It's worse than that. Italians/Irish were considered white once Mexicans started adopting Catholic orphans. Then of course white people couldn't let that happen...
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo drops the n-word in radio interview
- Thread starter lacer
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This is my take. It's def news to me, no idea that was a thing.
Got nervous when I saw the thread title since I like Cuomo. I'm relieved that this was the context in which he used the word.
I don't disagree that he shouldn't have used the word, but he's talking about his actual experience isn't he? And "decades" is sort of glossing things over. My mother is not even 70 and had shit like this said to her (and her father's) face.
Yeah when I first found out about that I was fucking blown away. Couldn't believe that is what caused the shift.
Usually I don't mind when somebody is quoting and trying to make an effective point, but your the Governor of NY. and the current reality of Italian Americans are not the same today. What ever point he was trying to make probably is going to get lost and this is just going to be fodder for certain people.
It's an ugly word. I don't really see the point of sanitizing slurs or swears. Who are you making comfortable with the cute little euphemisms?
He was also quoting something.
But it probably was a stupid thing to do though at the end of the day.
He was also quoting something.
But it probably was a stupid thing to do though at the end of the day.
Decades is not glossing things over, if your grandmother is 70 then she's been alive for 7 decades. It's a statement of fact. Italians are white now and have been for decades. Cuomo benefits from white priviledge and has for basically his entire career, his family is a political dynasty in NY state. If you don't think he should've said the n-word either then what are we arguing about exactly?
My great grandmother got here from Italy with her family a couple years before the Depression hit, and while it was hard to get a lot of detail out of her on the subject, my grandmother told me that they were treated like shit for AGES until suddenly everyone just stopped. What a weird trigger for a social shift.
I like how he said the full word then he just says the n word right after.
He didn't have to say it
He didn't have to say it
He used it in context of a quote. Why is this even an issue? Thread title really made it seem like it something it isn't. This kinda shit is annoying.
I was referred to using that two-part slur as recently as this past year during my recent visit to Upstate NY, I'm Italian American and am unmistakably white - as are my parents. Italian Americans have been largely considered "white" for decades but I don't really see how that defangs that awful slur - it certainly doesn't give me comfort when I hear hicks from Upstate NY say it to myself or my family. That shit fucking hurts when I hear it used against white-passing members of my family or otherwise.
I think there's room in discourse to say the full slur when discussing it with the intent of exposing hatred and dragging racial discrimination into the spotlight. I don't think he has any business saying it as a political official but at the same time the notion that other people can tell an Italian American that he's not allowed to directly reference a relevant racial epithet targeted towards Italian Americans is kind of... Yeah, not sure how to feel about that.
I think there's room in discourse to say the full slur when discussing it with the intent of exposing hatred and dragging racial discrimination into the spotlight. I don't think he has any business saying it as a political official but at the same time the notion that other people can tell an Italian American that he's not allowed to directly reference a relevant racial epithet targeted towards Italian Americans is kind of... Yeah, not sure how to feel about that.
I’d think quoting it, given its use historically against those sharing his nationality, would be acceptable.
This is an urban legend.
Wop comes from Guapo, meaning handsome, and was used to refer to young Italian men.
It's a really dumb and insensitive choice, and he really should've just used "n-word", but honestly it doesn't strike me as the biggest deal. That said I'm white so my opinion does not matter here
I'm not gonna lie, as a non-USA person, the entire n-word question - a word that is socially acceptable or not depending on the race of the speaker - never ceases to puzzle and fascinate me. There's literally no equivalent in my language.
This is actually a backronym. The real etymology is from the neapolitan term for "guy" - written "guappo", pronounced "wah-po", incorrectly written down by english-speakers as "wop".
It doesn't defang the awful slur, but when you are speaking publically in a broader context of governor of one of the largest states in the nation you have a higher level of responsibility than the average person. I'm of primarily Irish decent, Irish people were called all kind of awful shit just like Italians. I'm not gonna use the word even if some hick asshole in upstate NY calls me it. Same goes for a white person dating a black person being called an "n-word lover" or any other variation of white people being called the n-word.
So wait...if someone asked a person that was confronted by that slur what was said to them they have to say “n-word”?
To be quite fair I hate it when used in a quote people say 'n-word' or even 'f-word' (fuck, but can apply to others). Say the full thing. Don't add substitutes. Context matters. Obviously don't say it willy-nilly but when in a quote say what it says on paper.
They don't HAVE to do anything. It's not illegal to say the n-word. The question is whether, as a white person, you should use the n-word or not. Everyone knows what the n-word is, you will be understood.
lol i love how he used so many qualifiers, 'pardon my language', 'just quoting the times', 'i have a black friend!' but still went ahead with it.
I think using "n-word" gives people using it a pass. I've been called that and i would never say "hey i was called the n-word" fuck that. It's like some bs jedi mind trick that people use to get away with saying the word.
Public service reminder: Black people are more than capable of being outraged themselves. No need for others to be outraged for them. If we get outraged, please feel free to join in after, but try not to speak for us or without us.
-a note from one of your friendly neighborhood black people.
-a note from one of your friendly neighborhood black people.
In your opinion, in the hypothetical scenario of a white guy walking with his black wife being called n***er lover, he should only describe this incident, if asked later, with a censored slur? And if they didn’t you’d consider that in poor taste or otherwise inappropriate?
Basically if somebody ever says that some word is actually an acronym, they are wrong. Especially if the word comes from before the 50s.
Yeah, that’s where I’m at. I know plenty of Italians and this was a slur that was used. Getting bent out of shape about this seems strange since Italians didn’t used to be considered white. So...
He shouldn't have said that word because it's a terrible racial slur representing hundreds of years of violent oppression when he could have censored himself and literally made the same exact point. It's not hard.
Any kind of popular information that was mainly circulated prior to the advent of internet search engines is immediately suspect in my book.
Ehhh I'm not sure. I just don't see it as necessary to get the point across.
I've been called a sand-n***** plenty of times but I've never said it back at any point when someone asked what I was called. There's no reason to say the word.
It's still some racist assdick applying someone else's slur to me. They hate black people so much they couldn't come up with anything they consider worse, the unoriginal fucks just threw on a modifier. So repeating it just hurts two groups of minorities, lol idk. I just don't like saying it.
Does this mean we could finally be rid of this diiot now?
They look like twins
