Posted on 09/02/2005 6:06:32 PM PDT by bolingbroke
I prefer the word victim, but I don't see a racist connotation.
I am SO glad that somebody else feels this way. A refugee is simply someone who seeks refuge. Those leaving New Orleans because it is no longer habitable are refugees. Period. They are also evacuees, citizens, and in need of our help.
Aren't there more important issues that need attention?
hey Rooster...longtime no see!
Personally, I hate the word "refugee" as its being used to describe Americans.
Me too.
Its actually an urban legend, he never did make that quote.
That said, funny story for you.
When I was in college, in class, someone brought that up, I watched, with some amusement, as my professor and several little lefty students try and try to spin it and justify this "quote", after watching this for a few minutes, and laughing, I raised my hand and let them know that this really was an already debunked urban legend.
Then I accused them all of being racist for believing that an "elected african american" would be so stupid to say something like that.
They actually apologized and felt bad....which made the whole thing funnier.
evacuee -- One who was brought out (for survival). Needing to be rescued. Not seeking refuge.
refugee -- One who fled on his own, spending his own resources to seek refuge.
Both categories are going to need help from fellow Americans.
I'd say it's pretty doubtful that he said that. He's said some really dumb things but I don't thnk that's one of them.
If anything, it is racist to say that the word "refugee" is negative. When someone disdains being called a refugee, he is saying, "I'm better than those refugees I have seen on TV, in Southeast Asia or in the Sudan." That said, I concur with those who have said on this thread that the word is inapt as applied to the New Orleanians. "Refugee" suggests that the person has had to cross a national boundary.
Just shows how bad the education in the U.S. has become. People don't know the meaning of basic vocabulary words.
To these scatterbrained individuals, any word that they've heard used to describe any bad situation must be "racist."
We must save ourselves from the ignorance we have spawned by dumbing down America. The Marxists who tricked this country into doing so in the name of diversity deserve nothing but eternal scorn.
The ap is using the term refuge in this article.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_re_us/katrina_refugees_hk4
We got some thin' we both know it,
We don't talk too much about it
Ain't no real big secret, all the same,
Somehow we get around it
Listen, it don't really matter to me
Baby, you believe what you wanna believe
You see, you don't have to live like a refugee
Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have
Kicked you around some
Tell me why you wanna lay there,
Revel in your abandon
Honey, it don't make no difference to me
Baby, everybody's had to fight to be free
You see, you don't have to live like a refugee
No baby, you don't have to live like a refugee
Baby, we ain't the first
I'm sure a lot of other lovers been burned
Right now this ain't real to you
It's one of those things you got to feel to be true
Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have
Kicked you around some
Who knows, maybe you were kidnapped,
Tied-up, taken away, and held for ransom
Honey, it don't really matter to me
Baby, everybody's had to fight to be free
You see, you don't have to live like a refugee
No, you don't have to live like a refugee
Baby, you don't have to live like a refugee
refuge: n, a place of safety in dangerous situation or disaster, a place in which to hide from or wait out danger. syn: security, sanctuary, preserve, shelter
refugee: n, one who seeks shelter in time of danger or disaster
where's the frickin' "racism"???
If you're referring to the one posted by another Freeper on another thread, that was an *immigration* law dealing with *international* refugees, so it's hardly surprising that it would define its terms in relation to people outside their own country.
But the word still has broad application in its usual meaning, and is appropriate to use in regards to people still within their own country who are taking refuge from a war or other disaster.
These are Americans who have lost their homes.
Yes, and they're taking refuge from the disaster (and the looters).
And the water came through a chink in the levee, but we'll clean up the city until it's spic and span.
These "refugees" will be able to return to their "homeland" in under a year if they choose.
They are welcome to stay or to settle elsewhere. The sooner they establish (at least temporary) roots, the better they will do in the long run.
I've seen increased traffice at the Social Security office near me and hear Louisana accents in the voices of the visitors there. They are also more polite than the regular people stopping in. The refugees I've seen at the SS office most likely got out of town on their own, but have lost just as much property (except maybe keeping their or a rental, car). I can see Louisana plates on the cars. They are cool headed and appear to be accepting the things they've got to do to carry on. These are black and white people I am seeing and talking with there. I assume that their processing is being expediated. They are even accepting of the long lines (which are much longer than normal and requiring the office to stay open hours late each night). The locals here always gasp and groan when they see the line on a NORMAL day.
Their cities have been destroyed. They are not in this position by any bad choices in life. If the region was so "uninhabitable" then no one should have been living there for the past 200 years.
I imagine that some will return to Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states to live near family and friends. Others may find a welcome home here. If they do, we may get some great new restaurants in Houston.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.