Hastings-haters

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 11/29/06, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 11/29/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> >
> > In his announcement that he would not seek the chairmanship of the
> > House intelligence committee, Rep. Alcee Hastings released a statement
> > ending with this line:
> >
> > "Sorry, haters, God is not finished with me yet."
> >
> > <http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002049.php>
> >
> > That's presumably the hiphop sense of "hater", short for
> > "player-hater" (defined by the new OED entry as "a person who is
> > jealous of the success of others", with cites back to 1993).
> >
> > Interesting to hear that term coming from a congressman, as opposed to
> > a rapper, sports star, etc.
>
> No, it isn't. It might not even be interesting, if Hastings were
> white. But there's certainly nothing interesting about a black person
> talking black. I've been known to do it myself, from time to time,
> when circumstances warrant. And "hater" is no longer a shortened form
> of "player-hater." Like the cheese, it now stands alone.

Point taken, Wilson. I guess what made it interesting (to me) was more
the context than the speaker. It wasn't in conversational speech but
at the end of a formal statement written in the typical register of
"officialese." (First sentence: "I have been informed by the
Speaker-elect that I will not serve as the Chairman of the House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the 110th Congress.")
The unexpected stylistic contrast of the "haters" line gives it the
pizzazz of a good punchline.


--Ben Zimmer

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