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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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 Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:45 am Post subject: German paper calls Obama an Uncle Tom |
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The German newspaper Die Tageszeitung has a reputation for leftist social sensitivity. All the more bizarre then was its choice of a cover to mark Obama's victory in the race for the Democratic Party nomination: a photo of the White House under the headline "Uncle Barack's Cabin."
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The Berlin-based daily Die Tageszeitung is normally considered a bastion of political correctness. The paper, which was founded in 1978, has always seen itself as a left-leaning alternative to the mainstream press and is known for its outspoken positions on issues such as globalization, the environment and xenophobia in Germany.
Hence readers were all the more surprised to see on the cover of the Thursday edition of the "Taz" -- as the newspaper is commonly known -- a photograph of the White House under the headline "Uncle Barack's Cabin." "The White House in Washington: Will Barack Obama be the first black president to move in there?" read the picture caption.
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My favorite quote, from the editor of the offending paper...
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He said that the issue of race surrounds Obama in the presidential election campaign. "The fact that he is African-American plays a constant role in the campaign, but no one talks about it explicitly. One can play with that fact."
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No one talks explicitly about the role that race plays in the campaign? What planet has this guy been living on?
And it looks like he's managed to alienate at least a few of Germany's own black community...
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But many were clearly displeased by the Taz's cover choice -- including representatives of Germany's black community, who reacted with indignation. "I find the Taz cover very problematic," said Yonis Ayeh, a board member at the Initiative of Black People in Germany (ISD). The ISD represents the interests of black Germans, who are estimated to number up to 500,000 within Germany's population of 82 million.
"The newspaper is comparing Obama with Uncle Tom, a subservient slave," Ayeh said. "I'm sure Obama doesn't see himself like that. It transmits an image of black people as submissive, uneducated people, which is simply not true."
'Acute Racism within Left-Wing Scene'
Ayeh was not surprised that an insensitive headline could come from a left-leaning newspaper. "There is also acute racism within the left-wing scene in Germany," he said. "They are no angels, and the Taz contributes to that when it commits such gaffes."
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So, this left-wing German paper tries to critique American racism, and ends up getting accused of racism by German blacks. Smooooooth.
http://tinyurl.com/57nhmq |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:19 pm Post subject: |
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I saw the same story. Unfortunate choice of references.
While 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was the best selling novel in the world in the 19th Century, is it really fair to expect Germans to be aware and sensitive to the nuances of American race terminology? |
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The Bobster
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 11:37 am Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| is it really fair to expect Germans to be aware and sensitive to the nuances of American race terminology? |
Actually, taking into account Germany's experiences with the whole cancept of race (e.g., "master race") over the last century, um ... isn't it fair to expect them to be MORE sensitive to nuances (modern, historical and otherwise) than, well, just about any other country on the planet? Most of the tie they are VERY aware of these things, by the way. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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My basic thing with this is that, while I don't think "Uncle Tom" is a racial slur per se, but rather the equivalent of "Benedict Arnold" or "Quisling", it's not a phrase that I, being white, would ever use to describe a black person. Especially someone like Obama, who maintains a strong following in black America, because you're essentially accusing every black person who supports him of being an Uncle Tom as well.
It would be kind of like if you had a hagwon class who thought that Park Chung Hee was the greatest thing to happen to Korea since the invention of kimchi, and you decided you were gonna try to convince them all that he was really just a pro-Japanese collaborator and Yankee stooge. Might be some merit to that analysis, but it's probably not something best delivered by an outsider. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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| isn't it fair to expect them to be MORE sensitive to nuances |
Undoubtedly, but my point is that 'Uncle Tom' was not commonly known to be offensive until the 1960's, at which time people stopped using it. Unless a German writer happened to read something from a very narrow time frame which discussed why black people find the term Uncle Tom offensive, they may very well have been unaware of it.
I'm just saying that the German magazine may have offended out of simple ignorance rather than malice. |
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djsmnc
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe
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| Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Man, I'm glad someone FINALLY got it out in the press! A lot of us have been thinking it the whole time anyway, but we knew better than to say it because of an inevitable shootstorm! |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 7:23 am Post subject: |
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Undoubtedly, but my point is that 'Uncle Tom' was not commonly known to be offensive until the 1960's, at which time people stopped using it. Unless a German writer happened to read something from a very narrow time frame which discussed why black people find the term Uncle Tom offensive, they may very well have been unaware of it.
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Yata, are you sure that black people generally find the term "Uncle Tom" offensive? And if so, why? Like I said above, I've never been under the impression that it was used as an insult against blacks in general, but rather was used to mean a black person who colloborates with whites against the interests of blacks. Wikipedia would seem to back up this definition...
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Uncle Tom is a pejorative for an African American who is perceived by others as behaving in a subservient manner to White American authority figures, or as seeking ingratiation with them by way of unnecessary accommodation. The term Uncle Tom comes from the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, although there is debate over whether the character himself is deserving of the pejorative attributed to him.[1]
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My main point was not that the term itself is a racial slur, just that white Europeans probably aren't in the best position to be arbitrating who is and isn't authentically "black". |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:02 am Post subject: |
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Yata, are you sure that black people generally find the term "Uncle Tom" offensive?... rather was used to mean a black person who colloborates with whites
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We are operating with the same definition. Just how generally it is objected to, I don't know. It's my impression that it is a term that a person of my hue cannot safely use. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:17 am Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
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Yata, are you sure that black people generally find the term "Uncle Tom" offensive?... rather was used to mean a black person who colloborates with whites
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We are operating with the same definition. Just how generally it is objected to, I don't know. It's my impression that it is a term that a person of my hue cannot safely use. |
Yeah, that's basically what I'm thinking. It's something that a white guy should really think twice about using. |
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
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Yata, are you sure that black people generally find the term "Uncle Tom" offensive?... rather was used to mean a black person who colloborates with whites
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We are operating with the same definition. Just how generally it is objected to, I don't know. It's my impression that it is a term that a person of my hue cannot safely use. |
A word or an expression is acceptable for one person to use but not another based on essentially skin color. Political Correctness taken to the extreme! |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Actually, I don't mind if you use it. I'd just like to be a fly on the wall to watch what happens when you do. That would be entertaining. I operate on the premise that stupidity is its own reward. |
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Give yourself a reward because you missed the point. |
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The Bobster
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:50 am Post subject: |
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| ytuque wrote: |
| Give yourself a reward because you missed the point. |
Naw, he got the p;oint, I'm sure.
See, it's not so much a matter of political correctness as it is simple courtesy. And if you are so rude as to ignore the threads of history which you are a part of (even though you didn't ask to be) then you might find untoward consequences headed your way ... and I agree it might be fun to watch.
Generally, though, isn't it more a often a term of derision used by blacks against other blacks? I get the impression that ill will if not violence would be the result no matter who was using the term. |
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:47 am Post subject: |
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| The Bobster wrote: |
| ytuque wrote: |
| Give yourself a reward because you missed the point. |
Naw, he got the p;oint, I'm sure.
See, it's not so much a matter of political correctness as it is simple courtesy. And if you are so rude as to ignore the threads of history which you are a part of (even though you didn't ask to be) then you might find untoward consequences headed your way ... and I agree it might be fun to watch.
Generally, though, isn't it more a often a term of derision used by blacks against other blacks? I get the impression that ill will if not violence would be the result no matter who was using the term. |
You missed the point as well. My opinion is if a word is so hurtful that it shouldn't be used, then it shouldn't be used by anyone.
If you want fun, you can watch your mother service a goat. |
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