substitute: (orwell)
substitute ([personal profile] substitute) wrote2005-09-03 01:09 am
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A phrase that was unfamiliar to me

But I understood it as soon as I heard it.

"Mayor Nagin got his nigger wake-up call."
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[identity profile] stimps.livejournal.com 2005-09-03 08:11 am (UTC)(link)
blink

blink

[identity profile] substitute.livejournal.com 2005-09-03 08:13 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. I blinked about three times too and then thought "Yeah, I guess he about did." It's a fine, brutal phrase for a particular American experience.

[identity profile] hexennacht.livejournal.com 2005-09-03 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
...

I am not sure that I get it, and I'm not saying anything about what I do suspect until you tell me what it means. :P

[identity profile] substitute.livejournal.com 2005-09-03 09:50 am (UTC)(link)
The "nigger wake up call" is the experience of suddenly fully realizing how totally fucked you are in American society because of your ethnicity.

[identity profile] srl.livejournal.com 2005-09-03 11:39 am (UTC)(link)
Made complete sense to me.

I saw a post yesterday somewhere on LJ from one of the LGBT-focused medical centers in Texas. The gist was basically, "If you and yours are hurricane refugees and are afraid of homophobia from the Red Cross or church-based relief efforts, we're open and will take care of you."

[identity profile] hexennacht.livejournal.com 2005-09-03 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks.

[identity profile] odradak.livejournal.com 2005-09-03 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
There is a link to a powerful radio interview with the poor man here.
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