Harry Reid, read my lips: There's no such thing as 'Negro dialect' (sorry for the wrong reasons)

Harry Reid, read my lips: There's no such thing as 'Negro dialect'
By Michael Meyers
Special to NYDailyNews.com
Tuesday, January 12th 2010, 3:48 PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid really put his foot in his mouth when, last year, he told two reporters that white voters would vote for Barack Obama because Obama was a "light-skinned" African-American who did not speak "Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

He's since apologized - to Barack Obama and to every "African-American" in his Rolodex.

Reid has only backed off of his word choice; he has yet to express regret for the substance of his remarks.

The truth is, what he said was insensitive and wrong because it reduced an able and politically astute presidential candidate to a racial caricature.

Second - and this one is even more important - there is no such thing as "Negro dialect." Like "the Negro" itself, so-called "Negro dialect" is a fiction created to assign qualities and habits and deficits to a "race" of people. But blacks are not a "race"; we're people who happen to have darker skin than whites. We are individuals who belong to the same race as do whites and "Hispanics" and Asians.

If, as individuals, we speak less than standard or perfect English, then that is a personal failing and a challenge - not a racial character trait. Indeed, as many American blacks were coming up and out of enslavement, they learned broken English from their overseers because many whites then and now (and not just in the South) don't know the rules, much less the syntax and grammar, of the English language.

there is no such thing as “Negro dialect.”

Oh yes there is. for the same reason you can tell if you are talking on the phone to someone in India or a Latino, or chinese dialects.

I got a call a few years ago that had such a Negro dialect I could not understand a word of it even though the person was speaking in English.

The same goes for English speaking whites. You can tell if it is Southern, midwest, western.

How would one expect Henry Higgins to tell the difference in cokney english and Queen’s english speaking people without a dilect to differentiate them?

The hypocrisy and double standard of the Dems is really something to marvel at! As Mr. Meyers accurately (if sarcastically notes), Harry was quick to call EVERY black/African American in his Rolodex! Not to digress, but given the speed of his outreach, I’m guessing that rolodex is “color-coded” (pun intended). The party of “diversity” may indeed be diverse, but their actions indicate that they do a pretty good Mr. Monk impersonation; instead of separating the peas, carrots, lima beans of the succotash, they separate themselves into nicely, color-code groups (BTW Harry, you can file me under Brownish/Tan).

It makes me LOL that African Americans are completely fine being used as props! They dutifully parade in front of any camera and proclaim the purity of Harry’s heart; if not his tongue. One wonders if actual slaveowners in the pre-civil war south could have mustered such insincere praise as easily and quickly as Harry. My guess is no. Don’t get me wrong, a whip is a strong motivator. But it lacks the pure intensity and raw drive of a congressional plus up for your district . . . No, in fact, the basic line I’ve been hearing from our African American brothers and sisters is that his statement, although “awkward” (at least for anyone born since color TV) was indeed a true political fact. Light skinned blacks with no Negro dialect have an advantage over their melatonin and diction challenged brethren. (It’s funny that these color distinctions always seem to come from the left. . )

Maybe I have a little too much time on my hands, but I couldn’t help but imagine their is a political amusement park for aspiring African Americans. However the “rides” are all political positions. And at the entrance of each position/ride instead of a height chart, their is color chart; “Must be this white for this position.” “Step right up Mr. Sharpton, Oh . . . sorry, the Presidential Roller Coaster isn’t for you . . . Have you tried the Mayor Merry-Go-Round? No luck, huh? Hey! You may want to try Community Organizer Orbiter in the kiddee section of the park. . .” Then there is the lack of “Negro Dialect” that seems to impress our not-so-young Masser Harry. To be fair, Harry appears to be impressed by Mr. Obama’s ability to turn it on and off (and I thought our bashful leader said he wasn’t bilingual! not only light-skinned, but modest to boot . . .) Again a little too much time on my hands, but I can almost picture Rex Reed brought back to life for African American political elocution classes. Maybe a little ditty like the one that helped Eliza (to the tune of the rain from Spain), “Right then, repeat after me, ‘The rude and crude come mainly from the hood.’” Followed by, “The light and bright are favored by Lib whites . . .” Sadly, I must admit that there is that warped part of me that takes pleasure in watching Libs of all shapes, sizes and colors contort themselves to try rationalized their hypocrisy. Hey! Maybe that can be a new ride or funhouse in the park! “Step right up, no color restrictions required! Just one thing, you may not like how the mirrors make you look.”

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