Is ‘Black Hole’ Really a Racist Term?
| More news stories on Bizarre Racism Charges |
|---|
Julia Gorin, Christian Science Monitor, July 23, 2008
Did you know “black hole” is now a racist term?
I didn’t and neither, apparently, did Dallas County Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield. {snip}
{snip}
Taking offense at an astronomy term may sound ludicrous, but it’s merely an outgrowth of the widespread belief that the English language—along with its countless metaphors and figures of speech—is racially biased and therefore must be defanged.
When her son, Ennis, was killed by a Ukrainian member of a Latino gang in L.A., Camille Cosby (wife of Bill Cosby) penned an Op-Ed saying that America had taught her son’s killer to hate and cited negative associations that American society and language pin to the word “black.”
“America’s educational institutions’ dictionaries,” she wrote, “define ‘black’ as harmful; hostile; disgrace; unpleasant aspects of life. ‘White’ is described as ‘decent; honorable; auspicious; without malice.’ “
She’s got a point: black sheep, dark humor, Black Tuesday—the list goes on. But is the racial burden of word associations really so black and white? {snip} Take casinos. Would you rather be holding a stack of white chips in your hand, or a stack of black chips? The black chip is worth $100; the white chip, $1.
Next, what color clothes do most women prefer to wear—black or white? Black is thinning; white is the opposite—and often a no-no. In Karate, would you rather be a black belt or white belt?
WHAT?! You’re wearing white shoes after Labor Day? You must be a freak! Indeed, there are only three months out of the year during which it’s acceptable for a woman to wear white shoes. And for a man? Only black men can pull off wearing white shoes. Meanwhile, black-tie affairs are the epitome of class and elegance.
In earlier times, the blacksmith was the center of any town’s economy. Today, note the derision in the tone with which the phrase “white-collar crime” slithers off the tongue of anyone speaking it. Not that we should whitewash the issue. After all, with fewer white-collar criminals abusing the system, more of us would be in the black.
{snip}
[Editor’s Note: You can read about this silly “black hole” controversy in AR News articles starting here.]
(Posted on July 23, 2008)
Comments
I have never liked the use of either black or white as terms defining racial status - the use has been intruding on our culture and language all along.
I know, but I go along because I have no real choice.
Posted by Whiteplight at 6:28 PM on July 23
Scientists in general don’t seem to go much for this type of sillyness and won’t change anything to suit those that are dumb or with an agenda. People like the Commissioner operate on such an infantile level that tailoring the English language to fit them would be impossible. It is a sad commentary on the state of this country that someone as idiotic and uneducated as he could hold any public title.
Posted by Eric at 6:47 PM on July 23
It’s black and its a hole and sucks in anything in it’s path…hummm, maybe it sounds too much like the blacks on welfare…sucks everything and gives back nothing….damn..that must be it!!
Posted by lydia at 8:02 PM on July 23
There was a college professor claiming that the game of billiards, pool, was a racist metaphor for racial reality. Saying something like, ‘The white ball knocks all the colored balls into pockets from which they cannot escape’. I ever heard this theory presented in a movie staring Eddie Murphy. At the pool hall, Eddie Murphy’s character simply laughed and shook his head about it in the movie.
I read about this theory in an inflammatory politically incorrect newspaper. The paper responded by saying, “perhaps bowling is more professor X’s style”.
Posted by Mr. Pibb at 8:55 PM on July 23
Anything can be a racial slur - if you want it to be.
Posted by jewamongyou at 10:55 PM on July 23
To Whiteplight (post of 6:28 PM on July 23):
Reference to color probably isn’t the most appropriate way to describe race. But blacks’ anthropological designation is being systematically eliminated from our vocabulary, and use of the term “African-American” already gets so laboriously redundant that consistently sustituting “white” with “European-American” would be even more ridiculously awkward.
At least “black” and “white” are convenient, single-syllable words that convey an essential distinction.
I know, whatcha gonna do?
