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Inoffensive Savagery
When is the word “savage” not racist and offensive?
In Tunisian citizen Souhir Stephenson’s “Tunisia, a Sad Year Later,” published last Wednesday in the New York Times, she wrote: “Tourism is dwindling. Who wants to vacation among bands of bearded savages raiding embassies, staking their black pirate flag over universities or burning trucks carrying beer?”
“Bearded savages.” This appeared in the Times just six weeks after the paper ran a piece calling my American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) subway ads “potentially inflammatory” and quoting Muneer Awad of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) calling me “a bigot and a racist” for the ad, which reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”
Indeed, this ad touched off a nationwide firestorm, with pundits and activists all over the country excoriating me for using the word “savage” to describe Islamic jihadists and supremacists. CNN “journalist” Mona Eltahawy was actually caught in the act of spray-painting over the ad, and was arrested, after which little act of fascism she had the gall to claim that she was merely exercising her freedom of speech.
What is the difference between the New York Times’s use of the word savage and the AFDI use?
Or Hillary Clinton’s, for that matter? In a statement on September 12, she used the same word to characterize those who had attacked our consulate in Benghazi and murdered Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American officials: “This was an attack by a small and savage group — not the people or Government of Libya.”
Is Clinton’s use of the word savage offensive?
thirdtwin
November 15th, 2012
Apparently, the word “savage” is offensive as a noun, but not as an adjective.
Sort of like how “people of color” is not offensive, but “colored people” is offensive.
thirdtwin
November 15th, 2012
And I like to call those beards on the savages “orangutang fringe” Is that racist?
Hey Timmy
November 15th, 2012
Welcome to the Alice in Wonderland world for the next four years. “Words mean what we say they mean” like “Curiouser and curiouser!”
MaryfromMarin
November 15th, 2012
@thirdtwin–
The word “savages” IS used as a noun in the piece by Stephenson in the NYT.
What is clearly being shown is that it is not WHAT you say, but WHO is saying it. If you’re a leftist, you can say anything you want, without recriminations. If you’re a conservative, it’s getting to the point where you can’t say anything at all.
CrustyB
November 15th, 2012
You don’t want to be called one, don’t act like one.
thirdtwin
November 15th, 2012
MaryfromMarin, don’t worry, someone like Geraldo Rivera will soon gently chide her for her unhelpful language. Or some savage will track her down and throw acid in her face. Either way, she’ll get the message.
Dr. Tar
November 15th, 2012
In lighter news. Has anyone seen the stir the folks at Peoples Cube started last night on Twitter?
They initiated a comendy trend with the #Hamasbumperstickers. Basically it exploded like a car driven by the head of Hama’s military wing. recommend checking it out. Very funny stuff going on over there
http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/hamas-bumper-stickers-on-twitter-started-by-thepeoplescube-t10044.html
tenmegaton
November 15th, 2012
How about mother fuckers then?
tenmegaton
November 15th, 2012
Sorry
cfm990
November 15th, 2012
Savage is in the eye of the beheader.
Tim
November 15th, 2012
So, ‘savage’ doesn’t mean ‘savage’ when written by a NYT propagandist, only when written by someone who actually understands what ‘savage’ means?
War ?
November 15th, 2012
OT: the middle east is heating up
http://www.israellycool.com
https://twitter.com/israellycool
Stirrin the B.S.
November 15th, 2012
@cfm – NICE – a little well timed comedic relief. But it isn’t it actually in the eye of the beheadED?
cfm990
November 15th, 2012
@ Stirrin. I guess it depends on weather your looking up, or looking down. Besides, I thought Dr Tar could use it at the cube.
Joe
November 15th, 2012
We know the rules. It’s not WHAT is said, it’s WHO says it.
Stirrin the B.S.
November 15th, 2012
@cfm – yeah I guess it depends on your perspective. And besides the beheaded doesn’t have an opinion anymore anyway.
(Oooohh, I’m going to be smitten for that one. It’s just a little dark humor Lord – all in good jest)
Edith McCrotch
November 15th, 2012
It’s not the word savage that they find offending, it’s the word Israel that irks their imaan.
Rick
November 15th, 2012
“And I like to call those beards on the savages ‘orangutang fringe’ Is that racist?”
thirdtwin, the orangutangs think it is.