| Tuesday, July 19, 2005 |
| Wizbangapalooza |
Edited again: Paul at Wizbang's satirical jab on Monday at a California school district's Ebonics in the classroom plan has ignited a mini-blogswarm. (I reiterate my post from yesterday -- I get that the piece was satire, and I agree with Paul's basic point; that Ebonics is something that needs to be rooted out in the classroom, not nurtured. I'll stipulate that I like Wizbang -- I think it's one of the better conservative blogs. I won't even go so far as to call Paul a racist, because I don't know the man ... though if he uses the cotton picking line on me face to face, it's on...[satire alert]) ---Update note: the school system trying the Ebonics pilot is in San Bernadino County, not Oakland. Thanks J.J. ---
But Paul's post, which included the lines "Black kids are too stupid to learn English" and " I say we keep them stupid. If not, how will I ever get anyone to pick my cotton?" is still reaping blowback.
A Daily Kos poster who read the rant says "Get Wizbang!" (Update: Chadster is innocent. Someone scurrilously claimed to have posted to dKos in his name... and there's not a thing wrong with his movie reviews... sorry, Chadster) And other blogs have waded into the fight (mostly on Paul's side). But the big fight today is between Paul and someone he derisively calls the drama queen of the blogoshere, David at In Search of Utopia. The two are now trading insults, and today, David hit back with a vengeance, both at Paul and at a few Paul defenders on the ISOU thread who have called David a nigger or said his kids would be perfect little cotton pickers (that last one from some truly punkdafied wannabe movie reviewer named Lord Floppington.) As I said in David's comment section, I'll bet none of those anonymous posters would have the stones to call him a nigger to his face... Hopefully, Paul disassociates himself from those kids of remarks...
Just goes to show you where we are in the state of race in America: the blogosphere provides a valve where White people can play "Chappelle's Show" writer for a day, or make statements and jokes (like the out-of-order comments to David), that they wouldn't dare say out loud in mixed company. But racism (and the power that went with it) aren't what they used to be. What you can get away with online would buy you a beat-down in Brooklyn.
The overall verdict for me is mixed: Paul's post brought out some important issues on race, no doubt, and for that reason was a net plus (and I said as much to Paul on Wizbang). But at the end of the day it served that point better than it did the central point (on ebonics), which probably would have been better made straight-on.
While we're on the subject, and just to prove I do have a sense of hujmor, Independent Sources has come up with the best Ebonics titles of all time, including this sure-fire winner: "Ebonics is back, bitches!" and this close runner-up: "Sheeit..."
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