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The first black POTUS is a cotton picker ... per CNN?!?!

Well, that is a very unfortunate time to use that phrase. He would have been better off saying "He is the mother-f-ing President of the United States"...it would have gotten less attention...
 
I didn't realize "cotton-picking" had such a negative connotation:

Cotton Picking

Why is the phrase "cotton-picking" used to mean "damned" or "rotten" in the sense of mild profanities? Wiktionary states that it is "Used as a general form of disapproval", and has an example statement from Richard Nixon, yet I can't seem to find any kind of etymology for it anywhere. Laïka 11:22, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Racist origin. A reasonable guess is that it originally referred to slaves... 惑乱 分からん 12:52, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

There were also poor white tenant farmers and sharecroppers who picked cotton. Also, I am most familiar with the expression "cotton-picking hands". As in "Keep your cotton-picking hands away from me!" People who picked cotton had dirty, often cut and callused hands. I think that the expression is about lowliness and filth rather than about race. It does not have a racial implication to my American ears. Marco polo 20:35, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmmmm, although arguably class, though... 惑乱 分からん 23:04, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

* Oooh! According to Etymology Online, the first cite is a Bugs Bunny cartoon! Cotton-picking was first recorded in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, but the noun meaning "contemptible person" dates to around 1919, probably with racist overtones that have faded over the years. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 02:34, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

I would say it means "miserable or unpleasant", as picking cotton was very hard on the hands, which were cut up by the cotton plant. Also note that the G is rarely pronounced in this phrase, so I would write it "cotton-pickin' ", accordingly. StuRat 05:24, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
 
tyflier said:
Well, that is a very unfortunate time to use that phrase. He would have been better off saying "He is the mother-f-ing President of the United States"...it would have gotten less attention...
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Frankly, I doubt that this President of the United States ever had sex with his mother.....

I find that expression far more offensive than the other. Probably because I didn't realize there was a negative and/or racist connotation attached to it.
 
Was his intent to make a racist remark? I say no. In that small clip it sounds as more of him using a phrase of desperation, like "what the heck", "gosh darn", etc...

So, I ask what the thread is about? Is it targeting a CNN anchor of using a racist term? I guess it's up to interpretation. I personally didn't see it as a blatant use of a derogatory term, but I'm sympathetic to someone's sensitivity to offensive terms.

Or is it just to re-iterate the term again to prove a point that people can use the on-the-border terms that may or may not be used in a hateful or negative way, just to get away with one?
 
Michael823 said:
Was his intent to make a racist remark? I say no. In that small clip it sounds as more of him using a phrase of desperation, like "what the heck", "gosh darn", etc...

So, I ask what the thread is about? Is it targeting a CNN anchor of using a racist term? I guess it's up to interpretation. I personally didn't see it as a blatant use of a derogatory term, but I'm sympathetic to someone's sensitivity to offensive terms.

Or is it just to re-iterate the term again to prove a point that people can use the on-the-border terms that may or may not be used in a hateful or negative way, just to get away with one?
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The intent of the thread was to solicit opinions from members. Not only about his intent or lack of, but also the lack of the typical response. Had he been on Fox or another conservative based program we would be watching Jesse and Al press conferences about how he was racist. Interesting how the intent or lack of is perceived different based on whose side said it huh?!

For the record I don't think he intended it racially but I also think an equally unintentional remark from the right would have garnered a heated response none the less. Just my $.02 (which in today's economy is worth $.0000000000002)
 
LOL. My mother uses, and my grandmother used, that phrase fairly often. As an alternative to profanity. I never thought of it as racist. But then, my grandmother grew up poor, in the south, during the depression era...and picked much cotton.

LOL. My grandmother also thought that a suntan was unbecoming a lady. It was surely a sign that she had had to work in the fields.
 
I can see where someone would be offended if they were way too sensitive to remarks that may have racial connotations. My mom used to use that term with me when I got on her nerves, and she still does sometimes... I actually have used it quite often myself. It must be my roots, but it doesn't mean anything to me, other than it takes the place of more, unbecoming phrases.
 
tsst said:
The intent of the thread was to solicit opinions from members. Not only about his intent or lack of, but also the lack of the typical response. Had he been on Fox or another conservative based program we would be watching Jesse and Al press conferences about how he was racist. Interesting how the intent or lack of is perceived different based on whose side said it huh?!

