Yo! Happy Wednesday!!!!

[Marry American 0]

Thanks! That was taken outside the airport. Can you tell how happy I was?

Yeah I figured you used it to make a point. My hair is fine and straight and if I don't wash it every day it is kinda stringy.

My gf and I talk about race generalizations all the time (usually jokingly). She always tells me that I'm more a black girl than she is (based on things I like and certain behaviors I have that are stereotypical of black ppl). I always tell her she's the whitest black girl I know. She listens to Josh Grobin for cryin' out loud!

I have straight hair and I'm offended by the term "stringy"!!!!

kidding

Nice picture I used stringy hair on purpose. Since people can make generalizations about the African-American community, I made one too. I find this entire thread offensive. I did not find the other thread offensive at all. I found some statements that I thought were way more offensive than what was in that thread. I would hate to make generalizations about an entire race when I am not from that race. I would never sum up all white people and there are an awful lot of white people in my family.

That picture must have been when your hubby first got here. You guys look good. It is nice sometimes to see faces.

People use to say years ago that I act like a white girl. Now they just call me a lame or a nerd. I like those terms better.

For real though, my mom would be more white then any white woman I know. Being married to a white man for over 20 years doesn't help either. For God's sake-she named me Julie.

Edited August 2, 2007 by i adore you

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Imus got the response he did after a long history of saying inappropriate remarks. It also got the response it did because he called them 'nappy headed hoes'.

Responses to *why* many in the black community (not to mention many in other communities) find Imus' use of the term "nappy" offensive -- separate and apart from the offensiveness of the term "ho" -- have already been posted. The article cited in Peezey's post #92 on Page 7 of this thread is particularly insightful.

Dreadlocks are now called locks without the dreaded part being attached.

Huh ?????? Who told you that ??

Actually, as a matter of fact, the term "locks" is nothing new -- it's been in use as a shortened form of "dreadlocks" ever since the hairstyle appeared in Jamaica in the 1930s. And "dreadlocks" is still very much in common usage.

You might take a look at this recent article from the Jamaica Gleaner from May, 2007:

Dreadlocked Miss Jamaica Puts Rastas in New Light

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/200...1/ent/ent2.html

or maybe you'd prefer a musical reference:

Well a me name Jr.Gong

Me seh look how mi natty tall

Who nuh know me from dem see me

Me a living top-a-nor

Clarky boot and khaki suit

You think me go a Calabar

Well pitty dem nuh know seh every dreadlocks is a star

and here it is again in the chorus:

Watch ya dread

Flash it, flash it, Dreadlocks

Bim!

-Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, "Khaki Suit" (released 2005)

or how about a little something from Sean Paul:

Officer:

Enter--Oh, me know all a unnu, I know entertainer, Oh pass me di newspaper

let me see di entertainmenr section and see Mr. Sean Paul is in the

entertainment section. mmm, sean....paul. I see one man inside here so, wit

orange hair, head look like carpet, him na look like u at all, u know. I see a

nex one here so, im wear a dark glasses....and i don't see....a dreadlocks one,

But you don't have dreadlocks? say u need dreadlocks in yu business you know,

you need dreadlocks

Sean Paul:

I nah really put in dreadlocks

--Sean Paul "Police (Skit)" (released 2004)

Guess they didn't get your announcement. Oh well. What would Jamaicans know about "dreadlocks" anyway.

[Marry American 0]

Locks is used because some people are wise enough not to make use of the word dread in it anymore. Dread is associated with distaste, terror, and awfulness. I know people who have their hair locked and I

know what they refer to their hair as. So no bulletin is needed from me.

Locks were worn way before Jamaicans wore them. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2...aicans_and.html

Here is another article where a woman refers to her hair as locks. http://www.mspmedia.net/Trula/dreadlocks.html#sec4

Here is another woman who uses the word locks but also refers to them as dreadlocks since it is still used. She obviously prefers the term 'lock' instead. Here is some more history on locks as well. http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?...&archival=1

Anyone can google anything to prove a point, even me.

Edited August 3, 2007 by i adore you

[aj1 1]

Too all of you that understood my comments and commented on what i stated thank you for understanding where i was coming from. And the reason i didn't make anymore comments is because i stated how i felt about this situation there was and is no need for me to continue on with it.

AJ1

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Locks is used because some people are wise enough not to make use of the word dread in it anymore. Dread is associated with distaste, terror, and awfulness. I know people who have their hair locked and I

know what they refer to their hair as. So no bulletin is needed from me.

Locks were worn way before Jamaicans wore them. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2...aicans_and.html

Here is another article where a woman refers to her hair as locks. http://www.mspmedia.net/Trula/dreadlocks.html#sec4

Here is another woman who uses the word locks but also refers to them as dreadlocks since it is still used. She obviously prefers the term 'lock' instead. Here is some more history on locks as well. http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?...&archival=1

Anyone can google anything to prove a point, even me.

Well.... anyone can "try" to google to prove a point. Some are more successful than others. Unfortunately for your argument, your googling in this matter has utterly failed -- as it has not proved one whit of your initial claim that "dreadlocks" is no longer used.

My initial response was that the term IS still commonly used -- and I provided a few recent examples. Now, in your "rebuttal," you inexplicably provide a link that actually proves *my* point.

(By the way, I don't have to google in these matters -- I am well versed in Jamaican culture, language, politics and history... not to mention the enormous archive of musical lyrics cached in my head.)

