On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 4:55 PM, James Heartfield
<Heartfield at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
> And John Thornton, who thinks it unacceptable to use the phrase Uncle Tom, chides us not to waste time arguing with Shane Mage when he calls Sarah Palin 'Pit Bull Bitch' http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20080922/015434.html Jim Davis recommends that we denounce Palin as 'the whore of Babylon http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20080929/015866.html (just as a joke, you understand). Andie ruminates cheerfully:"Hillary as a sex object is personally difficult for me to get a grip on. ..Palin doesn't do anything for me, but I never went for the cute perky overly cheerful type. I can see how them as finds that type appealing might see here as a sex object. For all the cuteness and perkiness, she's definitely not, er, soft and feminine. In term of hotness, Rice is another story. She can be quite hot in a domme-fetish sort of way." And then the whole list has a good laugh about Nailin' Palin.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I don't want LBO to stop its cheerfully un-pc banter. I like it that way, That's why I was a bit surprised to be told off by John in these terms:
>
>> Maybe it [the phrase Uncle Tom] has different social baggage in the UK?
>> Not as bad a ni**er but not too far off either."
>
> "LBO Search Results for n-word 1 to 15 of 229 results."
>
> I agree with Dennis Claxton, that Nader's jibe missed the mark, but not with John that the term is unacceptable (and it appears that John does not agree with John, for that matter, because he says it is alright to call some black people Uncle Tom, but not others). For my own part, I would not use the phrase, because it appeals to an idea of black solidarity that I do not share in. But people have to be allowed to say it if that is what they mean.
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