For the record I don't think he intended it racially but I also think an equally unintentional remark from the right would have garnered a heated response none the less. Just my $.02 (which in today's economy is worth $.0000000000002)
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True! I see where you're coming from. I suppose it's all in the context and past history. Honestly, I don't see the term "cotton pickin'" as a racist term, but it would depend on the context of the speaker and those who it was said to that would affect how I saw it.
 
tsst said:
The intent of the thread was to solicit opinions from members. Not only about his intent or lack of, but also the lack of the typical response. Had he been on Fox or another conservative based program we would be watching Jesse and Al press conferences about how he was racist. Interesting how the intent or lack of is perceived different based on whose side said it huh?!

For the record I don't think he intended it racially but I also think an equally unintentional remark from the right would have garnered a heated response none the less. Just my $.02 (which in today's economy is worth $.0000000000002)
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Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute... ;)

Frankly there is a HUGE difference between a CNN reporter using the term "cotton-picking" as a term of furustration, and Sarah Palin defending the repetitive and abusive use of "the N-Word" as "Freedom of Speech". I believe "Reload!" was the encouragement that Palin offered when a conservative radio talk-show host used the term...repeatedly and aggressively...

But that's kind of the way it goes, ain't it? I mean...a liberal uses the phrase "f-ing retarded" and Palin wants his head and job on a chopping block. But a conservative uses "The N-Word" repeatedly and abusively, and directed towards a black person, and she vehemently defends her right to say it as "Freedom of Speech".

You tell me where the bias is coming from... :shrugs:
 
Outcast said:
I can see where someone would be offended if they were way too sensitive to remarks that may have racial connotations. My mom used to use that term with me when I got on her nerves, and she still does sometimes... I actually have used it quite often myself. It must be my roots, but it doesn't mean anything to me, other than it takes the place of more, unbecoming phrases.
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Absolutely! My mother regularly used the phrase "cotton-pickin'" in place of less lady-like phrases all my life. To me, the phrase has never had a negative racial connotation, it has always been a means of cursing without actually using a cuss word.

Now...if this reporter had said "The President is a cotton-picker" you might have seen a vastly different reaction, from both liberals and conservatives alike...
 
tyflier said:
But that's kind of the way it goes, ain't it? I mean...a liberal uses the phrase "f-ing retarded" and Palin wants his head and job on a chopping block. But a conservative uses "The N-Word" repeatedly and abusively, and directed towards a black person, and she vehemently defends her right to say it as "Freedom of Speech".

You tell me where the bias is coming from... :shrugs:
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Well, they were in two different circumstances. The press has the freedom to say things that others don't and sometimes members of the press use that freedom unwisely & inappropriately. But personally I thought both were offensive, but both were protected by "freedom of speech". Hateful speech is just that, but is not criminal under our constitution.

Personally, it would never have occurred to me that "cotton pickin'" was racist, but when I think about it, it may be. I think we should all ~think~ before we speak and avoid using language that will hurt unless we INTEND to hurt.
 
wstphal said:
Well, they were in two different circumstances. The press has the freedom to say things that others don't and sometimes members of the press use that freedom unwisely & inappropriately. But personally I thought both were offensive, but both were protected by "freedom of speech". Hateful speech is just that, but is not criminal under our constitution....QUOTE]

Absolutely, they are 2 different circumstances. One was a case of 2 individuals having what was believed to be a private conversation, and the other was tirade by a talk-show host over a public broadcasting service.

As well, one was an intellectual slur against people of "normal" intelligence, while another was a racial slur directed at people of said race.

Ironically, the private conversation invoked the ire and hatred of Palin, while the public broadcast recieved her applaud and support.

Don't get me wrong...I would fight to protect the right of both individuals to use whatever words they choose, publicly or privately. But the irony of the situation is quite palpable, and does not have a good flavor.

It almost appears as though you can say or do anything to anyone, and if Palin likes you, she will support you, but if she doesn't like you, one hair over the line and she will skewer you, and toss the bones to the dogs.

Truth be told, I hope Palin runs for president. Maybe than the Democrats can get another term...if they don't cut their own throats first...
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tyflier said:
Truth be told, I hope Palin runs for president. Maybe than the Democrats can get another term...if they don't cut their own throats first...
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I had not taken it that _extra_ step, until reading what you typed here now, Chris.

I was concerned about the rebound pendulum effect, but had only thought _up to_ that point.
 
I've been thinking about non-expletive exclamations all day.
My grandfather used to say 'mule skinner', but I never thought about it. I mean, I'm sure there is/was no one around skinning mules.

Meaning...what else would one do with cotton...?...but pick it?
You wouldn't say wait a cotton raking minute...or a cotton bulldozing minute...
 
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