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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

Really?  I've heard uppity "n" used for decades and mainly in the south and 
Texas.  It was as though the two words were permanently attached.

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Akka Homestead" <akkabhomestead AT yahoo.com>
> snip<

On a separate note, I was surprised yesterday to hear people, mostly
blacks, say that the word uppity applied to them. They apparently
believed that it was a derogatory term to a black person who 'advanced
out of their station in life', or some such crap. I've lived in this
state almost all of my life, and I have never, ever, heard of the word
uppity being used like that or to describe black people. I mean, do you
think a snob is only a white person who would only eat organic food?
That is about as silly as this whole thing sounds to me. Snob is snob,
Uppity is uppity, elite is elite. There are no color references, no
racial overtones to any of those words as far as I have ever heard. I
was totally shocked to hear people on an Atlanta street claim otherwise.
When did this happen? When did 'uppity', a word I have used all my life
to describe people who flaunt money and/or their upbringing(like the
whole debutant thing), become a racial slur? Was this idea imported from
another part of the country?

Lynn Westmoreland is only ten years older than me and was raised in the
same area. I believe him when he says he was not aware of that meaning
of the word. This is a man who serves in the area of South
Atlanta...not exactly a white dominion-he's been there and done that and
would have known that, you would think...when asked to clarify his
remarks(obviously by someone who *had* heard the term used against
blacks before, he said 'uppity, yeah'. That reminds me of that funny
scene in My Cousin Vinny where Ralph Maccio is being interogated and
said " I shot the clerk!", a confession that was later used against him
in court.

I kind of feel bad for the guy-he offended people and incriminated
himself and yet had no idea that he had done so. I think, he, like me,
looked at the words this way...snob is bitchy. If you call someone a
snob, it sounds bitchy,rude and disrespectful. You can lighten that
tone and still mean the same thing by saying uppity. Uppity adds an
aspect of comic relief to the situation, too. Just the way the word
sounds as you say it provides a mini comic distraction to its meaning.
Elite is more of a neutral term, almost complimentary, but one showing
respect. Elitist still means snobbish, but it has a respectful tone.
Both Uppity and Snobbish retain the derogatory tone, but Elitist has
almost escaped it. I say almost because earlier in the campaign when
Obama was being called elitist, it certainly was used derogatory and in
a disrespectful way. In general use of the word, I think most folks
would consider it more respectful, i.e. Tiger is now golf elite.

My take is that Westmoreland knew, of course, that Barack had been
labeled elitist a few months ago and as a good Republican wanted to get
a few jabs in. Instead of going for elitist or snob, he chose uppity,
because of it's more comical edge and tone. It is less rude than calling
someone a snob, but doesn't give the respectful tone that Elitist would
carry. It definitely was derogatory, but IMO, it was not racist.

I think much of this whole matter has its origins with Michelle, not
Barack. Obama himself, as he described meeting her and trying to ask
her out, described someone who was snobbish. By her own statements,
Michelle definitely acted that way when she wondered what kind of name
Barack Obama was and was surprised when he turned out to be different
than she had imaged him to be from talking to him on the phone. These
first impressions may be still lingering in the minds of some and are
inflencing the way people see them now. There is something about
Michelle's eyebrows and look that says "I am all that". I think she
should soften her look some. I know that as an attorney she (and other
women working in a male dominated world to include Sarah Palin) has to
present herself in a strong manner and show no weakness when in front of
an audience or a courtroom. I can see how the words snob, uppity, and
elitist would slowly work its way into describing such women, but it is
not racial....at least not yet. But the meaning of words do change, and
perhaps that is what we are seeing, a word in transition.

Akka B



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