Knowing what to say or not to say (Don Imus deal)

Ok, I was following the whole Don Imus deal for a few days and this thought occured to me. The newscaster was debating with guests. 1st think about how many times the phrase "Nappy Headed Ho's" has been said in the news? Now think about how many times the debate on blacks calling each other "The N Word" keeps coming up.

Now why is everyone allowed to keep saying "Nappy Headed Ho's" but the other issue has to be referred to as "The N Word"? Why are they not referring to it as "NHH" or "The 3 words that shocked America", "Don Imus' Statement", etc.?

Does anyone else find this a little strange?

p.s. I apologize for using the full spelling earlier for "NHH", but it is just to prove a valid point. Peace

Simple Rule: If blacks use it, whatever "it" may be, whites can't.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

Since there are some silly games being played here, I post the following on behalf of my son, Tea -

Simple Rule: If blacks use it, whatever "it" may be, whites can't.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

Landis

Actually, no. But thanks anyway.

Shouldn't all of these other 'white' newscasters be fired for saying the same exact thing as Imus. Or does this fall into that category of context?

Yes, it's context. Imus was directing the unfortunate phrase AT specific people. The newscasters are repeating it ad infinitum for those who have been living under a rock and frankly, because it is a shocking phrase and if newscasters can get away with it, they will.

If you watched Jon Stewart, he had a clip of all the news show anchors saying it with a similar question to yours. If it's so terrible, why are people saying it over and over again?

And the answer is context. I say things in my home that I wouldn't say in public. And it's one thing to CALL someone __________ , but quite another to say, "He called them _____________."

And as to whether the unfortunate phrase is actually BAD, is a matter of personal judgment.

After talking about this with my husband (he's so smart) I realized that you don't hear newscasters say, "The police called him a (n-word) and then arrested him." They don't repeat whatever racial epithet was hurled in any given situation... They might say, "The police uttered a racial slur and then arrested him."

Why is it OK to repeat NHH by anyone from Paula Zahn to Jon Stewart 500 thousand times over the past weeks, but other racial slurs are not elaborated upon in the news? Interesting...

This tells me that the media is trying to sway public opinion... probably to get Imus out of the spotlight.

Could someone please explain the 'nappy headed' bit to a simple Brit.

I would have thought calling someone a 'ho' - ie a whore, strumpet, tart, prostitute etc was very insulting (rap 'music' aside).

Is nappy-headed a code / euphamism for black? or did these girls wear funny hats, it doesn't seem to be the offending part of the phrase to me but I'm sure I'm missing something

Nappy is an adjective used to describe black people's hair. There's a thread about it here.

www.abovepolitics.com...

Thanks for that

Over here 'nappy' is what you call a daiper. Hence me thinking it was about headwear or something much worse.

Nappy regarding hair is a completely new one on me

Two peoples separated by a common language and all that!

There are several definitions for "nappy":

1. an adjective to describe liquor (foamy)
   
2. a diaper
   
3. a bowl
   
4. kinky
   

However you slice it, the insult wasn't as serious as the hysterics would like it to seem. The media and the whiners have whipped up the foam.

It's not just a brit thing. In reading the several threads on ATS, many people did not have a clue about the nappy part. They had no idea why people thought what he said was racist, or had any racial connotations whatsoever.

I think Nappy is a pretty general word, in an of itself it does not have any good or bad meaning, or contextually has not. It's just a word that can be used to alternatively describe a texture of hair.

However when combined with the string in which he said it, it was very specifically aimed at the black females on that basket ball team, and in conjunction with the ho word, that is what did it.

I think that is why people can say the Nappy Headed Ho's comment, where if he called them the other N word, it would not be brandied about, because that in and of itself has and always has in my opinion had a negative connotation.

Nappy does not in and of itself have a negative connotation, it's just when used in the wrong conjunction with other offensive words that it has the problem for causing offense.