Posted by KonfederateKarl at 11:40 PM on July 23
Here’s a simile for you: Black society is like a black hole, in that money (matter) gets sucked in and is never seen again. And while this sort of simile is never actually said by Whites in the presence of Blacks (unless you don’t care about the well-being of your body), hypersensitive Blacks might think that is what the White person is really thinking when the term “black hole” was mentioned. Thus the (to us) irrational reaction. Just another example of the tremendous differences that may always separate us.
Posted by Lonely Jew at 1:14 AM on July 24
Maybe we should change the definition of the colors so black is white and white is black. It may work. In the end it is all about culture and behavior. It is nothing to do with color. V
Posted by at 2:42 AM on July 24
“Anything can be a racial slur - if you want it to be.”
That goes both ways. Anything can be perceived as a racial slur. And anything can be intended as a racial slur. Just like conversation on mundane topics can made as if sexually suggestive. We all know, however, who gets to preceive everything as a possible racial slur, and who actually speaks in a manner intending to degrade.
Posted by Mr. Pibb at 10:38 AM on July 24
Did Dallas County Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield lose his brain in a black hole? If this is the most important issue the Commission has to deal with, it should be disbanded.
Posted by Sardonicus at 10:44 AM on July 24
These ignorant fools can Never be Appeased. In the first place most people calling themselves black are far from it, they fall within a broad spectrum of what anyone with a brain would call light tan to dark black. Brown is NOT black in the world I come from. One of the first thing kids did when I started school was to learn the names of the different colors. These black (sic) might want to try to do that. P.s. I don’t think I have ever met a WHITE person either but I’m not complaining..
Posted by Todd at 12:19 PM on July 24
“…Scientists in general don’t seem to go much for this type of sillyness and won’t change anything to suit those that are dumb or with an agenda….”
Then again, the geniuses at NASA (at least some of which apparently have an agenda that thus far defies description) recently decided that Pluto, a spherical rock-ball that hurtles itself about the Sun in a regular, predictable fashion exactly as the other eight spherical rock-balls in our solar system do is not a planet, but should be unceremoniously reduced to a “planetoid” (whatever the heck that is) because someone made the highly subjective determination that it is too small to be a real planet, but an irregularly-shaped, raggedy rock that has been recognized as an asteroid for centuries has now been christened the new ninth planet for God-only-knows what reasons. I could have sworn these highly educated folks with their fancy MIT degrees had better, REAL things to do, like, oh, I don’t know… ACTUAL ASTRONOMY. You have to wonder what they’re teaching in science class these days…
Posted by at 2:40 PM on July 24
Obviously, English is an unacceptably racist language which will soon be replaced by Ebonics.
Posted by Gary at 2:45 PM on July 24
What about brown dwarfs?
Posted by at 3:49 PM on July 24
The saying always was divide and conquer. Thats what multiculturalism and diversity does. It divides us in multi-ways and leaves our enemies (like China) a great big opening. No wonder they hold so much of our debt. Our schools, workplaces, government, are all paralyzed with this curse and is just a matter of time for our demise.
Posted by at 9:53 AM on July 25
I love it when they get all hypersensitive over petty things like terms that give the color black a negative connotation, or the color white a postive one. It only serves to remind whites how far many blacks will go these days, in order to try and instill some good old fashioned white guilt in them.
When they go this far it has the opposite effect. And reminds whites how far blacks will go these days in order to manipulate them. Those who actually fall for it, are weak brainwashed drones, and beyond hope.
Posted by at 11:28 AM on July 25
Blacks are not really offended by innocent uses of “Black Hole”, “tar baby”, etc.. This is the power game they play and it’s all pretense. If they can get the “white establishment” to self-ban their use of such phases then they have exercised clout and hence have more clout, and as a bonus have a good laugh at sucker whitey. These rediculous & phoney complaints should be ignored.
Posted by Helper at 6:13 PM on July 25
Most companies want to be “in the black”, not in “the red”. Maybe that should be changed as well.
Posted by at 10:52 PM on July 29
Next blacks will complain about whites having hair that dosen’t look and feel like a brillow pad and demand that we all kink our hair so it will be equal to theirs…
Posted by at 5:51 PM on July 31