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Are African-Americans a mongrel people?

Are African-Americans a mongrel people?

  • Total voters
    33
Goobieman said:
This is an absolute lie. I was asked to better define the term, and I did; it was quite clear from my response that the term was used as intended by The Obama.

The Obama clearly made the statement, and I did nothing to change the context in which He said it.
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You absolutely did change the context by not posting or addressing the entire statement. There are plenty of things to attack Obama about. It's silly that you have to make stuff up to do it.
 
Goobieman said:
I would certainly think so. What's your point?
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That who said it is irrelevant. Good, we agree.


I certainly did not. I put forth the statement and solicited opinions.
As you said, who said it shoudln't matter, and so noting that The Obama said in The View would be irrelevant.
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You are being dishonest again. I said nothing about WHO said it. I said you did not post the entire conversation, therefore making a statement out of context. I know that you want to avoid this simple fact because it exposes you as being dishonest, but since this is all I am addressing, your diversions from discussing this point are noted as dancing away from the issue.


Is -that- all you have o say on the matter?
Good. Your self-imporant opoinin is noted and discarded.
You may leave now.
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No, I think I'll stay and continue to confront your dishonesty until you can reply to what I have actually addressed with you.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
The topic is disingenuous from the get go.
You planned on getting a bunch of liberals to say that someone using the word mongrel was racist or bigoted.
Then you were going to spring the trap that Obama said it, only you would of withheld the actual context of it.

It's pretty dishonest.
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Exactly. Harry gets it.
 
Reverend_Hellh0und said:
Perhaps you cant... but don't tell me there wouldn't be 40 threads on it. ;)
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So what, Reverend? If it was posted in the context that Goobie did, I would say it was dishonest posting. If it was posted IN context, I would take the same stance I'm taking with this. It's a non-issue. I am not responsible for others starting 40 threads on it. I am responsible for MY position... which is consistent regardless of who posts it or who said it. I don't buy into the who stupid racism card dealt by either side.
 
In most cases what makes something offensive is the intent or perceived intent when saying it.

Obama was clearly not intending the offensive meaning behind this terminology (as he would be classified as a mongrel himself along with his childern). Which means what he said was not offensive

Someone else, say a member of the KKK saying the same words, but with the intent to denigrate african americans through the use of those words, would make them offensive.

Remember context is important
 
Goobieman said:
Only if you argue that those same liberals would have had the same response of outrage knowing who said it.
So far, there's nothing to support that.
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Of course, Goobie. Just like most of your threads, all this was, was an attack on liberals. And one that was very poorly constructed and even more poorly pulled off.
 
I've called myself a mutt or a mongrel for as long as I can remember, as have many of my friends (when describing their own heritage/background). Hardly anybody is purely anything, these days. I'm half-finn, half COMPLETELY unaccounted for. My mom is adopted, and her mom didn't know who the father was. So - yeah. :shrug: Don't get the big deal, personally.

BCR said:
I think when he said this he meant it as in a way to describe the African American culture. Mongrel as in mixed cultures then yes I would actually agree with that.
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He says we're all kinds of mixed up - we know more about it and you call that arrogance? How so?

Mellie said:
Then, Obama said about African-Americans in general, “We are sort of a mongrel people.”

“I mean we’re all kinds of mixed up,” Obama said. “That’s actually true of white people as well, but we just know more about it.”

Wow. "We just know more about it". Good Lord, the arrogance of this man!
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Yet another stupid thread started by conservatives to bash Obama over something so minor and insignificant. You would think after 8 years of partisan liberal hacks pulling this crap on Bush, conservatives would realize how stupid these sort of threads make people look.

Moving on to what Obama said, he's 100% correct. Blacks Americans are a mongrel people. So are most white Americans. I'm a Heinz 57 white dude. My ethnic ancestry includes Irish, Italian, German, Lithuanian, a smattering of Cherokee, and possibly English and/or Scottish. And most of my friends have a similar mixed ethnic background. My wife is half Italian, half Polish and I find that level of ethnic "purity" to be exceptionally rare among white Americans my age who are not immigrants (or possibly the children of immigrants).

As for African Americans, slaves were taken from all over west Africa, covering many different tribes and nations. Once they got here, they all mixed and mingled to form black America. Plus, most blacks that can trace their ancestry back to the slave days also have some white blood in them, thanks to master's indiscretions with his favorite pretty young slave.

American is basically a mongrel nation. Anyone who disputes that either doesn't know what the word means or lives in an alternate reality.
 
BDBoop said:
He says we're all kinds of mixed up - we know more about it and you call that arrogance? How so?
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It's conservative SOP to refer to Obama and liberals as arrogant.

"Damn, that Obama made fun of himself. How arrogant can you get." Remember, that bunch of conservatives are the same ones whining about teleprompters, bowing, dinner dates and how much his wife's shoes cost. Logic does not enter into their arguments, it's just make sure you get the talking point in. Obama...arrogant. The other details are irrelevant.
 
This thread didn't work out as expected.
 
Goobieman said:
I heard this today and was curious as to what everyone thinks.
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I dont think I understand the value of the thread but since I saw everyone jumping in I figured I'd play...

So...is this a question about racial purity or a knock on the president for talking about racial purity or a knock on his "we know more about it" kind of remark?

With the exception of a black fella from France about 4 generations back and anaboriginal gal from the South Carolina region, my family has been a pretty strict mixture Dane and Scot. But we do have theose two variations so we arent pure. I tan darker than most...thats got to be the Denmark bloodline...dang sure not the Scot. I dont know if that makes me more or less of a 'mongrel' than Obama...but I can guarantee...I care less about the question than he does. Maybe thats just because its easier for me to assimilate. Maybe its because the issue of race was never brought up since the 'white' part of my family was beyond screwed up. I do know that at the end of the day...I just dont care.
 
