Steve Martin apologizes for tweet

[WelshBloke]

Why is that racist?
Yes it's relevant to certain subset of black people in a particular country but it's certainly not relevant to black people as a race.

Its like me saying that Parisians are stuck up and someone saying that that's racist against white Europeans.

 

[SheHateMe]

hur hur hur, black people are so stupid that they can't spell Lasagna. I get it. So funny, Steve.

 

[Rakehellion]

You know what's strange? Just a few years ago there was a push for ebonics to become part of the education curriculum and now that someone publicly recognizes that African Americans spell and speak differently they are accuses of racism.

The biggest problem I see is the lack of consistency by the community.

"The community." So anything a black person says represents the views of all black people. Some would call that an unfair generalization.

 

[SheHateMe]

"The community." So anything a black person says represents the views of all black people. Some would call that an unfair generalization.

This is a line of thinking I struggle with understanding as well. Non-Blacks = judged as individuals. Blacks = judged as a community. What SheHateMe does is representative of all black people, what White AT poster does is only representative of him/her.


I am part of "The Community" and I am not aware of this push for Ebonics education.

 

[Imp]

It's a cultural reference to how "la" ends up at the beginning of a lot of feminine names, not a racial one.

Okay, that makes a lot more sense. The spelling thing threw it off.

Lafonda... I love that name.

 

[twinrider1]

ATOT is slacking....or too young to know Steven Martin's standup catch phase.

And the live clip for the proper delivery.

 

[Agent11]

hur hur hur, black people are so stupid that they can't spell Lasagna. I get it. So funny, Steve.

http://www.babynamescountry.com/origins/american_girl_baby_names28.html

Page 28 to 31. And you owe Steve Martin an apology.

 

[SheHateMe]

http://www.babynamescountry.com/origins/american_girl_baby_names28.html

Page 28 to 31. And you owe Steve Martin an apology.

Um, no I don't. If you really think that all black people think those are acceptable names or that we don't know how to spell properly, you're an idiot.

His joke was tasteless and insulting.

 

[Agent11]

He didn't say anything about 'all black people' in his joke he stated are you in an african-american neighborhood or an italian restaurant.

I give you 3 pages of la**** names and you still persist. You're a tool.

And that would be you, individually.

 

[sixone]

Um, no I don't. If you really think that all black people think those are acceptable names or that we don't know how to spell properly, you're an idiot.

His joke was tasteless and insulting.

As I pointed out earlier, it's a cultural reference, not a racial one.

 

[Rakehellion]

I give you 3 pages of la**** names

And you assume they're names of black children. That's a stereotype.

 

[SheHateMe]

He didn't say anything about 'all black people' in his joke he stated are you in an african-american neighborhood or an italian restaurant.

I give you 3 pages of la**** names and you still persist. You're a tool.

And that would be you, individually.

You make zero sense. He wasn't talking about black people but he brought up the question of whether or not the person asking the question was in a black/AA neighborhood or not.

So which is it, they don't know how to spell "Lasagna" in a black/AA neighborhood or that isn't what he was saying?

What was the point of linking me to those names if you weren't trying to make a connection between the names and black people?

Make sense.



Understand what you say or don't speak.

 

[Rakehellion]

He didn't say anything about 'all black people' in his joke he stated are you in an african-american neighborhood

So he was talking about an African-American neighborhood, but not African-American people? That's quite a stretch.

 

[Agent11]

We all know where you find a lot of people with those names. Stop being dense.

The joke is whether the question was referencing a new La***** name, or a misspelling of lasagna. If it is the former it is making fun of La***** names, which we could all agree I am sure are worthy of poking fun at. . . And is a cultural joke, not a racial one.

 

[Rakehellion]

We all know where you find a lot of people with those names. Stop being dense.

So this thread boils down to "I'm racist and I don't care."

I guess we're done here.

 

[SheHateMe]

So he was talking about an African-American neighborhood, but not African-American people? That's quite a stretch.

Neighborhoods don't normally have people in them! Stop being dense! :awe:

 

[purbeast0]

His joke was tasteless and insulting.

many many jokes are tasteless and insulting and people don't get up in arms about them. they are jokes. they aren't supposed to be taken seriously.

holy shit people need to lighten up.

 

[Agent11]

So this thread boils down to "I'm racist and I don't care."

I guess we're done here.

I am not a racist.

If I make a joke about habits of people in the Hamptons I am not being racist against white people, I am making a cultural joke about the culture of that community.

You must be a lot of fun. (Not though, I'm sure.)

 

[Agent11]

It isn't that we are sensitive so much as it is some people will jump at every opportunity to aggrandize themselves by jumping on anything perceived as politically incorrect.

Blacks in the US in general are too sensitive though, they have quite a few people telling them that they are victims, and as such they look for such victimization everywhere.

It's like I'm prescient.

 

[SheHateMe]

many many jokes are tasteless and insulting and people don't get up in arms about them. they are jokes. they aren't supposed to be taken seriously.

holy shit people need to lighten up.

I'm not "up in arms" about anything. I just said that it was tasteless, insulting, and not funny.

 

[spittledip]

Meh not a big deal. It might be slightly insensitive, but if people don't realize that many black Americans create names that sound a bit like this, they aren't living in reality. The worst crime of the joke is that "Lasania" does not sound that much like one of those made-up names. But, we all get the joke. Except for SheHateMe that is

 

[SheHateMe]

Except for SheHateMe that is

I get the joke. I just said that it wasn't funny.


Why does shit have to be such a big deal when someone doesn't approve of stupid shit like this. All of a sudden, I "don't get it", I'm "up in arms" about it.

The other reason I'm bothering to engage in conversations over this stupid ass joke is because people don't know the difference between generalizing a group of people and making fun of a select few in a community that do things like this.

I'm tired of having to combat douchebags that want to lump blacks into one big category.

Page 28 to 31. And you owe Steve Martin an apology.

Is just proof that there are people out there who generalize us in this way.

I don't owe Steve Martin an apology.

 

[Rakehellion]

If I make a joke about habits of people in the Hamptons I am not being racist against white people, I am making a cultural joke about the culture of that community.

Now I see. Where do I find the neighborhood of African-America? Is it in Vermont?

 

[SheHateMe]

You know what's strange? Just a few years ago there was a push for ebonics to become part of the education curriculum and now that someone publicly recognizes that African Americans spell and speak differently they are accuses of racism.

The biggest problem I see is the lack of consistency by the community.

Read this post a few more times to see what the problem is with some people on AT and people who think this type of shit isn't insulting.


Please let me know how we can be more consistent with our naming conventions and our push for Ebonics in schools and I'll make sure to write it down and tell the rest of the group.

 

[Agent11]

Now I see. Where do I find the neighborhood of African-America? Is it in Vermont?

Google it, I will not participate in your race baiting.