Offensive? Inexplicable? All of the above? Anti-healthcare ad in which a bunch of people proclaim "I guess I'm a racist." I am FLOORED. Convoluted rheotrical strategy FAIL, and, oh yeah, RACIST.
The Tiger Woods thing is not interesting to me. The New York Post's headline about his "harem" though made me want to punch something (racist exoticization and removal of female agency! All in one!).
I think it's a case of people using a word without knowing it's full history and meaning. To most Americans(tm) a Harem was presented to them in a disneyfied(tm) manner and not from a historical or factual perspective. If they were to think a little bit about it , they might choose another word.
Then again, in the case of Tiger they were probably struggling to stop short of calling him a pimp.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-08 04:06 pm (UTC)Then again, in the case of Tiger they were probably struggling to stop short of calling him a pimp.