CaptainCourtesy said:
This thread didn't work out as expected.
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i think it did
the point which the OP was trying to establish was whether the use of the term "mongrel" would be viewed differently, depending on who said it
and from reading the thread, there are a number - including myself - who agree that is would

you are correct, the full context was not presented, nor was the identify of the public official who used that expression. but that went to the effort to examine the useage of the word "mongrel" itself. adding the other information/context would have diluted the impact of the word's use to the one being polled

and yes, having taken that position, i do feel like i need to shower
 
VanceMack said:
I dont think I understand the value of the thread but since I saw everyone jumping in I figured I'd play...

So...is this a question about racial purity or a knock on the president for talking about racial purity or a knock on his "we know more about it" kind of remark?

With the exception of a black fella from France about 4 generations back and anaboriginal gal from the South Carolina region, my family has been a pretty strict mixture Dane and Scot. But we do have theose two variations so we arent pure. I tan darker than most...thats got to be the Denmark bloodline...dang sure not the Scot. I dont know if that makes me more or less of a 'mongrel' than Obama...but I can guarantee...I care less about the question than he does. Maybe thats just because its easier for me to assimilate. Maybe its because the issue of race was never brought up since the 'white' part of my family was beyond screwed up. I do know that at the end of the day...I just dont care.
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I think it was an attempt to show all of us that we react to "what was said" in context with "who said it." Excellent exercise. Had I not posted a spoiler, it would have been better -- 'til somebody else did.
 
MaggieD said:
I think it was an attempt to show all of us that we react to "what was said" in context with "who said it." Excellent exercise. Had I not posted a spoiler, it would have been better -- 'til somebody else did.
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Dang...you mean we are all a bunch of lab rats???
 
Goobieman said:
African-Americans aren't a mixed-breed?
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No more than Caucasions are. Face it, the age of the pure breed Anglo-Saxon White Race ended along time ago. Unless you live in the deepest, darkest jungle of the world where very small tribal people live you just will not find a pure race of People anymore. We're ALL mixed breeds of some varying sort. Get over it!!!
 
I can understand his "mongrel" statement, and that it applies to all people. Funny use of language for a president IMO, but whatever.

I don't understand his basis for making this statement:
"I mean we're all kinds of mixed up," Obama said. "That's actually true of white people as well, but we just know more about it."
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Why, exactly does he assume that black people would know more about being "mixed up" than whites? I don't see any basis for that statement. What's the point in saying it?
 
other said:
I can understand his "mongrel" statement, and that it applies to all people. Funny use of language for a president IMO, but whatever.

I don't understand his basis for making this statement:

Why, exactly does he assume that black people would know more about being "mixed up" than whites? I don't see any basis for that statement. What's the point in saying it?
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Old joke, not sure if it is still made, but light skin blacks used to comment that their grandma didn't run fast enough. There where lots of bastard children of white slave owners and black slaves. It's something blacks tended to be very aware of. Most whites are not real clear on their mixed race background I think.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Why didn't you disclose that Obama said it?
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You're still avoding the questions.
If you can't answer the questions, then your argument falls flat.
How should have I asked it to bring it into context?
And how would that have changed your response?

C'mon. Show me.
 
Goobieman said:
Hey - you're the one complain about the lack of context...

Answer the question:
How should have I asked it to bring it into context?
And how would that have changed your response?
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Goobie, let's be real here.

You asked the question knowing full well that the comment was made by a Black person, specifically, the President. You had to know that had any Liberal come in here and disagreed with what the President said before realizing that he said it, you could use their comments against them by referring back to the President using his words against not only the Liberal poster but the President himself. To that extent, you've been disingenuous. However, as a "standalone" question, it's not a bad question to ask. I'd even afford it it's legitimacy if I could believe you came up with the question either off the top of your head or it came up in conversation elsewhere, i.e., during a social discussion, and you decided to poss it here. But we all know that wasn't the case.

So, let's be honest. Yours was a social-political trap designed to catch certain posters as they twisted in the wind from their reply. But as we're seeing most people really haven't taken the bait.
 
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CaptainCourtesy said:
You absolutely did change the context by not posting or addressing the entire statement. There are plenty of things to attack Obama about. It's silly that you have to make stuff up to do it.
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What's that? Still think your opinion is meanigful? Yawn.

How should have I asked it to bring it into context?
And how would that have changed your response?

I cannot possibly see how any of the "context" issues have any relevance to someones' asnwer to the question. Show me how I am wrong.
The ONLY way they make any difference is if your answer to the question depends on who asks (or, in this case, who makes the statement).
Is that indeed the case?
 
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justabubba said:
i think it did
the point which the OP was trying to establish was whether the use of the term "mongrel" would be viewed differently, depending on who said it
and from reading the thread, there are a number - including myself - who agree that is would
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THis man gets a cookie.
Since CC has thusly been proven wrong, he is buying.
 
OK, everyone who's complaining that he didn't offer "context" here . . .

Why didn't the early poll respondents ask for any? What did they assume?

And, it is true -- no Republican would have survived using exactly the same words in exactly the same context. Heck, the View ladies would have rended the flesh from his bones on the spot. Who seriously thinks they wouldn't?

Even non-Republican white guys would be pilloried for this, and in fact, anyone remember David Howard? He didn't refer to race at all, and he was flayed just because people were too ignorant to know what the word he used meant.

So yeah, I think part of the point was in fact the reaction to the phrase itself, no matter the context.
 
Americans are mongrels unless you are a first generation immigrant. Very few Americans can claim unmixed heritage to any certain ethnic group.
 
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