The pot...
Posted by ESC on January 22, 2000
That "Black and White" thread got so curved that it hurt my neck
to read it. So I am taking the liberty of starting another one.
I, too, have felt the wrath of Amos. He accused me of being a drinker
I believe. But you have to admit the man does turn a nice phrase.
"I should like to believe that the rustle I think I hear in the
echoing silence is the sound of dried leaves on the dead vine of
prejudice but I have fears that it's merely Winter waiting for a
Spring of luxuriant growth."Is that original? But any how I agree with Bob that we are getting way off the point
of discussion. Is the phrase "pot calling the kettle black" a racist
phrase? When the question was first posted, I said, "No. It's not
a racist phrase. Then I did some research that lead me to believe
that, well, maybe it is. I will repeat, in part, what I posted:
".Usually the source of the phrase is given as Cervantes' 'Don Quixote'
and simply as 'The pot calls the kettle black,' but another version
of Don Quixote comes out as: 'Said the pot to the kettle, get away
black-face!'." I think an important question is, when did the black/white animosity
begin? I know we all started in the Garden of Eden, but for a while
thereafter we were on separate continents. When did we get together
again and start hurling insults? Does this old saying pre-date racial
slurs against blacks? As an aside, I want to note that many times people unknowingly
use old phrases that are slurs. (See the entry about Dutch. Those
guys have it rough.) For example, a few weeks ago I overheard one
person thanking a second for a favor. She said, "That was mighty
white of you." Now that's a phrase that should be purged. And another thing. Amos Jackson. Jim Brown. Richard Roundtree.
??
|