Conversation between Tim Wise and myself.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

This is a series of posts between Mr. Wise and myself on the words slave, nigger and race. Read it and see if you can find the inconsistencies and also just how blinding the lack of understanding of how language works can be even to a so called expert.

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

Ms. DLewis, you wrote:
"In other words, do some people fear the possible actions someone may take who has addressed them as a nigger, especially in the day in age, since the word is becoming taboo."

Ok, so I'll flip this around in my head and I'll equate the word "nigga" as meaning "friend". So when someone says "my nigga" a "freedom of choice", if you will, can be to "reframe it" as though that person has said to me "my friend".

Ok. So back to the conversation between Al Lewis and Mr. Wise. I'll re-read it.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Let me be clear that my conversation with Mr. Wise was about the word slave. I only used the word nigger because he avoided its use. Isn't it amazing how the power of language works? By that I mean how the original issue, the use and the real meaning of the word slave, morphed into a conversation about a meaningless word, nigger. That is an example of the power of definition. I can also venture to say that almost anywhere else, but this site, this conversation would have produced spurious and feckless argument. Instead the principles of learning and knowing have held fast so far.

If you want to know for yourself you will have too learn the techniques of learning to know. It is not easy nor is there any short cuts that I know of and hear me I have tried. I wanted to master etymology, just the beginning of how to learn and think deeply, yesterday. After almost 15 years of being introduced to the science and 6 years of intensely studying language and how it works I find myself still in the beginning phase of this.

No, it is not disheartening, it is refreshing in knowing I don't know because if all I presently know was it then I am way more trouble than I thought.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

I am currently reading and transposing from a Webster's 1828, that's right 1828, edition dictionary. It has a definition of Caucasian as follows: ” Any one belonging to the Indo - European race, and the white races originating near Mount Caucasus.” That's a mere 33 years after the so called five divisions of mankind were labeled, in 1795 by Johann Blumenbach.. The posted definition is 167 years after it was so named.

It took at most 129 years for Webster to expose the lie, yet Blumenbach himself confesses his mistake later in his life time, he died in 1840, a mere 12 years after the aforementioned definition. He wrote, "Finally, I am of opinion that after all these numerous instances I have brought together of negroes of capacity, it would not be difficult to mention entire well-known provinces of Europe, from out of which you would not easily expect to obtain off-hand such good authors, poets, philosophers, and correspondents of the Paris Academy; and on the other hand, there is no so-called savage nation known under the sun which has so much distinguished itself by such examples of perfectibility and original capacity for scientific culture, and thereby attached itself so closely to the most civilized nations of the earth, as the Negro."

Yet even now we have reasonably intelligent people still referring to other people by erroneous, assumed, hypothetical labels with no scientific foundation whatsoever. We also have the very people who have been labeled as inferior fighting to hold on to those labels and worse yet, looking to be offended by words that either have no meaning or clear origin or words that define them in a negative light. Read on if you dare.

The rabbit hole gets even deeper than one might imagine if they but look deeply and closely at what they are seeing. "The term or label “Negro” was designed as well as defined to be a people of inferior characteristics. One can deduce that by the following statement from Blumenbach,"Caucasian variety - I have taken the name of this variety from Mount Caucasus, both because its neighborhood, and especially its southern slope, produces the most beautiful race of men, I mean the Georgian; and because all physiological reasons converge to this, that in that region, if anywhere, it seems we ought with the greatest probability to place the autochthones (birth place) of mankind."[

If one just couples that statement with the one previously posted one will deduce that any reference to the Negro was a reference to an inferior being and since Negro is defined to be "black" in Spanish and even that nomenclature is tinged with thoughts of inferiority, simply because the thought (inferior) was attached to word by conscious design. That nomenclature and the succession of words used to describe so called black people and all its derivatives to include, Negro, Neger, Negra, Nigger, Nigga Colored, Black, Sepia and yes even the pseudo soul saving label, African American, named chiefly because it was in reaction to these terms and designed to prove they, former Negroes, too were somebody and by executing the power to name themselves that would prove they have value......too. It has been there all the time right there for you to see. No one hid this from you.

Conversely when one invokes the term white or Caucasian they are inadvertently sanctioning their own inferiority or superiority, depending on what group one connects themselves too, again simply because the the concept of Caucasian was imbedded, imbued, and attached with thoughts, associations and pictures of superiority. That is why Mr. Black and I cannot thank him enough, suggested to many of his students to try disciplining themselves to use the term, “so called”. By doing so it neutralizes any positive/negative associations because one is only referring to a hypothetical in the first place.

It gets deeper, but time and prudence permits only so much.

Peace Gods,

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

To see the first referenced definition of the word Caucasian go to the Photo section of this site and view "Definition of Caucasian". It is from the 1957 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary.

To see more of the Blumenbach references go to hyperlink: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Friedrich_Blumenbach

However, I suggest not to just take this information at face value. Go to the library and research Johann for yourself. Remember check, double check and re-check again.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

I wonder if Mr. Wise would just dismiss or pooh -pooh the definition of the term Caucasian as he maximized the importance of the definition of the word nigger?

Just as his grand mother revealed to him on her death bed how deeply ingrained evil is maybe he didn't escape it as much as he'd like to think?

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

I did some reserch on Blumenbach. Nothing in my local library and I did review the Wikipedia information. It's difficult to understand Mr. Wise.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

Barry, did you try the Macropedia? I also found some information on him in a 1828 Websters.

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

You know what? I love you sister!

[Aaron (Al) Lewis]

You have completed the African American - European American IAT.

Your Result
Your data suggest a strong automatic preference for African American compared to European American.
Thank you for your participation. Just below is a breakdown of the scores generated by others. Most respondents find it easier to associate African American with Bad and European American with Good compared to the reverse.


Sister Jessica, thank you for this information and tool. I was amazed to find that only 2% of the people who took the test had a strong automatic preference for African American compared to European American. I guess that makes me a racist huh?

[B. Crittenden Freeman]

For whatever it's worth....

You have completed the African American - European American IAT.
========================
Your Result
Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between African American and European American.
Thank you for your participation. Just below is a breakdown of the scores generated by others. Most respondents find it easier to associate African American with Bad and European American with Good compared to the reverse.
====================

[Gene Williams]

That was a slip of the mind, Bro. Black. I actually meant to incorporate "asendant" in the place of "descendant", and put "oppression" in the place of "slavery". "Ascendant" is a new concept, so I have to retrain my mind to make my words match my intent.

[Clifford Black]

A beautiful mind, is probably one of the most creative aspects of creation and one must learn how to re-create the programs, that we were born into,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, The difficult is worth accomplishing.
Peace Lord!
(B)