Bored? I'll proudly go where others won't by asking if anyone else caught Oprah's political push towards Obama with that ridiculous rise & fall (using Marthin Luther King's famous voice inflection as in his, I've Got A Dream?) Why does that woman switch personalities like a chameleon depending on her audience? On her show she sounds white, yet when she's supporting a black president to her black audience she sounds like a Louisiana preacher?

No, this isn't a racist statement, it's an observation. Word to Oprah: Decide who you are and be proud, not fickle.

By saying... "Come on, if you live in our society you KNOW what one means when they say someone is sounding white or black!" it implies that black people sound a certain way, and whites another.

You can try to clean it up, but it is what it is. Right?

When you assume correct grammar, diction, pronunication is attributed to a certain race of people --- instead of a particular social status/culture/education level, you're mistaken and subtly.....racist.

It's not a suprise to me when a Black person carries themselves well, speaks eloquently, and is well-traveled, and diverse, because I haven't internalized idiodic stereotypes. I hear them, and I know I've chosen to make a decision about people, individually, for myself. When you make blanket statements..... more than likely, you'll probably be wrong.

"When you assume correct grammar, diction, pronunication is attributed to a certain race of people --- instead of a particular social status/culture/education level, you're mistaken and subtly.....racist. "

Actually, you'd be subtly predjudiced. Racism is defined as using a position of power to exert power over another person, based on race. Having a pejorative view is not the same thing. A person can be hopelessly predjudiced and still not be a racist.

Here is an example:

A white policeman pulling over someone for being BWD (Black While Driving) is a racist. The policeman's wife saying she likes her husband pulling over black people because she hates n*****s is a predjudiced bit@h, but she is not a racist.

The distiniction is needed, when having a discussion over race. I heard this distinction outlined by a black radio host, and it stuck with me. He said racism and racist are terms not to be overused, as they lose their meaning.

semantics.

Oh Oh! dismissing a post by calling it "semantics"!!!

up next, comparison involving Nazis or Hitler!

thus proving Godwin's law once again!

If has feathers, lays eggs,walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....

My son has asked me in the past why people who weren't born in Africa want to be called African Americans. I didn't know how to explain this to him appropriately.

My ancestors are from Canada (my grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Quebec and Nova Scotia), but my parents and I were born here so we consider ourselves Americans. None of my family calls themselves Canadian Americans because our ancestors came from Canada. My ex-hubby's ancestors are from Ireland. His parents and grandparents were born in America, so they consider themselves Americans. They don't call themselves Irish Americans. So, that's kind of where I get stuck with coming up with a viable explanation...sigh!

I don't know much about Canadian history, but from what I know people didn't originate there, just like they didn't originate here (meaning American). So, are your ancestors really Canadian??

Just like I have never heard the term Australian American. I guess because there is no such thing. From what I remember learning about their history people were dropped off there from Europe as a type of imprisonment. So, either way they initial people came from Europe.

Also, I don't understand why people act like African American is the only term used when describing a race. What about European Americans, Asian Americans, etc? Maybe it's b/c African American is used more, but they all exist.

Come on, if you live in our society you KNOW what one means when they say someone is sounding white or black! We are not all ignorant. Haven't you heard of ebonics? Being that some states wanted to start teaching classes in ebonics should be an indicator that there is a difference in the way SOME white people and SOME black people speak. I noticed that Oprah did not sound herself when speaking on Obama's behalf.

And please, don't tell me that Oprah can be prejudice, but not racist. How can it be that only the white race can be racist? That is ridiculous. It is a racist comment to even suggest that a black person cannot be racist. Are you suggesting that black people are incapable of hating another race simply because they were born black? When you say this, you set yourself apart.

And last, the point is MOOT, not mute.

Thanks.

I am going by the definition of the word racist. Clearly you are not. It sounds like you are going by what you think the word means. I didn't see where anyone said blacks couldn't be racist b/c they were born black.

Ebonics to me is no different from other slang or nonstandard English. Either way it's sterotyping and useless to make it seems like one race talks one way and to specifically use ebonics when describing blacks speaking. We don't say all whites speak redneck.

I don't watch Oprah because I don't watch like to watch talk shows and I don't like to watch TV before the prime time hours but it is my understanding that Oprah is both a brilliant communicator and facilitator. She does do a brilliant job of entertaining her audience and, well, educating them and doing a little bit of consciousness raising. From what I have heard about her show she promotes reading, writers, and serious literature, has encouraged talking about relationship issues via her promotion of Dr. Phil, does feature the usual array of Hollywood stars, but also features real people and real issues on her show. There is, I am certain, much which has been overlooked in the above list: this is because I have never watched her show. (I've only seen her as an actress in a few movies and she is a very gifted actress.)

I guess the point that I want to make is that this woman is extraordinarily talented, and highly intelligent and she also seems to have a moral centre. And she favours Obama in the up-coming presidential race.... Did it ever occur to any of you that she may be favouring him because she believes that he is the best candidate? and not because of skin tone?

