Dem Congressman Makes Shocking Racial Comments About Republicans, Clarence Thomas, Mitch McConnell

[Donald Ian Rankin]

114. It's a relatively straightforward thought.

"Nigger" is an insult meaning "a black person", with the connotation that the user things that being black is a bad thing, and wants to offend and insult the person they're describing and other black people. So using it to describe a black person is "factually accurate", as far as that goes, but that doesn't mean it's not grossly offensive and unacceptable.

The "factual" content of "Uncle Tom" is less well defined, but the connotations are likewise racist. So even if it's "factually accurate", that doesn't mean it's OK to use it - if "it's true" were an acceptable defence of racial slurs that covered "Uncle Tom", it would definitely also cover "nigger" too, and hence it isn't.



If you want to make either factual statement, use non-racist terms to convey it - "X is black (or African-American if you're in America, which I'm not)" or, roughly, "X is a black person who is unduly subservient to white people" (although a) that one is much less unambiguous, and b) arguably even the factual assertion has racist connotations)



Incidentally, I'm now off on holiday, so if you want to "insist" on anything else, don't expect it before Sunday or Monday unless I get access to a computer.