I had to share this link: Racial slur on sofa label

getonmylevel718

Lol, sorry man. Things like that won't wait.

sevenoneeighty

getonmylevel718 wrote: Actually I have read McWhorter. Well for one, he admits that his FACTS are simply opinions from what he has seen personally, not a real study. McWhorter acknowledges that he is probably the "wrong person" to be making his arguments as he is neither a social scientist, an anthropologist or a trained education researcher. Educators are well aware of the problem, and I agree there is a problem. However, researchers have found that even though blacks complete less homework than whites, they spend as much time doing it. And while much is made of black kids who ostracize high achievers, researchers have found blacks no more likely than whites to lose social status among their peers because they do well in school.

"The more we look at the data, the more we move away from a simple cultural explanation," Ronald F. Ferguson, a Harvard University researcher. "There are behavioral differences that you can observe between racial groups, but they tend not to be behaviors that help you predict achievement."The issues McWhorter raises are important. But his argument is flawed. Ward Connerly, the leader of a national anti-affirmative action movement, has called him to offer assistance. The Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, has named him a contributing editor to its journal. Others have offered ballet and opera tickets, not to mention large public speaking fees. And McWhorter even credits Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom, the conservative activists who wrote "America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible," a book that argues against affirmative action and brims with racial statistics, for providing much of the raw data underlying his conclusions. What happened to independent research? Let's just say, to blanket a race or group of people the way he does is ill-advised and it makes me feel he had the conclusion before the research. You can say what you want but you seem intelligent enough to know that is not balance. Plus as a child he was picked on by his black peers, kind of feels likes sour grapes to me. Thats why i disagree with him. I do my homework.

P.S. It wasn't a sweeping accusation, it was directed to only you.

Ding, Ding, school is in. Now both my wife and I already have our graduate degrees so let me help you out here:
You get an "I". Sorry, your homework is EXTREMELY Incomplete.
Your explanation for all of the proven data is "sour grapes"? Interesting.

McWhorter's (AND MANY OTHERS BESIDES HIS) assessments are based on data and statistics and cannot simply be dismissed as "opinion" by web pundits. Anyone who has actually read it would know this. The data shows much more than what you state alone. Denying it, wont make things better - they are, in fact, getting worse whether you like him or not.
Money for speaking fees? Who cares? What is Hillary's or anyone else's fee for a speech today? Again, garbage - what does any of that prove?

Al Sharpton was also made fun of in school because of his weight...hmmm...sour grapes, I guess.

Some people really confuse opinion with fact in our communities which is why they are deteriorating at the fast rate that they are. Conservative, liberal, all labels to get people away from the true facts. Is anyone ever introduced as a "liberal" commentator in our society?
It also seems the word "conservative" is always code for "something evil"
Keep sweeping; You are missing some very big spots.
You may need some Booker T. Washington on your reading list too.

How do you explain the other uses of the word historically as a color description, independent of American culture? Why do you CHOOSE to ignore this? What do you gain by ignoring these FACTS exactly?

How does this help prove any point you may have? Doesn't the "chicken little couch cause" hurt the fight against real charges of racism because it takes focus away from those real things?

getonmylevel718

Oh boy, lol. You really wont let this go. My explanation for the condition in the Black community is not sour grapes. Its my explaination for him writing about it. Like I said he admits it. What else can you say when someone says it themselves. And my issue was never with the couch, I'm not going to get upset over a stupid couch. It was the use of the N-word on this site. You seem not to remember that. Who said I deny the reality of the situation (are you acutually reading my words). How can one not see what is happening around them. You assume that I do. Why I don't know. And yeah there is data on the subject, I just think he got a good portion of the data from a biased source. I don't trust data from people with a stake in the conclusions. What does Sharpton have to do with McWhorter? Why are you bringing him up? Code for something evil? Come on get real. LOL. Who said that? How do you know my political stance? I'm not knocking him 'cause he is an accomplished person, or a conservative. I'm knocking him 'cause he got his data from individuals with an agenda. You asked what my argument aganist him is and I gave it to you. Whats the problem? And again you seem to not understand that my orignial intent was to ask that the N-word not be used here. THAT'S IT. Which is why I said anyone who continues to use it is ignorant. Then you decided to get going. I don't get you. What is your point? Do you think using the word is okay? I truly don't get your point of view. So unlike you I will ask you. And if you really do have a masters then you should understand that You need to stay on the subject. I was talking about the use of the N-word on this site, you took it to other places. And finally let me ask you this, bcause the word is all too prevalent in today's society, especially in the Black community does that make it okay for others to use it? Eventhough it was not needed explicitly. And I mean that regardless of race. Are you justifying using the word, with your premise being they use it so its no big deal? These are not sweeping statements, I am asking you direct questions. And you have yet to answer.

