It seems to be OK for a US congresswoman to throw around racial slurs and innuendo. This incident barely made news at all.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,112651,00.html

quote:

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She said Republican leaders were "racist" in their policies toward the Caribbean nation, which is almost entirely black, and called the president's representatives "a bunch of white men."

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A couple of boys from A&M get caught and we make the front page of ESPN!!??!!

The double standard was discussed in the Politics forum...
http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=16&topic_id=309070

She was not also arrested for DWI.

not to condone what was said but since when are those kinds of terms "illegal"....offensive but not illegal

[edited due to commom requests]

I'm curious about that as well. Is it illegal to use racial slurs - we all know it illustrates ignorance and a lack of class - but can it get you arrested? Does it fall under hate crimes?

Lawyers?

The reason they were arrested is for the alcohol charges. The racial slurs piece of this as far as I can tell is not illegal unless its considered a public disturbance or something like that.

The bottom line is that the racial slur piece of this story is what will be focused on by the public, not the alcohol related stuff.

No, it just looks stupid on you, horrible on the university, and could get you kicked off the A&M team if the leadership council decides.

Under freedom of speech you can say what you want as long as it isn't intended to incite violence or threaten actual violence, but there are other consequences.

Let the leadership council handle and Coach Fran handle this one. There are plenty of players ready to step up in place of those who can't behave.

MemAg92 -

If you read the news stories, it says that the people in the car want to press charges for the verbal attack.

I guess that is considered a "crime".

"Can I ask you a question?
What is it?
It's an interrogative form of sentence, used to test knowledge. But that's not important right now."

[This message has been edited by randy828 (edited 3/16/2004 1:17p).]

if racial slurs are considered a crime in and of themselves, then it would seem to me that such a law violates freedom of speech and could be challenged and possibly make its way all the way to the supreme court.

I far as I knew this was America and not nazi germany or the soviet Union.




[This message has been edited by NyAggie (edited 3/16/2004 3:48p).]

Saying the "N" word is not against the law, but it is possible that those unnamed victims were threatened or felt threatened and feel that a crime has been committed. I guess it is up to the police to decide.

RAMF,
I know this really has nothing to do with the topic, but the Chappelle Show line was pretty funny.

As for the racial slurs and double standard. For that Congresswoman to say "bunch of white men" was just plain stupid. I'll agree on that, but does anybody really believe that white man or white boy is as offensive as the N-word?

Texas Penal Code 42.01 Disorderly Conduct -
"A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:
uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utternace tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace."

I'd say the N-word is vulgar and by its very utterance could incite an immediate breach of the peace.

I'm against the racial slur double standard. But the reality of today's world is you just have to eliminate that word and others like it from your personal dictionary. You will immediately lose credibility and will make the other person appear to be the victim.

3 things:

1. double standard? Considering the way the history of this nation has treated minorities, I think any disparaging remarks toward white people are justified. Kind of like they are getting caught up for 2 centuries of slurs and what not. I understand what you are saying (for instance, the word "*****rdly" will get you in trouble, despite it being semantically inoffensive), but I just don't think it should be a big deal.

2. You can be charged with verbal assault (battery is the actual contact) if it is threatening.

3. You would press charges (feel threatened)too if some drunken, 270 lb guy was screaming at you.

case in point. They bleeped out the word. A word that means "stingy" or "scanty". Ignorance in the usage of slurs. Ignorance in the reception of slurs.

2 things:
1.

quote:

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Considering the way the history of this nation has treated minorities, I think any disparaging remarks toward white people are justified

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That's horsesh**!
#2. There is no such thing as "battery" in Texas law. You're watching too many cop shows.

quote:

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As for the racial slurs and double standard. For that Congresswoman to say "bunch of white men" was just plain stupid. I'll agree on that, but does anybody really believe that white man or white boy is as offensive as the N-word?

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There is one one way to defeat this problem and that is to do what is (indirectly) suggested above. Basically, choose not to be offended by the intended insult. The Congresswoman absolutely meant it as an insult, but most of the target "white men" don't think twice about it and move on with their lives.

Some people have accepted the fact that slang-terms for their race exist and people use them when they want to be aggressive/rude. By not tying your self image to the namecalling, you remove any power the speaker has over you.

Some people haven't accepted this and are controlled and manipulated by certain "hot" words all their lives.

A sad side affect of today's PC effort is that the more you try to suppress the particular words that happen to be deemed offensive to this generation, the more sparingly they are used and ironically, the more powerful they become.

