Poor Joe Biden has got himself into trouble by praising Barack Obama. You might well ask, how can someone get into trouble by praising another person? Well that happens in PC America. His mistake? He called Obama "articulate", and the shit hit the fan. Evidently the word is racist when used for Blacks. I didn't know that, and I bet neither did Biden, but there it is. The liberal left and the African American intelligentsia is outraged. The NYT has some astoundingly spluttering, enraged reactions...
Now this really irritates me. How does one know which word is offensive to a certain section of society? Should this just be a hit or miss? Maybe oppressed minorities all over the world should come out with a list of words and contexts in which they are offensive. And remember, even if you take care not to praise a Black person in case he/she finds it condescending, there is no guarantee that others will not. Take this quote in the same article:
"But here is a pointer. Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person. Do not make it an outsized distinction for Brown University’s president, Ruth Simmons, if you would not for the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman. Do not make it the sole basis for your praise of the actor Forest Whitaker if it would never cross your mind to utter it about the expressive Peter O’Toole."
Hmm...okay, but what about other non-balanced contexts? Can I use the word for Mary Sue Coleman, if I don't use it for Lawrence Summers? Or will she then consider it offensive because I used it for a woman and not a man?
What if I use it for Paris Hilton instead of Susan Sarandon. Will Paris be offended because she is part of the mentally retarded minority? Hahahaha...okay the last sentence was a joke. I wonder who would call Paris Hilton articulate? Lindsey Lohan perhaps.
Anyway, coming back to the original point, it's probably time that minority stop scrutinizing each and every comment, or statement, or word through the prism of racism and just sometimes give speakers the benefit of the doubt. Remember the human vocabulary, especially English is really not enough to convey our thoughts completely ad sometimes we use words because there are no immediate alternatives in our minds. The intentions needen't be racist all the time. And neither are words. A word like "articulate" is in no way comparable to, say, the N word because "articulate" is used universally.
Let us not vilify and marginalize a word just because of perceived connotations. We have already done the same with "gay" and "come". Let's not put "articulate" in the same category.
Our vocabulary is limited as it is.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Things I Did that Make Me Cringe Now
Have you ever done something makes you cringe when you think about that now? You know, stuff that makes you go - "I can't believe I actually liked that novel!" or "How could I ever watch that movie 4 times?" No? Well I have few skeletons like that in my closet - things that makes me want to jump off a cliff in shame when I think about them now. Let's talk about a few, but please, please don't judge me... Heh
1) I used to love Yash Chopra Movies. There. I've said it. There was a time when I thought Yash Chopra was the greatest director in Bollywood. I had his filmography memorized. I loved Silsila, Kabhi Kabhi, Chandni, Lamhe, Darr, all of them. I loved the mushy romance, and the white sarees. I thought even Sridevi looked good in Chandni. I loved the songs. Arrrghhh!
I know. The malaise was deep and dangerous. I grew out of that only by the end of my graduation days. Luckily. Now I trash the films like the best of them. Yay!
2) I used to think Shah Rukh was a great actor. This started in school. I know. Simply inexcusable. But what to do? We were all such great fans of Fauji, that we wanted to see him in anything. I watched Circus avidly. I even watched Doosra Kewal. Ah, I bet you don't remember that one. And what about Idiot, based on Doestoevsky? He was there in all of them.
And then, after an expectant lull, came Deewana, his debut film! As he banged his head against the wall (literally) and croaked, "Maa, mujhe Kajal de de maaaaa..", we were transported! What an intense actor! What passion! It took us a while to realize that we would be watching variations of that scene again, and again, and some more, for the next 10 years, interspersed with the other expression, the dimpled smile.
It took Aamir Khan to teach me what acting was.
PS: But I still feel that the only movie in which SRK acted "Aamiresque" was Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, his best till date. Conversely, Aamir acted like SRK in a movie called Mela. Strictly avoid.
3) I used to like Ravi Shastri. This is simply too much, I agree. But in my defense, I was a sensitive child. I used to feel for the guy. He was booed all the time, in every match, in every venue without fail. I used to feel sorry for him. But there was no effect on him at all! Then he captained India in one match, and we won that. A 100% record. How about that? I used to argue that we missed a fine captain, much to the amusement of my uncles and other relatives. My one moment of vindication was the Champion of Champions trophy, where he bowled us to victory and got that dratted car.
