Writerfella here -- So, Oprah finally got around to NovaMundians (my invented sci-fi name for my people). I recall her enthusiastic interview with 'Tiger' Woods because he had become such a talented and successful golfer. She commented that Black people must be very proud and honored by his achievements. 'Tiger,' to his eternal credit, replied that he also was Thai, Filipino, and Native American in his heritage, and he was no less proud of any people from which he had come. Oprah hated that, scolding him for denying his Black heritage, but 'Tiger' stuck to his guns (or his niblick mashies) and said, "Very few people alive today are purely Black, or white, or whatever. If they forget that, then it is because they WANT to forget it." I want to shake his hand someday... All Best Russ Bates 'writerfella'
As far as I know, I'm pure white. Of course, the further back you go, the more unlikely that becomes, biologically and statistically speaking. It would be fascinating to find a black or an Indian in my family tree.
It's good of Tiger Woods to acknowledge his multiple roots. But he hasn't always been perfectly attuned to cultural sensitivities. According to Wikipedia:
In 1997, a GQ article portrayed Woods as using profanity and telling racist and sexist jokes.
Shortly after winning the Masters in 1997, Woods declined an invitation from then United States President Bill Clinton to attend a ceremony at Shea Stadium honoring baseball great Jackie Robinson, who had broken the color barrier in baseball 50 years earlier.
In 2006, following the US Masters, Woods referred to himself as a 'spaz' in a post-tournament interview, in reference to his putting during the tournament. While the comment brought little notice in the United States, he was criticized for his use of the word spaz, particularly outside of the United States, where the word has a more negative connotation, including by Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Writerfella here -- 'Tiger' Woods culturally may be unaware of the meaning of his ostensible lapses in PC, simply because he has heard those terms many times in usage and only is repeating them. This is not to excuse such usage by someone who is as much a celebrity as he is, but if someone spoke to him and related the real meaning of such terms, things might be differing. I remember a WIZARD OF ID comic strip in which the King announces that racial slurs no longer will be allowed in The Kingdom. Whereupon, Ridney, his chief Knight, says, "Sir, that law doesn't stand a Chinaman's chance." The final panel is of Rodney chained to the dungeon wall, completely mystified what it was that put him there... All Best Russ Bates 'writerfella'
It's not just the characters in Wizard of ID who are ignorant. Writer Johnny Hart has paraded his ignorance of Native people in B.C., the other strip he writes.
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Writerfella here --
So, Oprah finally got around to NovaMundians (my invented sci-fi name for my people). I recall her enthusiastic interview with 'Tiger' Woods because he had become such a talented and successful golfer. She commented that Black people must be very proud and honored by his achievements. 'Tiger,' to his eternal credit, replied that he also was Thai, Filipino, and Native American in his heritage, and he was no less proud of any people from which he had come.
Oprah hated that, scolding him for denying his Black heritage, but 'Tiger' stuck to his guns (or his niblick mashies) and said, "Very few people alive today are purely Black, or white, or whatever. If they forget that, then it is because they WANT to forget it."
I want to shake his hand someday...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
As far as I know, I'm pure white. Of course, the further back you go, the more unlikely that becomes, biologically and statistically speaking. It would be fascinating to find a black or an Indian in my family tree.
It's good of Tiger Woods to acknowledge his multiple roots. But he hasn't always been perfectly attuned to cultural sensitivities. According to Wikipedia:
In 1997, a GQ article portrayed Woods as using profanity and telling racist and sexist jokes.
Shortly after winning the Masters in 1997, Woods declined an invitation from then United States President Bill Clinton to attend a ceremony at Shea Stadium honoring baseball great Jackie Robinson, who had broken the color barrier in baseball 50 years earlier.
In 2006, following the US Masters, Woods referred to himself as a 'spaz' in a post-tournament interview, in reference to his putting during the tournament. While the comment brought little notice in the United States, he was criticized for his use of the word spaz, particularly outside of the United States, where the word has a more negative connotation, including by Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Writerfella here --
'Tiger' Woods culturally may be unaware of the meaning of his ostensible lapses in PC, simply because he has heard those terms many times in usage and only is repeating them. This is not to excuse such usage by someone who is as much a celebrity as he is, but if someone spoke to him and related the real meaning of such terms, things might be differing. I remember a WIZARD OF ID comic strip in which the King announces that racial slurs no longer will be allowed in The Kingdom. Whereupon, Ridney, his chief Knight, says, "Sir, that law doesn't stand a Chinaman's chance." The final panel is of Rodney chained to the dungeon wall, completely mystified what it was that put him there...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
It's not just the characters in Wizard of ID who are ignorant. Writer Johnny Hart has paraded his ignorance of Native people in B.C., the other strip he writes.
He also takes a pro-Christianity position, implying other religions are inferior. See
Native Comic Strips vs. Comic Books for examples.
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