BE "due to the fact that" & No, no! Not again!

[Joel S. Berson]

At 9/23/2008 12:51 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
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>I thought that the problem of sending missives meant for my wife to
>the listserv had been solved, but senior moments trump everything
>else, I guess. My mind was on the listserv, to which I had the
>intention to post the following:
>
>BE _due to the fact that_ = "because"
>
>This time, it was used by a thirty-ish, black-male speaker from Dade
>County, Florida. But this phrase is used by black speakers of all
>social levels in all levels of speech from coast to coast. It''s often
>reduced to "dewd/dood th' fack that" [dIw:/du:d T@ f&k T&t]."
>
>This phrase is *extremely* common in the 'hood and has been for as
>long as I've been able to understand English. *Everybody* - from
>street thugs to college professors - uses it! But, I'm not sure that
>I've heard any white person use it.
>
>So, my trivial question is:
>
>Do white folks also use this?

Only the uppity whites.

Joel

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