As wisdom grew, and adulthood happened, and I got to hear more and more from him on ESPN etc, I realized what a disaster India had averted. I also began to more smpathetic to the wisdom of crowds. To his credit, he does not exhibit any shame at all, either when putting his hand on women's thighs on the Shaz and Waz Show, exhorting batsmen to bat fast (hahaha), defending Sachin Tendulkar come what may, or when trashing Sourav Ganguly come what may. He is, as always, a consistent idiot.
4) I thought baggy pants were cool. How I used to envy the classmate who wore the baggiest trousers while I was wearing straight cuts. Sigh. In retrospect, thank goodness for my granny's rationality, who simply refused to buy me one.
5) I supported VP Singh. This, I am truly, madly, deeply ashamed of. These were school days, when we had suddenly started thinking what with Bofors and all, Rajiv Gandhi was ruining the nation. VP Singh, the clean, uncorrupt crusader was going to be the messiah. We wore VP buttons to school, and when the elections came, I actually cast a false vote (being underage) against the Congress, just to make VP win.
We know what happened later. Mandal, Devi Lal. Unmitigated disaster. That incident shook me up so much that I have never voted again in my life, and has coloured my impressions of politicians irrevocably. Not just me. An entire generation of idealistic youngsters like me have been traumatised by their misguided support for this slimy, populist son of many fathers. VP Singh, you snake. I hope you rot in hell. And I hope you get there soon!!!!
1) I used to love Yash Chopra Movies. There. I've said it. There was a time when I thought Yash Chopra was the greatest director in Bollywood. I had his filmography memorized. I loved Silsila, Kabhi Kabhi, Chandni, Lamhe, Darr, all of them. I loved the mushy romance, and the white sarees. I thought even Sridevi looked good in Chandni. I loved the songs. Arrrghhh!
I know. The malaise was deep and dangerous. I grew out of that only by the end of my graduation days. Luckily. Now I trash the films like the best of them. Yay!
2) I used to think Shah Rukh was a great actor. This started in school. I know. Simply inexcusable. But what to do? We were all such great fans of Fauji, that we wanted to see him in anything. I watched Circus avidly. I even watched Doosra Kewal. Ah, I bet you don't remember that one. And what about Idiot, based on Doestoevsky? He was there in all of them.
And then, after an expectant lull, came Deewana, his debut film! As he banged his head against the wall (literally) and croaked, "Maa, mujhe Kajal de de maaaaa..", we were transported! What an intense actor! What passion! It took us a while to realize that we would be watching variations of that scene again, and again, and some more, for the next 10 years, interspersed with the other expression, the dimpled smile.
It took Aamir Khan to teach me what acting was.
PS: But I still feel that the only movie in which SRK acted "Aamiresque" was Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, his best till date. Conversely, Aamir acted like SRK in a movie called Mela. Strictly avoid.
3) I used to like Ravi Shastri. This is simply too much, I agree. But in my defense, I was a sensitive child. I used to feel for the guy. He was booed all the time, in every match, in every venue without fail. I used to feel sorry for him. But there was no effect on him at all! Then he captained India in one match, and we won that. A 100% record. How about that? I used to argue that we missed a fine captain, much to the amusement of my uncles and other relatives. My one moment of vindication was the Champion of Champions trophy, where he bowled us to victory and got that dratted car.
As wisdom grew, and adulthood happened, and I got to hear more and more from him on ESPN etc, I realized what a disaster India had averted. I also began to more smpathetic to the wisdom of crowds. To his credit, he does not exhibit any shame at all, either when putting his hand on women's thighs on the Shaz and Waz Show, exhorting batsmen to bat fast (hahaha), defending Sachin Tendulkar come what may, or when trashing Sourav Ganguly come what may. He is, as always, a consistent idiot.
4) I thought baggy pants were cool. How I used to envy the classmate who wore the baggiest trousers while I was wearing straight cuts. Sigh. In retrospect, thank goodness for my granny's rationality, who simply refused to buy me one.
5) I supported VP Singh. This, I am truly, madly, deeply ashamed of. These were school days, when we had suddenly started thinking what with Bofors and all, Rajiv Gandhi was ruining the nation. VP Singh, the clean, uncorrupt crusader was going to be the messiah. We wore VP buttons to school, and when the elections came, I actually cast a false vote (being underage) against the Congress, just to make VP win.
We know what happened later. Mandal, Devi Lal. Unmitigated disaster. That incident shook me up so much that I have never voted again in my life, and has coloured my impressions of politicians irrevocably. Not just me. An entire generation of idealistic youngsters like me have been traumatised by their misguided support for this slimy, populist son of many fathers. VP Singh, you snake. I hope you rot in hell. And I hope you get there soon!!!!
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