An unexpected occurrence of an ethnic slur

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Tue Jun 24 03:38:36 UTC 2008


I can't say. Even when rap/hip-hop was a new thing, I had already aged
out of caring about contemporary music of any genre. My iTunes
playlist contains only "Back That Azz Up," "Baby Got Back," "Word Up,"
"Buy U a Drank," "There It Is," "Straight Outta Texas," "U Can't Touch
This," and "Welcome to Texas," among over a thousand sides.

But I wouldn't be surprised, this despite Jews being only the only
white ethnic group with a propensity for giving a brother a break.

-Wilson

On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 10:01 PM, Paul <paulzjoh at mtnhome.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Paul <paulzjoh at MTNHOME.COM>
> Subject:      Re: An unexpected occurrence of an ethnic slur
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Can't remember a specific but weren't there a lot of anti semitic lyrics
> in early Rap?
>
> Wilson Gray wrote:
>> In the song, "Garlic Blues," Helen Humes sings that her garlic-loving
>> boyfriend is
>>
>> "... just like a _dago_ ..."
>>
>> AFAIK, this is unique in black music. Well, there is the use of
>> "monkey-man" for a West Indian. But this is the only case that I know
>> of in which a slur against a white ethnic group occurs.
>>
>> -Wilson
>> --
>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>> -----
>>  -Sam'l Clemens
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
>
> My conclusion  is an estimation based upon a guess.
>
> .
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
 -Sam'l Clemens

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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