Hey, PoppaGator!

In your most recent post to this thread you wrote "The suggestion that "you folks" provides a convenient and non-gendered alternative to "you(se) guys" seemed fine to me until Azizi set us straight."

I know this isn't the thread on slang, and I think I know where you're coming from with that sentence. But in my neigborhood "setting someone straight" is more confrontational than I intended. "Being set straight" reminds me of a kid being lectured by an adult, or someone telling someone how it is and how it must be-or else.

That wasn't at all what I was trying to do and convey. My purpose in participating in this conversation was to share information about how I believe African Americans {in general} use, consider, and/or respond to certain words, phrases, and actions [when used by us and/or by others].

In the mid or late 1990s, there was a rather widely used slogan found in Black media, placed on tee-shirts, and circulated by other means within the African American community. The slogan was:

It's a Black thang.
You wouldn't understand.

-snip-

The "You" in that slogan is a collective referent to White people.

I never agreed with that slogan. It seems to me that increasing understanding among people of different races & ethnicities ranks up there just below "Love thy neighbor as yourself" Or maybe increasing interracial understanding is one way to "Love thy neighbor.."

I believe that online discussion forums such as Mudcat are one way that folks can increase understanding and eradicate racial and ethnic lines barriers.

Rather than say that I am setting people straight by posting on Mudcat, I would say that Mudcat offers me {as well as all other members and non-members} daily opportunities to share information, experiences and insights about my {our} culture{s}, and learn about other cultures.

And it's not just the information that is important to me-it's the people.

I love the fact that Mudcat helps people from all over the world meet & get to know each other. Mudcat also helps folks meet others who live or have lived in places that are very familiar.

How else would a former 'New Jerseyite' now living in Pittsburgh, PA have met a former 'New-Jerseyite' who now lives in New Orleans and who sometimes goes by the name "PoppaGator"?!

So here's a new slogan that I think is better than that old one: "The Internet-It's all about connecting!"


Peace!


Azizi