Mau-Mauing

Ann Burlingham ann at BURLINGHAMBOOKS.COM
Wed Nov 18 12:48:49 UTC 2009


Boy, did I have to look for this reference after reading the Time
piece "Mau Mauing the Flesh Eaters"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/books/review/Schuessler-t.html

Finally got to the bottom of the wikipedia article for the presumed
explanation & reference,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_Uprising

"Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers, a 1970 essay by Tom Wolfe in which the
titular metaphor "Mau-Mauing" compares the impression of aggressive
race-based tactics used in the Mau-Mau Rebellion with the less violent
but equally instructive collision of the seminal black-radical
activist struggles of late-1960s New York City with politically naive
white-liberal donors."

It strikes me as a bit obscure. 140,000 Google hits for "mau-mauing"
specifically, though. Huh.

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