The Observation Deck

Ok, I find this interesting. The first story is about a wrestler that calls himself the "Super Wetback" and the 2nd story is about public outcry for a councilman to resign in Texas for using the same term.

One is praised & rooted for, and the other is pinned to the ground so to say

Any thoughts? Doesn't the same apply to other racial slurs? If a white preacher used the n word would it go over the same as a black pastor? Is the double standard right?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340272,00.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340135,00.html

Surely there is some difference when a person refers to their own heritage vs. someone else's, correct? My Polish friends told the best Polish jokes (back when being Polish was somehow funny). My Catholic friends told great Catholic jokes, some pretty biting but bristled at someone else making the same observation or joke.

Maybe the more important discussion is not the words themselves but what is the meaning behind them. Why would someone use them? Context is everything. In one case, you have a guy doing a wrestling gig (an entertainment) to raise awareness for a serious issue (Immigration). He is Mexican, picking a slur as a point in creating a fake character to raise awareness. The other was an elected official referring to a group of people by a racial slur in a public meeting. Does he need to be fired? No. Should he have chosen a better word?

Context. Intention of the word.

What is your point? Are you wanting freer use of the "N" word in mixed company? Is it a double standard that I swear among my friends but would have serious words with my 8 year old if she did the same and I noticed? My daughter certainly feels it is a double standard.

Take away the hotly contested words from the two linked stories and what you have is a politician having a low opinion of immigrants and sharing it publicly and a person who wants to raise money to help them. No real story when the word is taken out of it. Who would be surprised about a fundraiser for incarcerated immigrants and a politician who hates using jail space for immigrants? We let the heated "word!" take over the discussion vs. the real concerns. Typical of the drive-by media, right?