posted
As a point, if you're trying to describe American terms to a non-American, don't throw "wife-beater" into a sentence without explaining it.
(As a point, in the UK wife-beater is a nickname for Stella Artois, an above average strength European larger. Presumably because it was drunk by people who then went on to beat their wives. What Americans call "wife-beaters", we call "Vests-Like-That-Bruce-Willis-Wore-In-That-Film."
quote:Originally posted by Aban Rune: ...artistic depictions of people should be racially neutral. But then it would suggest interbreeding, and we can't have that now can we?
How the hell would you draw them "racially neutral"? Even in black and white, it would be obvious if the person was black or white, unless they were also drawn in such an abstract style as to remove all other identifications of race (since there are differences between black and white faces apart from skin colour). Unless you just has a mural with Darth Vadar and the Stig holding hands. That would be awesome.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote: in the UK wife-beater is a nickname for Stella Artois, an above average strength European larger
It is? News to me mate. Mind you I have to be pretty smashed already to drink the stuff. Tastes like dish soap (don't ask how I know that.) I think I have a couple of bottles of stella still lurking at the back of my cupboard from about 3 Christmases ago.
posted
I've done a quick check of the people in my office from Liverpool, London, Preston, Manchester and Birmingham and they all had heard of that term, so I'm definitely not making it up. Honest.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Well I am just a Wiltshire country bumpkin, so maybe that one never made it out here into the wilderness. On the other hand this is squaddie central so maybe calling a drink "wife beater" would be a little redundant. Squaddie wives after all can beat each other up.
posted
This reminds me of an article I read recently, discussing the hidden dangers of applied "colorblindness"; racial privileges are still unequal, but now the affected party can't complain about it. Wikipedia has a good writeup of the issue, but Flare can't link to it because of parentheses in the URL.
The most recent time I heard of it was when Stephen Colbert started using it as material already in his first season ("Sir, I don't see race, for all I know we're both black"), lampooning fake-egalitarian politicians. I think that this recurring joke of his has more depth to it than just the fake-PC dig, it also hints at the hidden strategic value of institutionalized colorblindness.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Bit late to chip in, but "wifebeater" as a term for Stella Artois has made it up to Central Scotland too. I have also heard it referred to as a pint of "Good morning, your honour".
-------------------- Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
In the U.S., a "wifebeater" refers to and thin, stained, usually skin-tight tank top undershirt. It derives it's name from from the fact that most men who feel it's acceptable to wear a "wifebeater" in public probably are one.
As far as the racially neutral comment, I meant drawing people with features of multiple races. I was also being completely sarcastic... so I didn't really think out the logistics of the whole thing.
Registered: Oct 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Aban Rune: In the U.S., a "wifebeater" refers to and thin, stained, usually skin-tight tank top undershirt. It derives it's name from the fact that most men who feel it's acceptable to wear a "wifebeater" in public probably are one.
As far as the racially neutral comment, I meant drawing people with features of multiple races. I was also being completely sarcastic... so I didn't really think out the logistics of the whole thing.
I think the name derives from A Streetcar Named Desire- the famous movie with Brando wearing one and, of course, beating on his poor wife Stella.
As to racially neutral- they should go ahead and depict the painting's characters as white but with having "mongoloid" features- just to be dicks about it. Yeah. That would make some news.
Speaking of Arizona jackasses- on the prior page I mentioned extremists like Rand Paul trying to repeal the 14th Amendment- guess what the Arizona legislature is trying to do? That's right- they want to strip the citizenship from children of non-citizen parents (born here).
I'd really pay to see the family trees of these assholes- just to question their citizenship rights: none of them are Native Americans.
It'll never pass of course- state law can never supersede the U.S. Constitution. It’s a political ploy aimed at the anti-immigration Right (see Tea-party nuts) in an election year.
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
I believe that France has strict rules regarding positive discrimination. You are not allowed to ask about race in any form, intervew, anything. Everyone is supposed to be "French", not "African-French" or anything like that. Which is a good idea in theory, but it means that companies can have 99.9999% white, male staff and no-one can argue against it because they are not allowed to keep stats on that sort of thing.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Weird- sorta the opposite extreme having the same effect.
Not that colorblindness is a real possiblity in face-to-face relations- there's so many subconsious preferences and bias that HR departments in the US are a tangle of politicaly correct jargon.
Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: Weird- sorta the opposite extreme having the same effect.
Not that colorblindness is a real possiblity in face-to-face relations- there's so many subconsious preferences and bias that HR departments in the US are a tangle of politicaly correct jargon.
Even on forms. When applying for jobs in the UK you don't have to give your racial background, but if you have a form saying "Kulbir Singh Malhotra", you could probably take a guess that the person turning up won't be Mr Whitey McWhite. (Notably, this would affect Indian people more than Black people, as the names would stand out far more.)
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Which, in part, explains how immigrants arriving via Ellis Island got assigned more "American" names- "Kulbir Singh Malhotra" would have become "Karl Mathers" and gotten a job on the docks, joining the Teamsters and retiring on a pension. "Kulbir Singh Malhotra" drove a cab untill his death at age 87.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
He's a doctor, actually. I once knew a girl from Malaysia who was studying over here, and she was worried when a Muslim girl moved into the house. "What happens if she's suspected of terrorism, and they try and deport her? We could all get in trouble." We did try and point out that, as the girl was from Manchester, deporting her would be quite tricky, but she didn't quite get it.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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