feminist chicks.
posted by seanyboy at 5:48 AM on April 15, 2008 [4 favorites]
I asked my girl about this the other night. I said - Hey baby, what's with the brouhaha over people calling Obama "boy". Well, she's a doll and all. She said if I weren't sure, then neither is she. You got to give the lass credit for something. Not like them feminist chicks.
posted by seanyboy at 5:48 AM on April 15, 2008 [4 favorites]
Uh....a conservative southerner uses the word "boy" to refer to a black man and you don't think there was any racism involved? WTF?
I guess it's easy for some people to forget that all conservative southerners are automagically racist?
posted by m0nm0n at 5:50 AM on April 15, 2008
I guess it's easy for some people to forget that all conservative southerners are automagically racist?
posted by m0nm0n at 5:50 AM on April 15, 2008
Davis apologizes:
Dear Senator Obama:
On Saturday night I gave a speech in which I used a poor choice of words when discussing the national security policy positions of the Presidential candidates. I was quoted as saying "That boy's finger does not need to be on the button."
My poor choice of words is regrettable and was in no way meant to impugn you or your integrity. I offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness.
Though we may disagree on many issues, I know that we share the goal of a prosperous, secure future for our nation. My comment has detracted from the dialogue that we should all be having on legitimate policy differences and in no way reflects the personal and professional respect I have for you.
It's kind of a weird apology--nobody's saying he impugned Obama's integrity. People are offended because he referred to a black man as "boy." A much better tactic would have been something like "Aw, geez. That was really inexcusable of me. I certainly didn't mean that in the offensive manner in which it came out."
posted by EarBucket at 5:55 AM on April 15, 2008
Dear Senator Obama:
On Saturday night I gave a speech in which I used a poor choice of words when discussing the national security policy positions of the Presidential candidates. I was quoted as saying "That boy's finger does not need to be on the button."
My poor choice of words is regrettable and was in no way meant to impugn you or your integrity. I offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness.
Though we may disagree on many issues, I know that we share the goal of a prosperous, secure future for our nation. My comment has detracted from the dialogue that we should all be having on legitimate policy differences and in no way reflects the personal and professional respect I have for you.
It's kind of a weird apology--nobody's saying he impugned Obama's integrity. People are offended because he referred to a black man as "boy." A much better tactic would have been something like "Aw, geez. That was really inexcusable of me. I certainly didn't mean that in the offensive manner in which it came out."
posted by EarBucket at 5:55 AM on April 15, 2008
seanyboy - I'd argue that if anyone was referring to Hilary Clinton as "doll", "baby", "lass", or even "girl" there would be some uproar. I think this is racist in the same sense calling someone "articulate" implies other things.
posted by fermezporte at 5:58 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by fermezporte at 5:58 AM on April 15, 2008
Hey boy! Mister 'MasterCheddar"; yeah, boy? I don't think you need to be on the internets anymore.
See? Even without race it's offensive.
With or without race, all I can hear is Foghorn Leghorn.
posted by Spatch at 5:59 AM on April 15, 2008
See? Even without race it's offensive.
With or without race, all I can hear is Foghorn Leghorn.
posted by Spatch at 5:59 AM on April 15, 2008
I guess it's easy for some people to forget that all conservative southerners are automagically racist?
"Conservative southerners" is a context. "Boy" referring to a black man in that context is racist.
posted by DU at 6:01 AM on April 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
"Conservative southerners" is a context. "Boy" referring to a black man in that context is racist.
posted by DU at 6:01 AM on April 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
Is it possible to call anyone "boy" without sounding like Foghorn Leghorn?
posted by oaf at 6:07 AM on April 15, 2008
posted by oaf at 6:07 AM on April 15, 2008
To call a black man "boy" is racist, and don't tell me it wasn't deliberate. Davis is not fit to represent my congressional district, and I'm ashamed that he does. Our state senator, Arnold Simpson, a black man who is both my neighbor and my friend, said rightly: "It's very offensive using it in the vein he used it in."
GOP apologists saying that the comment "has no legs" are engaged in wishful thinking.
posted by tizzie at 6:09 AM on April 15, 2008
GOP apologists saying that the comment "has no legs" are engaged in wishful thinking.
posted by tizzie at 6:09 AM on April 15, 2008
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