A lot of people could benefit from Uhura's advice from that Star Trek episode with Abraham Lincoln and just realize that you can choose to let words hurt you, or not. It's up to you.

Ag in Az

http://www.weblocator.com/attorney/tx/law/c19.html

check your facts, ts.

supereducated01...I take offense to your statement that the white man deserves any slur.

You definitely are not 'super' educated! No educated person would support that thought!

No race, be they white, black, or purple deserves any type of racial slur. You need to get educated!

...North American Indian by heritage (plus a few others)!

One should never yell "fire" in a crowded theatre, nor the "N" word in a crowded Harlem bus station. Really. Not ever.

The used to say "What up, N' s" all the time on BET comedy shows and Def Comedy Jam.

PB

Hey SuperDummie

Lets not cast you criticism on white people. They have been doing it for centuries doesnt mean that it should be recipricated. Come on, be educated, and conitue on with life without subjecting a whole race. I swear, people like you are ignorant and arrogant.

First off...

Aggieed - check your spelling and grammar before judging any one else's intelligence or education. (or calling me a "super dummie". Where are we, 5th grade?)

Secondly...

My comment has nothing to do with neither ignorance nor arrogance. Simply stating that white people did not experience the suppression that most minorities have in the past. That in mind, it is easier to empathize with attacks against whites then minorities.

I'm white and understand this. I don't believe that any slur is acceptable, but it is much easier to understand one side's perspective than the other's.

If you can't understand this, well, I can't help you.

A word is only as inflamatory as you choose to make it. If white people went nuts whenever they were referred to by a slur, then that word would be considered just as bad. But since they tend to just blow it off, it's no big deal. However, since black people go off their collective rockers when white people use the N word, it is considered much worse.

What they don't realize is that by displaying such an over-the-top reaction to this word, they are just adding to its power. Also, as long as they throw it around freely among themselves, it will never go away. Double standards are for the birds. I do not abide by them nor do I listen to those who do. I will always continue to operate as if this is a free country, even if it slowly ceases to be.

Pigeon,
I respectfully disagree with your post. I think the N-word got its power back from the dark days of this country's past. It was made even more powerful in the 60's when it was constantly used to address a people that was dead set on obtaining their civil rights.

And yes I have heard black people call each other the word but they use it as a form of slang, which I highly doubt the two players did. I have some friends who are white and use the word around their black friends all the time, but they say it as a slang reference, and therefore it is no big deal.

I would think a word that is considered to be THAT offensive would never, ever be used by the particular people that find it THAT offensive. Just to make it clear I do find the word offensive, and part of why I can't comprehend its continued use by black people.

I guess I just don't get it!

I would think that LACK of use of the word by ALL would help the word to die a much needed death.

quote:

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I would think that LACK of use of the word by ALL would help the word to die a much needed death.

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That's something I can agree with.

i agree on the double standard, like the A&M professor calling us crackerland, and when others always say whitey.

Definition:
Cracker
Originally the white slave driver because he would "crack" the whip, hence the noun cracker.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cracker&f=1

"supereducated",
It bleeped you out because you misspelled it. It's "*****rdly".
The irony is palpable.

OK, so I take it back....it bleeps it out, even if you replace the "e" with an "a". My aplogies supereducated.

Section 423, The Zone.....Where vocal cords go to die!

"Thirty years ago kids talked about their duties and responsibilities ... today they talk about their rights and privileges."





[This message has been edited by Dough (edited 3/17/2004 9:47a).]

I believe the main reason that black people continue to use the N word is that it gives them a right that whites don't have. Even if it is a very small one. I can assure you that many black people get enjoyment from using a word they won't allow others to use. Sort of like belonging to an exclusive club.

The same thing applies to many other areas. Take music for example. When blacks make fun of country music by inferring that it is shallow, redneck nonsense, everybody laughs and thinks it's hillarious. But if white people make fun of rap or hip-hop they are attacked for being racists and not being open minded.

The real question is, how far removed do we have to be from the days of civil rights injustices before these double standards are done away with?

Big deal. So they got called names. boo hoo.

quote:

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I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

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That works both ways. And that's all I have to say about that...

cecil,
It does work both ways, but I find it ironic that you quote a man who was assassinated by a racist.

Honestly we dont know what happened, its not out of the realm of possibility that they were insulted first by the people in the car.
Either way what they did was ugly and driving drunk was stupid.
They'll be humbled though dont anyone worry about that, you cant even have the perception that they're rascists, so they're going to have to apologize to the team I would imagine.

I agree with most all of what I've read from Pigeon88- he's no bird-brain!

I don't think calling guys "white men" is a racial slur.