We know from that Colbert interview that Rep. Westmoreland is no polished rhetor but even for a dim bulb that’s a pretty rockin’ string-o’-words. I mean just in terms of structure, content aside.

“they’re a member” – either “they’re members” or “she’s a member”. “They” is plural, “a member” is singular.

“a member of an elitist-class individual” – can’t make sense, either “an elitist-class individual” (or “individuals”) or “a member of an elitist-class” (or “members”)

Well there’s this: “The innocent young girl, during her first day as house-servant in Farnsworth Manor, was dusting the knick-knack shelf when Lord Farnsworth himself walked up behind her with his pants off and said, ‘Heh heh, my little working-class cupcake, here’s something I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen before, a member of an elitist-class individual.‘ Startled, she turned to see his ancient claw-like hands reaching out to grab her. His eyes were glassy, his mouth agape. She shrieked, threw the feather-duster at him, and fled.”

Surely some young house-maid in one of Senator McCain’s seven or eight or nine houses knows exactly what I’m talkin’ about.

“that thinks” – “who thinks” or “who think”

“that thinks they’re” – this ain’t rocket-science, Rep. W., get it straight: “that” = just one, “they” = two or more.

“that thinks they’re uppity” – “who are uppity” That’s got to be what Rep. W. meant. Fact: no one, not even the uppitiest of the uppity, thinks inwardly that they themselves are “uppity.” No one anywhere has ever sung:

Hey look over here, I’m uppity
As uppity as can a man be
Ain’t another soul in all Saint Louie
Half as uppity as me

or

I feel uppity
Oh so uppity
I feel uppity and witty and gay
And I pity
Any candidate
Who isn’t me today

“Uppity” is a word one applies to others, never to oneself.

After you boil out surplus words (”members of an elitist-class individual” => “elitist”) and repair the grammar and logic errors, you end up with three words instead of twelve: “They’re uppity elitists.”

But I have admittedly used the term to refer to other white folk who were acting as if their money, or their credit-line facade of money, somehow made them better than me.

No matter what Westmoreland did or didn’t mean to imply by using the term ‘uppity,’ he used it nevertheless.

I think the real issue is that Westmoreland and other people like him, are uncomfortable with (educated and successful) ‘black folk’ sitting across the table from them in the “Big House.”

I wonder if they’ll ask the Obamas to use the back door to enter and exit the White House?

—

Biographical note:
I grew up poor, southern, and white … and every time that my father blamed, “those n_____s” for his problems, it made my blood boil. So I got educated, and moved to Boston.

I suppose it’s technically possible for it to be used in a non-bigoted setting, but that doesn’t usually happen. And considering that the reporters even offered Rep. Westmoreland an out, asked for clarification, and he stuck with it, shows that he knew exactly what he was saying. It was just a slip of the tongue ’cause he was looking for a synonym for “elitist.”

Although isn’t it funny that the only people who “don’t think it was a racial comment” come from the south?

Hehe…

I love it when white guys argue over who’s a racist…

What’s next?

Yo’ Mama’s so racist, she …

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

to you who said ….”when was the last time you heard the word uppity used when it wasn’t followed by the N-word?”
My answer: When my mother was talking about her new cat, and she meant nothing racial.

to you who said….”Having lived in the south for a considerable part of my youth, I can safely say that “uppity” has a fairly exclusive meaning and it isn’t the one J McCann describes. Anyone who has a southern background can tell you that uppity is used to describe black people who don’t know there place.”
My answer:… wrong! as I stated before, I have always lived in the south. I am a small town girl all the way. I actually have heard black women use the term in referring to their boss, who was also my boss at the time. and I agreed with them. The boss was “uppity” because he was arrogant. He was not “reaching above his station” as he had certainly earned his place as president of the company, however, he “talked down” to his employees as though he thought we didn’t have any sense so we thought he seemed “uppity”. (and he was white by the way)

to you who said…”calling someone uppity is a form of snobbery. It’s no different than ghetto kids criticizing academically inclined blacks for “acting white.” Southerners, who demand strict adherence to hierarchy and class station, understand this.”
My answer:… well now, are you saying that you are in fact a southerner, “who demand(s) strict adherence to hierarchy and class station” since you in fact seem to see a racial conotation in the word “uppity”. I do filter a person into a social or racial class, I seek the heart and the soul of a person and therefore I do not “understand this”.

Apparently you don’t understand the concept of sarcasm. I should have added the /sarcasm tag at the end so thinking-challenged people like you would understand and not be so confused.

Or was this just a juvenile “You can’t tell me what to do! Only Oliver can tell me what to do!” response?

Using that worth in a scholarly sense is not racist and should not be offensive.

So now you consider your comments “scholarly”?

Sure, Professor. Scholarly. Whatever.

Dave: “CS, unless you are black yourself you are NOT allowed to use THAT word.”

Unless you run this site, you don’t have a say in what is and is not allowed here.

Using that worth in a scholarly sense is not racist and should not be offensive.

Sometimes a boy is just a boy, but ‘uppity’ is never anything but derogatory. It is only applied to people who should supposedly accept their station and not try to better it, no matter how shitty it is. When used against women, it’s sexist. When used against minorities, it’s bigoted. Lynn Westmoreland expressed a bigoted opinion regarding Barack Obama; Jimmy Carter admired a country where a child of a disadvantaged background could still grow up hoping to led that country. That anybody would compare these two statements is deeply, shamefully stupid.

so what sort of racist eruption is this?

CS, unless you are black yourself you are NOT allowed to use THAT word.

Yes, this is a new low, but for Westmoreland and you.

He couldn’t be more clear on his racism unless called Obama a nigger.

I disagree with this entirely.

Niggardly has no racial overtones in its meaning or usage. Neither does “Black hole”. Both words have in recent years been claimed, in ignorance, to have derogatory and racist meanings. But they don’t and I don’t support spreading ignorance around.

Uppity has a long history of being used with racist overtones.