getonmylevel718

And seriously, Booker T. Washington? "The Great Accommodator"? LoL. Even worse than McWhorter. I'll refer you to the link I posted before. Read that in reference to Washington, and you'll understand what I'm saying. I personally favor DuBois. And again we're gettin off topic. This is about the use of the N-word on this site. I just thought it was appropiate since you mentioned "The Great Accommodator".

whyfi

getonmylevel718 wrote: ...N-word... ...N-word... ...N-word...

"Oh my goodness - he said 'H-E-double-hockey-sticks!'"

Good god - be an adult.

Words only have meanings by consensus. Consensus often varies from group to group. Quite often, words can be linked to several different concepts ('specially in different cultures) and just because there's a negative connotation in one instance, it doesn't mean that it carries the same baggage in another. That's what some people here are trying to illustrate.

getonmylevel718

I agree with you with words in general. And I'm not here calling people racists or bigots, just wishing people would think more before using it, and why they are using it. I can only speak for myself, and that word does have the same baggage whenever I hear it or read it. Maybe not for you but it does for me. I don't know anything about you, but if you have ever been on the receiving end of that word you would probably understand (maybe you have, I don't know). And I'm not trying to be a jerk about it, just honest.

doctorj

So bear with me, while I'm getting the jargon straight. If I've understood it correctly, it's wrong for a nappy headed hoe to call another muthafucka's bitch by the N-word on this site.

getonmylevel718

Oh forget it. I'm done with this. I should have figured no one would care anyway.

laura

Offensive Couch Label Traced to China

TORONTO - Doris Moore was shocked when her new couch was delivered to her home with a label that used a racial slur to describe the dark brown shade of the upholstery. The situation was even more alarming for Moore because it was her 7-year-old daughter who pointed out "n----- brown" on the tag. "My daughter saw the label and she knew the color brown, but didn't know what the other word meant. She asked, 'Mommy, what color is that?' I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. I never thought that's how she'd learn of that word," Moore said.

The mother complained to the furniture store, which blamed the supplier, who pointed to a computer problem as the source of the derogatory label. Kingsoft Corp., a Chinese software company, acknowledged its translation program was at fault and said it was a regrettable error. "I know this is a very bad word," Huang Luoyi, a product manager for the Beijing-based company's translation software, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He explained that when the Chinese characters for "dark brown" are typed into an older version of its Chinese-English translation software, the offensive N-word description comes up. "We got the definition from a Chinese-English dictionary. We've been using the dictionary for 10 years. Maybe the dictionary was updated, but we probably didn't follow suit," he said.

Moore, who is black, said Kingsoft's acknowledgment of a mistake doesn't make her feel better. "They should know what they are typing, even if it is a software error," she said. "In order for something to come into the country, don't they read it first? Doesn't the manufacturer? The supplier?"

Romesh Vanaik, owner of Vanaik Furniture where Moore bought the sofa, said it has been a best seller. He said he checked his stock but found no other couch with the offensive label. He added that he had not known the meaning of the N-word. "It's amazing. I've been here since 1972 and I never knew the meaning of this word," said Vanaik, a native of India. His supplier, Paul Kumar of Cosmos Furniture in Toronto, denied responsibility and refused to give the name of the couch's Chinese manufacturer. "It's not my fault. It's not the manufacturers' fault," he said, adding that Kingsoft was to blame.

Huang said Kingsoft has worked to correct the translation error. In the 2007 version, typing "dark brown" in Chinese does not produce the racial slur in English. But if the offensive term is typed in English, the Chinese translation is "dark brown," he said.

Moore is consulting with a lawyer and wants compensation. Last week, she filed a report with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Commission spokeswoman Afroze Edwards said the case is in the initial stages and could take six months to two years to resolve. Moore, 30, has three young children, and said the issue has taken a toll on her family. "Something more has to be done. We don't just need a personal apology, but someone needs to own up to where these labels were made, and someone needs to apologize to all people of color," Moore said. "I had friends over from St. Lucia yesterday and they wouldn't sit on the couch."