Forum: Author Hangout

In these woke times, I would interpret that as derogatory :-(

You wouldn't be the only one and I won't argue otherwise.

However, it's not necessarily racial.

awnlee jawking posted: In these woke times, I would interpret that as derogatory :-(

Dominion's Son posted: You wouldn't be the only one and I won't argue otherwise.

However, it's not necessarily racial.

I am neither racist, nor "woke" (in the current "political" sense). Words, for the most part, are not racist; people are. Playing "Whack-a-Mole" with words (banning them willy-nilly) does Nothing to reduce racism. Racism is increased when people use Skin Color as the major factor, claiming to be anti-racist.

When a Rap or Hip-Hop star uses "N!gger" repeatedly in songs that top the charts and make millions, and teens parrot those songs, but then only White teens lose a college scholarship, or are kicked out of a university, if an old cell-phone video made when they are 14 comes out; That is Racist because people of other skin colors are not judged the same way.

Similarly, a White male university student was expelled for yelling "Water Buffalo" at several female students of color. According to multiple sources the females were being loud and obnoxious outside a dorm, disturbing many people. The young man in question told them to "be quiet." Resulting in a verbal exchange. The young man chose a word that is obviously not racist. However, because he yelled it at four "women of color" it was deemed Racist and he was expelled. He was yelling at them not because of their skin color, but because they were being Loud and Obnoxious! Sadly, incidents similar to this embolden some people with "black or brown" skin to act very obnoxiously; confident their skin color will protect them from consequences! Worse, this results in many people believing that All people of color are rude, loud, and obnoxious; even if they don't dare post it on social media.

Buckwheat is not a racial pejorative, other than in context of the character from The Little Rascals. That particular character was based on tropes of the era about Colored people (as that term was used in the era) and Rural folk, aka: Country Bumkins. The character Alfalfa also portrayed country bumkin tropes. I believe they could have switched the name of the characters, before they made any of the Little Rascals shorts and it would have made no difference. Why use Buckwheat in Farscape? I think it is because "Buckwheat jokes/memes" were popular in the perceived Farscape audience demographic. Also, "Buck-wheat" is 2 syllables, and "Al-fal-pha" is three, more drawn out, syllables.

How words are pronounced, or (often deliberately) mispronounced, can be used for humor. "Spitting" a word out (very rapidly) may be funny, sometimes deliberately drawing a word out (saying it with exaggerated slowness) may be funny. Don Rickles, and other comedians, are masters of these techniques. So too are Drill Sergeants, and some other NCOs. With a damper on profanity and racial slurs, and "insulting" words, such as idiot or moron, Drill Sergeants turned the word: "In-da-vid-You-al" into one of the most Insulting words possible! Being called an "Individual" by a Drill Sergeant, well, it might not scare you, but you were prepared to do a Lot of Push-Ups, and be mocked for whatever you did!

Back to Farscape words in a story are used to (attempt to) create a perception of a character. In a TV show or movie, an actor's or actress's tone of voice typically indicates a pejorative. Even in a book, using a word like Buckwheat, even if the reader knows nothing of The Little Rascals, it likely comes across as some kind of pejorative nickname; but not something totally insulting, such as calling Rigel, "Shit for Brains" would be. If the writer were censored, and couldn't use Buckwheat, they would just use another word to mean the same thing! Unless all characters are made bland, and have no negative traits, and never use words with a negative connotation, then writers will use words with a negative connotation.

Otherwise: The Hero breaks into the Secret Lair, and says, "Stop this madness you Villian!"

Villian replies, "I am merely baking Cookies, to give to the Whole World, for free."

Hero, "Oh? Well... I'l be going, then..."

Villian smirks, and thinks: Ha Ha! My evil plan won't be foiled! Everyone, but my select few acolytes, will become Obese, and have diabetes, and high cholesterol, and DIE!

{Although the Word Police might deem Villian, Madness, Obese, and other words Verboten!}

Banning words is not the solution, not even a solution. Perhaps banning profanity, and some words, such as Nigger, in K-12 schools, or a professional work environment, might make sense. But banning Huckleberry Finn becuase it contains "The N word" is foolish and counter-productive! Most people who read Huckleberry Finn, or have seen the movie, should soon, or at least eventually, understand that Nigger Jim is a hero, and more competent than most of the other characters in the book. Students should be guided by a teacher to understand this, and the context of the book, and the time it was written. Racism and Racists are mocked in the book; rational people are likely to never want to seem like the racists in the book, or even those who merely use "Nigger" casually, without thinking.

Banning words for Only some people, especially based on Skin Color, is even worse! The Worst outcome is the prevailing attitude in the "Black Community" that a person is being an "Uncle Tom" if they speak White has been devastating to tens of millions of Black people in the USA!

Banning words for Only some people, especially based on Skin Color,

Nor did I say anything about in needing to be banned for anyone.

As I said, I'm not going to get into an argument over whether is is or isn't offensive.

Take your rant somewhere else.

In these woke times, I would interpret that as derogatory :-(

You wouldn't be the only one and I won't argue otherwise.

However, it's not necessarily racial.

While I agree that it is probably a Little Rascals reference, it is worth noting that there could be alternate reference that would be unintelligible to North American audiences.

Farscape is was made in Australia and many of the episode writers are Australian, although the show creator and head writer is American. Given Australia's location, they have a lot of trade and cross-immigration with Oceana and south-east Asia. Buckwheat (the grain) is a staple of many Asian cuisines.

So I'm not saying this is likely, but it is possible that "Buckwheat" might have some slang usage in Australia that we're unaware of.

This could also be pseudo racist, but in that case it would more likely be Asian rather than African racism.

When originally used in the Little Rascals it was not racially charged. Almost all the boys characters had nicknames, some more pointedly insulting.
It was the names identification with the black child that made it insulting, not the other way around.

Buckwheat hulls fill my pillow. Most comfortable and supportive pillow I've ever used.

I've tried them and would partly agree, but I'm heavy and my body is thick and I could never find one big enough.

This is the brand I bought. You might find something that works for you.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sachi+Organics