Wordie: Uppity: Comments

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:00:25 +0000

You're right, of course. I'd rather publicly call the man stupid than a blatant racist, but as you said... He knew what he was saying.

I forgot about the term dog-whistle. Thanks for reminding me. I'm sure it will come in handy in the coming weeks. (Sadly.)

Comment by skipvia, about 1 month ago

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:25:37 +0000

"Uppity" is a code word in the same vein as states' rights and family values. Westmoreland knew exactly what he was saying and exactly who he was saying it to. A dog-whistle if there ever was one.

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:23:22 +0000

Ohhh... so maybe he really is that ignorant. *facepalm*

Thanks for the info, lampbane.

Comment by Lampbane, about 1 month ago

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:56:57 +0000

As Stephen Colbert pointed out last night, this is the same Congressman who pushed to have the Ten Commandments displayed in state courthouses and even in the House and Senate, but when asked by Colbert to list the Commandments (on the Better Know a District segment), he could name only three.

Comment by chained_bear, about 1 month ago

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:29:50 +0000

Referring back to skipvia's comments below... If a Georgia congressman raised in the segregated South truly has no idea of the racist connotation of using the word "uppity" in reference to African Americans... I can't really imagine that he didn't know, or he'd be too ignorant to be holding office.

But then, looking at his record (as reported in the same article), it's hard to believe he really "meant no offense." ("...last year ... he led opposition to renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He also was one of two House members last year who opposed giving the Justice Department more money to crack unsolved civil rights killings.") Great work, congressman.

In the news

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:10:15 +0000

Georgia GOP congressman calls Obamas `uppity' (AP/September 5, 2008)

Democrats are calling on a Republican congressman from Georgia to apologize for referring to Barack and Michelle Obama as "uppity," but the lawmaker stood by his comments and said he meant no offense.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Grantville, Ga., described the Obamas as members of an "elitist-class ... that thinks that they're uppity," according to The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Asked to clarify whether he intended to use the word, he said, "Yeah, uppity."

In a statement Friday, Westmoreland — a white man who was born in 1950 and raised in the segregated South — said he didn't know that "uppity" was commonly used as a derogatory term for blacks seeking equal treatment. Instead, he referred to the dictionary definition of the word as describing someone who is haughty, snobbish or has inflated self-esteem.

Comment by skipvia, 2 months ago

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:04:44 +0000

Growing up in the South during the 50s and 60s was a unique cultural experience, yarb. We had separate "white" and "colored" store entrances, drinking fountains, theaters, and waiting areas--all clearly marked as such.

Comment by yarb, 2 months ago

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:39:32 +0000

Int'restin'. I wouldn't have connected this word with race at all. I remember as a kid, there was a Mr Man called Mr Uppity.

Comment by skipvia, 2 months ago

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:35:24 +0000

An illiterate and somewhat vitriolic blog post I read today, in which the author calls Jesse Jackson an "uppity busybody," reminded me that I have rarely heard this word when it didn't apply specifically to African-Americans. Growing up in the US south, I was taught that there were two kinds of African-Americans--uppity ones and those who knew their place ("humble" being the code word that was most often used).

Interesting post, coming from a blog that describes itself as "A conservative journal of social, cultural, and ecclesiatical affairs grounded in a realistic Catholic Christian worldview. It is my hope that this site will be a reflection of Christ, the teachings of His Holy Church, and of the basic vision of a Christian social morality."