Re: Pejorative

1

Blacks were perfectly satisfied with what was happening.

Bless his heart.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 6:56 AM
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2

Yglesias was appropriately snarky:

I've learned in long years of experience blogging about American politics that there are no racists in the United States. Certainly if there are any, they're not white people. And certainly if there are any racist white people, they're not conservatives.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 6:58 AM
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3

We only starting using the term "vertical blinds" after learning that "hanging window anorexics" was hurtful.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 7:03 AM
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4

Looking at a map whilst vacationing in Quebec's Eastern Townships, I nearly fell over when I saw that a local river was known as the N-word River (apparently so named because it was a route used by escaping slaves).


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 7:04 AM
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5

I wonder if the maps in the schools in Quebec try to somehow obscure the name of the Grand Tetons?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 7:20 AM
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6

Some of those comments remind me of Christopher Buckley's "What? Drunk driving is great! Good times, man" article in the WSJ, defending GWB from a then-recent story in 2000.


Posted by: Flippanter | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 7:20 AM
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7

"It's just a name," said Haskell County Judge David Davis

Yeah, that happens. We drive past this one every week or so Why nobody's commented on it defeats me.


Posted by: chris y | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 7:38 AM
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8

"It's just a name," said Haskell County Judge David Davis

Well, we all know that the words-actually-mean-things concept doesn't hold for Republicans.


Posted by: Blume | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 7:43 AM
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9

Not a great book, but not bad.


Posted by: Von Wafer | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 8:03 AM
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10

In 1962, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names changed more than a hundred such names,

Hmm, I thought they had made most of those changes much earlier than 1962*. Here is a 1990 NY Times article on the general subject (indicates 1962 was the change in official policy), but which specifically cites Texas. In the mid-70s that changed "Jap" to "Japanese" and I know in recent years they have gotten involved in a number of issues with names like "Squaw Peak" (as discussed here a bit in the past).

*And they probably did change *most* of them, there were undoubtedly far more than a hundred.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 8:13 AM
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11

There's a Negro Mountain in western Pennsylvania/Maryland and also a Polish Mountain. There have been some efforts in both states to rename them, but those haven't gotten far.


Posted by: bill | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 8:39 AM
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12

Polish Mountain is offensive?


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:05 AM
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13

The wife and houseguest just left to climb the mountain formerly known (in Salish) as the Squaw's Tit, and then, in 20th century English, as Squaw Peak.

I prefer this hike when the beargrass are in bloom.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:07 AM
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14

12: It's actually a valley, is the joke.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:09 AM
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15

12: It implies the mountain isn't shiny enough.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:09 AM
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16

We went through this in the 19th century with the onset of Balmorality, which saw perfectly good place names like Bod an Deamhain mistranslated as "Devil's Peak".

"Bod" does not quite mean "peak".


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:34 AM
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17

16: I'll never think of Monty Bodkin the same way again.


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:37 AM
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18

A great book.


Posted by: Merganser | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:39 AM
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19

Isn't a bodkin that thing you use to re-thread a drawstring?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:40 AM
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20

It is!


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:40 AM
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21

From now on, I think we should only refer to mountains as tits, as in "Tit Everest is the biggest boob on the planet" and "The Rocky Tits span the west coast of North America."


Posted by: rob helpy-chalk | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:40 AM
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22

Mountains! Hooray!


Posted by: Merganser | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:43 AM
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23

10: Yes, I think that prompted one of our prior discussions. Here and here*, but beware the thread it is embedded within.

*Also here to expose the pwned and totally derivative nature of von wafer's 9. Certain groups of people are apparently never original.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 9:45 AM
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24

Negro Mountain surprised me when I drove over it the first time. But it seems that a case can be made that Negro Mountain was actually meant to be flattering: Wiki


Posted by: F | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 10:17 AM
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25

Inside this elephant it's too dark to read.


Posted by: Pauly Shore | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 10:20 AM
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26

I dreamed I was a bagel.


Posted by: Pauly Shore | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 10:31 AM
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27

It was a donut-flavored bagel.


Posted by: Pauly Shore | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 11:22 AM
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28

Do any pictures exist of this offensive rock next to Rick Perry's driveway? I thought it was pretty weak reporting on the WaPo's partn, not including a photograph.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 11:28 AM
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29

28: The excuse given in the story is that it's accessible only via private road and the reporter wasn't granted access. Which, yeah, weak. On the other hand, the people not granting access probably own shotguns and dislike out-of-town reporters, if I have my rural Texas stereotypes right.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 11:32 AM
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30

The excuse given in the story is that it's accessible only via private road and the reporter wasn't granted access.

Weak excuse. Rent a helicopter.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 11:40 AM
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31

On the other hand, the people not granting access probably own shotguns and dislike out-of-town reporters, if I have my rural Texas stereotypes right.

This, on the other hand, is a good point. Having one of his people shoot a member of the liberal media would do great things for Perry's flagging poll numbers with the Republican electorate.


Posted by: | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 11:42 AM
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32

Yeah, but this time I made the beargrass joke.

And here's an overexposed pic taken the very day of that earlier thread.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 1:01 PM
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33

http://www.redbubble.com/people/alycetaylor/art/3584727-bear-grass

Was the first link.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 1:02 PM
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34

32: Actually, I was specifically ragging only on Von Wafer, you had new pertinent information to share in the form of today's hike.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 1:58 PM
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35

I had no idea what beargrass was until that picture.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 2:33 PM
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36

To be fair, I also had no curiosity about what beargrass was until 12.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 2:40 PM
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37

It's kind of a Dr. Seuss thing.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 2:42 PM
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38

If the good doctor liked to draw boobs.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 2:43 PM
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39

Most 12 year olds enjoy walking through a field of beargrass.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 2:44 PM
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40

I thought Paint Creek was an odd name. Wikipedia suggests its name derives from Paint Creek Stream.


Posted by: Econolicious, with watercolors | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 8:33 PM
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41

calling the term niggerhead "racially charged" would only be funny if david chapelle had written that story for the washington post. it's like saying "a man stood on the corner of U and 14th calling every passing black person 'nigger,' using what some call racially-charged language."


Posted by: alameida | Link to this comment | 10- 3-11 10:43 PM
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42

Too hard to find the link on my phone, but tomorrow I'll post video of Perry looking very uncomfortable with a group of rabbis -- and my awesome state rep -- who then take his hands and dance around the table.


Posted by: Sir Kraab | Link to this comment | 10- 4-11 12:22 AM
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43

Looks like it hit the news a few days ago, but I missed it until I was catching up in the Daily Show and it was the moment of zen. Google youtube Perry rabbis.


Posted by: Sir Kraab | Link to this comment | 10- 4-11 12:31 AM
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