And as for this biz of one altering one's speech to suit one's audience, well, hell, Green has been doing this for years now. I am a fairly well-educated and literary kind of cat who spent the last 18 years before I retired building aircraft; do you think that I used the same vocabulary and grammatical complexities when I was hanging with my fellow grunts? And do ya think that my language is as foul when I post here as it is when I spend time with these buddies? Intelligent and sensitive communicators know that you pitch your language according to your audience. This is only a matter of showing respect to your audience the way I see it. It has no more significance than that.

I don't know much about Canadian history, but from what I know people didn't originate there, just like they didn't originate here (meaning American). So, are your ancestors really Canadian??

Technically, the only people who were in Canada for a loooong time were the Native Americans - they're the "most" Canadian, I guess. For me being coined Canadian can mean I have all sorts of ethnicities in my background - it's a true melting pot of a country - something I dearly love and cherish about it. It's safe to say Canadians are all quite proud of their diversity and the diversity of their country - that's what being proud to be a Canadian is all about.

I guess my point is...do we REALLY know where we all originated from? My brothers traced our family back to one dude from France. I don't know anything further back than that. Whether I had this knowledge or not, I still wouldn't call myself a "Franco-American" or a "European-American." I'm not a "Caucasian-American" or a "Pasty White American." I'm not a "Morbidly Obese American" either. I am simply an AMERICAN! :usa2:

IMHO, if you are a U.S. citizen, you should consider yourself to be an American...period. It would be nifty if our country could be a bit less divisive and focus more on the things we have in common instead of incessantly pointing out our cultural and racial differences. If more people took this view, maybe there wouldn't be such rampant racism.

I learned about how well this could work in my classroom. I've had many, many children in class who had differences that they could have very easily been picked on for; however, I didn't make a big deal out of it, so no one else in the class did and everyone got along just fine. It's really not a tough concept.

Technically, the only people who were in Canada for a loooong time were the Native Americans - they're the "most" Canadian, I guess. For me being coined Canadian can mean I have all sorts of ethnicities in my background - it's a true melting pot of a country - something I dearly love and cherish about it. It's safe to say Canadians are all quite proud of their diversity and the diversity of their country - that's what being proud to be a Canadian is all about.

Yep, my mum always liked to say that we Canucks are all a real Heinz 57, just like the soups. Of course this holds equally true for Americans, I figure.

My parents are immigrants but I was born here in Canada and I am sunblock 50 white but about 15 years or so ago I used to amuse myself by telling those people who asked me about my roots that I was Jamaican. I would announce this in all sincerity without even attempting to change my Canuck accent, eh, and then I would groove on the weird looks which I would see on their faces. Oooh, it was so much fun for the very bored Green. :heh: (I was at loose ends at the time and so I indulged myself in a number of social experiments/pranks. :huggie:)

My parents are immigrants but I was born here in Canada and I am sunblock 50 white but about 15 years or so ago I used to amuse myself by telling those people who asked me about my roots that I was Jamaican. I would announce this in all sincerity without even attempting to change my Canuck accent, eh, and then I would groove on the weird looks which I would see on their faces. Oooh, it was so much fun for the very bored Green. :heh:

OMG! That is TOO funny! :pound:

I think you're right about the slang. I do think there is a street-black way of talking, but that can't be generalized to all blacks, just like redneck talk can't be generalized from Jeff Foxworthy to all whites. Even as slang, it's still a shorthand so it's often wrong. Or Eminem would be black.... Oddly, when I moved to the South, I thought everyone of every race "sounded black". Just goes to show how stupid gross generalizations can be.....

I don't watch Oprah because I don't watch like to watch talk shows and I don't like to watch TV before the prime time hours but it is my understanding that Oprah is both a brilliant communicator and facilitator. She does do a brilliant job of entertaining her audience and, well, educating them and doing a little bit of consciousness raising. From what I have heard about her show she promotes reading, writers, and serious literature, has encouraged talking about relationship issues via her promotion of Dr. Phil, does feature the usual array of Hollywood stars, but also features real people and real issues on her show. There is, I am certain, much which has been overlooked in the above list: this is because I have never watched her show. (I've only seen her as an actress in a few movies and she is a very gifted actress.)

I guess the point that I want to make is that this woman is extraordinarily talented, and highly intelligent and she also seems to have a moral centre. And she favours Obama in the up-coming presidential race.... Did it ever occur to any of you that she may be favouring him because she believes that he is the best candidate? and not because of skin tone?

And as for this biz of one altering one's speech to suit one's audience, well, hell, Green has been doing this for years now. I am a fairly well-educated and literary kind of cat who spent the last 18 years before I retired building aircraft; do you think that I used the same vocabulary and grammatical complexities when I was hanging with my fellow grunts? And do ya think that my language is as foul when I post here as it is when I spend time with these buddies? Intelligent and sensitive communicators know that you pitch your language according to your audience. This is only a matter of showing respect to your audience the way I see it. It has no more significance than that.

Green,

As usual; "a beacon of light!" Well-said...

I totally agree with you. I can't stand Oprah. It seems, we need to believe what she believes, read what she reads, go where she goes, etc....get my drift? Can no one think for themselves anymore? You have these housewives that stand and cheer for her as if she is God, and feel every word out of her mouth truly inspired???

And NO, I am not a racist.