General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is There Anyone Here Who Is Actually Dumb Enough [View all]Bucky
(54,013 posts)For the record, the context of the joke was not joking in a manner sympathetic to slavery. It was (attempting to be) humorously emphasizing the undesireability and the toilsome nature of field slavery. It was even (ineffectively) attempting some self-deprication (as in "I'm too soft; I couldn't handle being a field slave" .
I agree the word choice ruined the moment, the joke, and the point of view. His heart was in the right place and his joke was on the right side of history, but his head was up his ass. Word choices matter. Like when you say "poutrage" instead of "outrage"? Poutrage is not more accurate in this context. You made a word choice to provoke a reaction, to create a sense of intellectual high ground.
Maher screwed up. I'm glad he apologized. The fact that it's still got DUers all stirred up tells me we, as a community, still have a lot of work to do.