Southern language misunderstood by NYT columnist
Monday, September 22, 2008 at 3:15PM The New York Times manages to blow my mind at least once a day, but the latest Glowbama article declaring ‘uppity’ an exclusive Jim Crow term took the cake as my dearly departed Grandma used to say. The editorial by Brent Staples also references the term ‘boy’ and Staples fails Southern on both the counts he cites. He builds a whole article around racism in the presidential campaign over two terms common throughout the white, black and any other color South, especially among poor or rural people. In doing so he exposes his own shortcomings.
Some Southerners and some from other regions such as the Northeast did misappropriate the term ‘boy’ for racial purposes; I'm not disputing that. Prejudiced people came up with a number of other terms as well, and this was not exclusive to one race. Still isn’t. Insults are still levied all over the world—using unpleasant terms for people of color, for women, or for people of a different faith. There’s a video in a prior column of a Jewish performer spewing hate terms towards evangelical Christians. People will hate, I don’t deny that.
But in true Southern cross-culturalism, the word ‘boy’ was and still is also applied to white men, either as a nod to their actual age or as a verbal thump at naiveté. An example: my daughter’s boyfriend drove for miles in her car and the water warning light came on. She and the boyfriend ignored it. My husband’s response when told this white boyfriend and our white child ignored the warning light? “That boy knows better!” The 'boy' was 26 years old.
Other examples include instances of recognition, such as when my white daughter’s brown-skinned fiancé took her to dinner recently and covered the table with rose petals, as in: “You better hang on to that boy.” Boy is a cross-cultural Southernism, a word like ‘girl.’ The application depends on the context.
The use of ‘uppity’ is even more widespread. I can’t tell you how many times church ladies with neatly powdered white skin will say a white member is uppity. Or a potential white mother-in-law, having met the white girl her white son wants to marry, confiding to her husband later, maybe because the girl didn’t appreciate the cooking or the furniture. “She’s a little uppity.” Or a rural homemaker, telling a sassy 5 year old, "You better not get uppity with me!"
Both these terms are common in rural areas and small towns in the South. Both instances Staples cites in his essay are innocent—nothing more than colloquialisms of our culture. Staples would know that if he had ever intimately known people of all colors and income groups in the South—basically he has come at words from one angle, evidence of his own prejudice in my opinion.
Words can heal, harm or inspire—it all depends on the context they’re spoken in. To fabricate racial prejudice when words are used without that intent is sort of like playing your own race card and then complaining about it after.
Reader Comments (2)
I've always lived in Tennessee and you are correct! Boy is used all the time, though I notice that my mother from Michigan always corrects it when heard. My father, a native of Tennessee, is usually the one at the receiving end of the correction. It's quite humorous. Uppity reminds me of one of those old southern terms of a snob or someone who is pretentious.
I like that the NY Times has original articles rather than just AP, but they are so left winged it's tough to become a regular reader though fun to dissect their articles.
By the way, Obama Nation (book) is good so far...
Beth, the South is derided by the Northeast literati at every opportunity. Always has been always will be. But I do wish if someone were going to write about Southern-speak s/he would do some research first. best, Kay