"That's so gay" controversy

[Patrick, Peter L]

Ron, I'm surprised at you! Surely you are aware of the many meanings of
"white", 
and the possibility that the usage might derive from particular
discourse patterns
relating to oil-painting (or is it auto refinishing?) in the Southern
States? Why I'm
surprised at your rash leap of faith to think it might have anything to
do with race!
 
Historically speaking this is of course nonsense, since the color white
existed for
millennia before slavery, and anyhow haven't we said enough about all
that awful stuff?
 
In any case I have no position whatsoever on the meaning of "white", and
anyone
who says I do is wrong, except to note that I could probably find lots
of dictionary 
definitions if I really tried, and I reckon the more I put in my email,
the better it would 
prove my point... 
Quit laughing - this is a grave and sombre analysis and the imprecations

for all you straight-men are serious...
            -p-
 
Prof Peter L Patrick
Dept of Language and Linguistics
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
 
E:  patrickp at essex.ac.uk
Ph:  +44 (0) 1206 87.2088
Fax: +44(0) 1206 87.2198
Web: privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~patrickp
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-linganth at ats.rochester.edu
[mailto:owner-linganth at ats.rochester.edu] On Behalf Of Kephart, Ronald
Sent: 12 March 2007 15:00
To: linganth at cc.rochester.edu
Subject: Re: [Linganth] "That's so gay" controversy
 
All this reminds me of my first teaching job, at an exclusive private
boys' 
school here in Jacksonville, Florida, 1969-70. On any day that I didn't 
assign homework, somebody was sure to say "that's really white of you,
Mr. 
Kephart."

Ron
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