As anyone who actually knows what they're talking about would find quite obvious, "dread" and "dreadlocks" are both most certainly still in very common usage. I provided you with only a few current examples. There are thousands and thousands more.

Read what I wrote again more carefully. I never said "locks" was *not* used -- in fact, I said it's common and has been common for decades. I simply pointed out that *you* were incorrect in your initial claim that "dreadlocks" is *no longer* used. The challenge you created for yourself was to bring some evidence supporting that claim (again, unfortunately for your argument, a quite impossible task.)

Of course the style now known as dreadlocks has been worn by others in history -- what a silly comment. Everybody who knows *anything* about this type of hairstyle knows this. But it wasn't known as "dreadlocks" or even "locks" until Jamaicans began to use these words, so what these other groups in history called them is completely irrelevant in this discussion.

I must say that attempting to insult millions of people who use the entirely correct term "dreadlocks" as being "unwise" is simply.... well, dibby-dibby. You would be laughed out of the Caribbean for such a statement. As I said before, there is a REASON it is called "dread." (I'll give you a little hint: it has to do with answering racism.)

[Caladan 19]

Around here, you'd be more likely to hear the style referred to as 'dreads' (with no negative connotation) rather than 'locks.'

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Too all of you that understood my comments and commented on what i stated thank you for understanding where i was coming from. And the reason i didn't make anymore comments is because i stated how i felt about this situation there was and is no need for me to continue on with it.

AJ1

AJ1,

Your point was excellent, and it needed to be made. I am appalled at the way you were attacked for speaking out. You have always been an extremely supportive and positive member of the ME/NA forum, and you certainly didn't deserve the kind of backlash you received for merely speaking about issues that you find offensive as an African-American.

But I think this discussion has opened at least some eyes about a very important matter, and perhaps that understanding will widen out to encourage readers to examine their own mind-sets, in ways that they may never have questioned before.

I want to thank you for being the spark that ignited this discussion. Each one teach one.

-MK

[aj1 1]

Thank You!

AJ1

[doodlebug 3]

I don't want to beat a dead horse but I do have to chime in here.

I still don't fully "get it" and totally thought as did a few others that A1 was being quite overly sensitive. That being said I will never say that word again (not that I ever did before but I never knew it was such a bad word before)

What I donnot get is how something that was used waaaaaaaaaaay back when as a derogatory remark is supposed to be known by all and whoever uses it now, in 2007, in a non-derogatory fashion is supposed to be labeled as a racist and no apology is expected to be given whatsoever to that person.

I'm sorry but I'm not a doormat and if I were Rahma I'd totally expect an apology since I KNOW she did not mean it. She gave an apology for saying something she didn't even know was a bad thing to say and I think she at least should expect the same from the group of people who reamed her for it.

Also, I have to say I cannot keep up with this whole politically correct stuff so I apologize in advance for anything I might say in the future that is remotely offensive to anyone in any race group on this earth.

Some I guess were offended that I used the term "black guy" to describe my husband's interviewer. I'd like to ask...how should I have described him? African American? He's not American. African? ALL of the interviewers there are African. It was not used to offend anyone but I guess I obviously offended some. Thankfully others knew just what I meant and gave their experiences that put my husband and my fears to rest.

Some also were offended by the n-word discussion. Again I have a question.............the person who initially wrote it said that her SO had no clue that it was a bad term since he had seen and heard it used a lot on tv where he lives. Another person chimed in that her SO had the same thoughts and she actually heard him say it and had to stop him. My question is..........should these people have pm'd everyone from Morroco and Egypt to give them the heads up instead of posting in on the board so that they did not offend anyone? Seriously I want to know what should have been done. I was thankful for the tip and told my husband though truthfully he looked at me like I had three heads and said of course he would never say this, but what if he didn't know this? What if no one posted that and he didn't know and he embarassed the ####### out of me by using it???

Maybe I"m just too sick to understand all this but it all reminds me of when my kids entered kindergarden and first grade. I had taught them the song "one little, two little, three little indians,..." one day and the next day I got a phonecall from a teacher who totally pitched a b!tchfest to me instructing me that I should not teach my children such vulgar language. I had no clue what she was getting at and she explained to me that "we do not call 'Native Americans' indians anymore out of RESPECT for them.

Ok...so I learned the hard way but seriously I had NO CLUE that was a bad thing to have done. We sung that song ALL THE TIME at my school...the SAME school they go to now!!!

So I surrender. I give up. I can't deal anymore with trying to be pc 'cause I don't have the energy to research each word. You all will just have to take my word for it that in this area I'm totally clueless.

peace, out.

Edited August 3, 2007 by doodlebug

[MelindaandTarek 0]

I believe this is a good lesson of mindfulness. Thanks everyone for the comments and I would like to repeat the supportive statement to ak1

[sereia 0]

well put, doodley doo

Edited August 4, 2007 by sereia

[aj1 1]

Doodlebug if you think that i was being overly sensitive ok that's your perogative i don't think so. It doesn't matter now because this topic does not have to be discussed anymore with anyone on here Rahma and i discussed this and that is all that matters so as of now as long as we discussed it and delt with it then it doesn't matter what anyone else nagative has to say and that's that. We can keep going on and on about this its not going to change anything so i stated before it's over with as far as i am concerned.

AJ1