Decoding de Code 0
The societal meanings of words often differ from the dictionary meanings. My South Carolina grandmother used to refer to black folks as “darkies” so as not to remind them that they were “colored.” Never in her life could she bring herself to refer to them as “black.” It was not proper. (Other, less polite words, I never heard from her.)
Leonard Pitts, Jr., explores the imagery around words and their social meanings in the context of the trial of Michael Dunn, a white man who stood his ground against shot an unarmed black kid because he didn’t like the “thug” music the kid was playing. A nugget:
The nugget continues below the fold, but, before you read it, try his little exercise.
Chances are, you saw the former as a sun-kissed blonde in a bikini running along a beach in slow motion and the latter as a studious-looking boy in owlish glasses. Chances are you saw both of them as white.
Now, close your eyes and picture a thug.
It is exceedingly likely the person you pictured was black like Jordan Davis.
The point is, the words we use are often encoded with racial presumptions and expectations. Thus, your image of a California girl is more likely to resemble Farrah Fawcett (born in Corpus Christi) than Tyra Banks (born in Los Angeles) and your idea of a prodigy will not include Phiona Mutesi, a teenage chess champion from Uganda.
Now, go read the entire column. It is worth the three minutes.
