> > DP
C. G. Estabrook replied:
> This is the sort of linguistic prudery that makes "PC" such an effective
> propaganda charge amongst working-class Americans.
No "linguisitc prudery" here (just ask Rakesh, who termed me "vulgar" the other day). I was just surprised that Cockburn used "Chinamen," and simply urged him on to greater heights (or depths). Indeed, slurs and slanders can yield fine results if used properly and "ironically." But here it seemed lazy.
> If we wish to speak of political substance rather than ethnic symbols, we
> might recall that it was this same Cockburn who objected -- scandalously,
> to right-thinking liberals -- to the element of racism ("yellow peril")
> involved in the opposition to China's inclusion in the WTO.
It was also this same Cockburn who, when he was writing Press Clips for the Voice, penned a funny item titled "Come Off It, Hentoff." Those were the days when the Voice allowed its writers to go after each other; and Cockburn mocked Nat Hentoff's complaint about the "language police" (pre-PC period, c. 1981) at the Voice. Then Cockburn said that when the police came his way, he gave in without a fight. Now he uses "Chinamen," which, the last time I heard it used, was in a repeat of "Kung Fu" by some redneck cowpokes. Guess the cops at the Press are on the take.
DP