You say that like it’s a bad thing…
The discussion of the word “urban” started because someone thought Dr. Lee’s skin color was not relevant. I do not expect someone to “magically” or “telepathically” understand anything. I do expect that when someone says “urban means black” that other people should not immediately start ranting that it does not especially when we we are talking about a blog called “The Urban Scientist” and the blogger has acknowledged that she uses the word “urban” because she is black.
The guy could be clueless about how offensive “whore” is … does not make it less offensive. There is also a difference between saying “I am not familiar with urban as a euphemism for black, so it is possible that he was not either, but I understand why someone might still be offended” and saying “I am not familiar with urban as a euphemism for black, so it must not be a real thing and people should stop saying that it is racist to call someone an urban whore”.
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Link from 2003: When did "Urban" become a euphamism for "Black?" - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board
When did “Urban” become a euphamism for “Black?”
A few years ago, Starbucks opened a store in Harlem. They decorated it differently and proclaimed it their first “urban” store. This, despite the fact that Starbucks have infested every major American city for years. They meant something else. “Urban” has slowly become a euphamism for “black,” and I’m curious as to when and how that happened. It was recent, I know that.I knew I was on to something when even The Simpsons made a joke about it.
Lenny: “Ooh, Homer, pick me, Lenny!”
Carl: “Homer, pick me! I’m the urban Lenny!”
For me it is the second link when searching for urban means black (which returns 186 million hits, but I guess people would argue that means absolutely nothing).
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“I like you, Stuart. You’re not like the other people, here, in the trailer park.”
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I did not realize the Vulcans had landed already. Live long and prosper emotionless, and entirely logical commenter!
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Where else would we get vulcanized rubber?
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Show me where lots of people are arguing that Scientific American is calling her an urban whore. This tweet does not count because it clearly says that it was done through their partner site.
Words can be offensive even if the speaker does not realize it. As I said before, there is a difference between pointing out that a non-American might not understand how “urban” comes across and declaring that people should not be offended by the word (either because it is not offensive or because the speaker’s intentions matter and the listener’s feelings do not).
To steal @anon15383236 's earlier picture:
Black women can experience both racism and sexism at the same time.
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Extremely unlikely, for many reasons obvious to any follower of the show, so I’m afraid the gag doesn’t work as written.
(Though Uhura did get one of the best lines ever snuck by the network censors – “Sorry, neither.”)
Many people are talking about what Ofek may or may not have known about language. I would like to point out that
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He is a blog EDITOR. His job is to know about language.
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If he had read anything from Urban Scientist’s blog, before, presumably. he wrote to ask her to be a columnist, he should understand what her title, Urban Scientist, meant. If you read her work, it is clear. I don’t think ignorance is a defence, here.
As well, her original response to the email was “Did you just call me a whore?” I find it interesting that that has been lost in this thread.
[first time commenter, possibly too much Thanksgiving wine 
}
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[quote=“markacryan, post:320, topic:12021, full:true”]I did not realize the Vulcans had landed already. Live long and prosper emotionless, and entirely logical commenter!
[/quote]
Romulans look a lot like Vulcans until you learn the difference.
If anyone hasn’t read Ms. Lee’s post on the matter (the one that was taken down, then put back up) it is here - http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/2013/10/11/give-trouble-to-others-but-not-me/
While you’re there check the rest of her posts - She’s pretty rad.
Also here http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/blogger-writes-about-being-called-a-whore-scientific-america is a BF article with this comment from Alan Weisleder, a partner at Keebali.com, who owns Biology-Online (at the very end) -
“Weisleder said that Ofek, who had worked at Biology-Online for about three months, “thought I was overreacting by firing him and he was surprised we weren’t willing to give him a chance to fix the situation.””
Mr. Ofek, I can only say this.
WTF is up with all the bolding? WE CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE.
@Glitch I see and appreciate your struggles here, man. My thoughts, for what they’re worth.
To recap: way back at the top of the thread, someone asked why Urban Scientist’s skin color was brought up at all. Which is a fair question. Rob Beschizza said (paraphrasing) ‘because urban can be a euphemism for black’. And the point is valid: using ‘urban’ in proximity to a black person in the context of an insult is quite possibly also a racist slur. This is logically true.
You, plausibly enough in my opinion, then pointed out (paraphrasing) ‘It’s not necessarily racist, though.’ And, I can’t speak to your motives, but my motives in saying something similar would have been: ‘That racism exists is deplorable and saps our energy. Let’s not weaken our outrage by feeling outrage where it isn’t necessary, let’s not cheapen the outrage of racism by seeing it everywhere’.
This is why I was rooting for you. You had a point. Then you whipped that poor horse with a sweating, frothy frenzy. I get it: people were misunderstanding and being mean.
Here’s what I’ve discovered: many, perhaps most, people cannot think logically or rationally about race. Most people find the entire concept terrifying. Discussing it can be a social and political mine-field. People find even the idea of agreeing to disagree a difficult concept. It’s a conundrum, because talk about race is necessary and unavoidable.
Anyway, good on you for fighting the good fight. As an aside, arguments are more effective using short, efficient sentences. It shows care, even respect. As Blaise Pascal wrote “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”
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This is the first thread in a long time at BB where I’ve felt it appropriate that users prefix their comments with “IANAL”.
There’s still an ingredient missing - we’ve even gotten on to Star Trek (excellent) but .still, this stew ain’t right.
Race and ethnicity are always sensitive areas, in every culture. I travel and have had the chance to see many different cultures at work, and everywhere, from countries to silly little villages, people seek to divide themselves into clans. The human race really does appear to be bent on self-destruction.
In the USA we / you have vivid images and histories of lynchings, the KKK, slavery - a potent brew reflecting a shameful period. Here in the UK we have museum-cornered dark ink drawings of slave ships, but really, very little discussion about the disgusting history of wealth-making by shipping people from Africa. Race is important here, but not as potent in the US.
That’s why this was such a landmine for this editor. It’s simple to elevate his comment to political levels - correctly, in my view, because we should all be about improving the lot of the human race, and be above name-calling - whether driven by Dr Lee or not.
New Boing Boing Drinking Game: Every time Glitch uses the word “logic” or variations thereof, take a drink.
On second thought, don’t. I’d hate to see Boing Boing’s readership decimated by alcohol poisoning.
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Should he be more amazed than you are, to learn it is? Seems to me you could display the very attitude to the difference in opinion that you think others could display. No? Anything less seems like a double standard. Are you prejudiced, against his usage?
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Someone here is no better than Hitler.
There you go Acer. It is only formally correct. I don’t have time to get intricate about it. Besides the ambiguity is so delicious in this one.
C’mon, let’s go to the city and take some sex workers to the movies (or to the art museum if there aren’t any good movies at the high-end theatres), We’ll pay them their hourly and won’t ask 'em for any professional services, that way nobody will get in trouble.
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Actually meant this for you:
Someone here is no better than Hitler.
There you go Peregrinus. It is only formally correct. I don’t have time to get intricate about it. Besides the ambiguity is so delicious in this one.
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