Played the white man

Posted by Lewis on November 22, 2004

In Reply to: Treated you white posted by TheFallen on November 21, 2004

: : : : I treated you white.

: : : : I am considering these options:

: : : : 1) treated you whith white gloves (kindness)
: : : : 2) gave you many attentions
: : : : 3) treated you properly, generously

: : : : I guess is an archaism or slang but I really cannot find anything on this, so I wonder if it is an obsolete expression because it does not appear in any dictionary.

: : : : mercibus muchibus!

: : : "I treated you white" can be considered a racial slur.

: : : I treated you right. I treated you with respect.

: : Onecolon's reply to Twocolon is probably right. Another example, "That's mighty white of you" undoubtedly racial--DH

: : PS: Forgive for adopting the "Onecolon, Twocolon" biz. When you reach my age oftentimes after you switch from the forum thread page and start your followup you will have forgotten to whom you're replying

: ESC is right. It's an example of racism. Very similar and equally racist is the British slang expression "to play the white man", meaning to act fairly and honourably.

'the white man' - with due decorum and sincerity. i.e. you can trust another white, but not the natives.
irony is, that is was often the rogues who went abroad, so proportionally, 'the white man' was more likely to be on the con. I suppose that you have to balance that against a native wanting to get back at an occupying power.
I wonder what expression the Romans used in their empire days.