Thread: Racist comment?

Is it an ethnic slur to say you call a spade a spade?

During a recent conversation off of ALIPAC, I said someone was a jerk. The jerk fired back. Anyway, my final response to him was that I "call a spade, a spade" and if he didn't like my opinions, he should stop asking for them.

Someone else who wasn't even a part of the convo said he was a black and was offended at my statement of calling a spade a spade.

I sat there scratching my head trying to figure out what could have offended him about that statement, but he swears it's racist ?????

Anyone have any insight? I certainly didn't mean it to be racist nor did I know it even HAD a racist connotation, if it really does.

Hmm...I don't see how that could be considered racist other than the fact that spades are black cards.

Maybe you should have said "hearts" or "diamonds" instead of spades.

Oh gees Americangirl. That's taking PC to a whole new ABSURD level. The whole thing wasn't even about race or ethnicity. My statement referred to the fact that I called the guy a jerk because he IS, quite frankly, a jerk. LOL

So, when I said it, I meant it as "I call them like I see them."

I'm still scratching my head wondering how it could have been misconstrued. I feel I'm arguing with idiots over there.

Here's the response from the offended guy:

"that word in the 60,s and the 70,s was a common word white people used in place of the n-word, another word that was used was coon, now I do not care what the definition is that you found if you had any brains you would know that word is as racist as the n-word. and you dont care who you piss off, well that is typical talk from a racist white trash. And the protesters I get you do not want to deal with because for every person you bring to a rally I bet you I will match it 5 to 1 or better. I already left a message for Al Sharpton tell him you dont care as well as the NAACP, if you need an explanation on what NAACP is let me know."

Is this true? I wasn't born until 1978 and I have never, ever heard this as a racist thing!

I just called my uncle (who happens to be older than me, and black) to ask him, and he said it's a bunch of balogna.

Originally Posted by corhanem

Here's the response from the offended guy:

"that word in the 60,s and the 70,s was a common word white people used in place of the n-word, another word that was used was coon, now I do not care what the definition is that you found if you had any brains you would know that word is as racist as the n-word. and you dont care who you piss off, well that is typical talk from a racist white trash. And the protesters I get you do not want to deal with because for every person you bring to a rally I bet you I will match it 5 to 1 or better. I already left a message for Al Sharpton tell him you dont care as well as the NAACP, if you need an explanation on what NAACP is let me know."

Is this true? I wasn't born until 1978 and I have never, ever heard this as a racist thing!

I just called my uncle (who happens to be older than me, and black) to ask him, and he said it's a bunch of balogna.

I've never heard that "spade" was used in place of the "n" word.

But that guy called you "white trash" and I find that COMPLETELY racist. So there's a bit of hypocrisy going on here.

This has been a very common expression in the English language for so may years that it goes back many generations. It is not racist. It's meaning is: To speak plainly - to describe something as it really is and it was first derived back in the mid 1500's.

"to call a spade a spade"

(Phrase Origins)



is NOT an ethnic slur.
It derives from an ancient Greek expression: _ta syka syka, te:n
skaphe:n de skaphe:n onomasein_ = "to call a fig a fig, a trough a
trough". This is first recorded in Aristophanes' play _The Clouds_
(423 B.C.), was used by Menander and Plutarch, and is still current
in modern Greek. There has been a slight shift in meaning: in
ancient times the phrase was often used pejoratively, to denote a
rude person who spoke his mind tactlessly; but it now, like the
English phrase, has an exclusively positive connotation. It is
possible that both the fig and the trough were originally sexual
symbols.
In the Renaissance, Erasmus confused Plutarch's "trough"
(_skaphe:_) with the Greek word for "digging tool" (_skapheion_;
the two words are etymologically connected, a trough being
something that is hollowed out) and rendered it in Latin as _ligo_.
Thence it was translated into English in 1542 by Nicholas Udall in
his translation of Erasmus's version as "to call a spade [...] a
spade". (_Bartlett's Familiar Quotations_ perpetuates Erasmus'
error by mistranslating _skaphe:_ as "spade" three times under
Menander.)
"To call a spade a bloody shovel" is not recorded until 1919.
"Spade" in the sense of "Negro" is not recorded until 1928. (It
comes from the colour of the playing card symbol, via the phrase
"black as the ace of spades".)

This, of course, does *not* necessarily render the modern use of
"to call a spade a spade" "politically correct". Rosalie Maggio, in
_The Bias-Free Word-Finder_, writes: "The expression is associated
with a racial slur and is to be avoided", and recommends using "to
speak plainly" or other alternatives instead.

http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/miftocllspdspd.shtml

But that guy called you "white trash" and I find that COMPLETELY racist. So there's a bit of hypocrisy going on here.

Many "minorities" feel that they can speak about another race of people in any terms that they so desire because "minorities" cannot be racist. Of course, this is absurdly ridiculous, but nevertheless, it is not uncommon to hear "minorities" claim they cannot be racist since they are "minorities."

[quote]To call a spade a spade
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Look up Call a spade a spade in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.To "call a spade a spade" is to speak honestly and directly about a topic, specifically topics that others may avoid speaking about due to their sensitivity or embarrassing nature. Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1913) defines it as

“ To be outspoken, blunt, even to the point of rudeness; to call things by their proper names without any “beating about the bushâ€

Thanks everyone! The info I found all said the same thing. I did find some sources that said the word that refers to the suit of cards was indeed used as a racial slur at one time, however, the statement I made, used in context with all the other words, eliminates any racial overtones. Sheesh, I can't even use euphemisms anymore. This is truly getting ridiculous. Is anyone else having problems with everything you say being twisted to mean something else on other websites?