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Iowa first lady slammed blacks, Easterners and Southerners as bad speakers | |
2004-07-26 | |
Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, a key factor in John Kerry's primary sweep and the primetime convention speaker tomorrow, has derided blacks, southerners and easterners as bad speakers because she couldn't understand them.  In inflammatory columns for her local newspaper obtained by the Herald, the normally soft-spoken Vilsack tore into several minority and ethnic groups while lampooning non-midwesterners for regional dialects. ``I am fascinated at the way some African-Americans speak to each other in an English I struggle to understand, then switch to standard English when the situation requires,'' Vilsack wrote in a 1994 column in the Mount Pleasant News, while her husband, Tom, was a state senator. Vilsack wrote that southerners seem to have ``slurred speech,'' wrote that she'd rather learn Polish than try to speak like people from New Jersey, and wrote that a West Virginian waitress once offered her friend a ``side saddle'' instead of a ``side salad.'' The future Iowa first lady seemed to be promoting English as the nation's official language, an issue that tripped up her husband, Gov. Tom Vilsack, with many Democrats. A Kerry campaign spokesman dismissed the quotes as ``ancient clips'' and referred questions to the Democratic National Convention Committee. The DNCC wouldn't say whether the comments match the convention platform or theme.
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Posted by:Steve White |
#17 Doc8404, I never did - I just shook my head in a circle signifying a non-committal response.Please inform me. They should sell guide books of the south that clues the rest of us in. I especially had trouble following directions that included "historic" landmarks (ones that existed only in history i.e. "turn left where Juniors's Store used to be.") |
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-07-27 12:54:58 AM |
#16 DB - Now I understand the Blues you have, lol! Y'know, you can order good / real BBQ over the 'Net. I had many similar experiences (born in Texas) cuz my mother was like a ping-pong ball - I went to 13 diff schools in 12 yrs of public school. When she dragged our little flock up to Utah & Colo and Western locales, I had to fight almost every day for the first month in each place - cuz the girls loved the accent, thus the boys didn't. I learned quickly to just pick out the biggest (or toughest, by reputation) one and fight him, then the rest would leave me alone. Call me Abu Homeless, lol! |
Posted by: .com 2004-07-26 8:45:16 PM |
#15 As a South Alabaman living in Boston I took my share of jibes but I also gave them out. I found most people in Boston, once they got to know you a little, to be very nice people. The only problem I and my fellow Southern Gentlemen seemed to have was when we would go to a pub and a lot of the women would come sit near us and ask questions just to hear us talk. It really pissed off the local males. The women got pissed off at the Southern women for the same reason. We enjoyed the hell out of it. |
Posted by: Deacon Blues 2004-07-26 8:36:36 PM |
#14 A Kerry campaign spokesman dismissed the quotes as ``ancient clips'' and referred questions to the Democratic National Convention Committee. The DNCC wouldn't say whether the comments match the convention platform or theme. Gawd, that's funny right like it is. Nevermind asking for the equally ancient clips of Mrs. Vilsack apologizing. I'm sure they MUST have that somewhere. Back there... anyone...Buehler... |
Posted by: eLarson 2004-07-26 3:52:46 PM |
#13 A useful translation of the article on the English-challenged Ms. Vilsack's diatribe in favor of Euro-Germanic linguistic subversion: According to Snoop Dog and Tha Shizzolator.... Say what? Iowa first ho slammed blacks, Easterners 'n Southerners as bad speakers Boston Herald ^ | July 26, 2004 | David R. Guarino Posted on 07/26/2004 7:40:49 AM PDT by HalfFull Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, a key factor in John Kerry's primary sweep 'n da primetime convention speaker tomorrow, has derided blacks, southerners 'n easterners as bad speakers because brizzle couldn't understand 'em, know what I'm sayin'? In inflammatory columns fo' her local newspaper obtained by da Herald, da normally soft-spoken Vilsack tore into several minority 'n ethnic groups while lampooning non-midwesterners fo' regional dialects n' shit. ``I am fascinated at da way some African-Americans speak each other in an English I struggle understand, then switch standard English when da situation requires,'' Vilsack wrote in a 1994 column in da Mount Pleasant Informative Shiznit, while her husband, Tom, wuz a state senator n' shit. Excerpted - click fo' full article ^ Source: http://news.bostonherald.com/dncConvention/view.bg?articleid=37171 |
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-07-26 3:44:05 PM |
#12 A couple of very interesting comments on this story from Free Republic (the first is mine):As another poster pointed out the other day, the typical Southern accent is an outgrowth of the Scots-Irish dialect[s] of English. It is actually much closer phonetically to the spoken language of Shakespeare than is the broad Midwestern accent which this lady, in her ignorance, apparently regards as the standard. Then this from Wallace T: A major, if not predominant, factor in much of the Midwest is the large German influence in the region, combined with Dutch, Swiss, Alsatians, and Austrians. People of German and other Central European descent are the largest single ethnic group in a wide swath of the country stretching from south central Pennsylvania westward to Montana and western Nebraska. People of British descent are in the majority mainly in the southernmost counties of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as much of Missouri and Kansas. (Most of these areas were settled by Virginians, Kentuckians, and other Southerners.) Minnesota, parts of Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have a strong influence of Scandinavians. The old Rust Belt cities from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee, as well as St. Louis and Kansas City, also have high concentrations of white, non-German Catholics, much like their East Coast counterparts from Portland, Maine, to Baltimore. Chicago and Detroit also have large Eastern European Jewish settlements. So it would appear that it is the Midwesterners who are mangling the King's English, not the Anglo-Scots-Irish Southerners and the Africans who learned English from them in the first place. |
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-07-26 3:23:12 PM |
#11 she'd rather learn Polish than try to speak like people from New Jersey It takes a lifetime to learn how to properly mertalize the language in Joisey. Most people speak Spanglish around here anyway. |
Posted by: JerseyMike 2004-07-26 3:15:26 PM |
#10 SH - How long did it take for you to figure out our southern friends were asking if you wanted 'ice' in that cup? ;) |
Posted by: Doc8404 2004-07-26 2:18:13 PM |
#9 Having lived and worked in NC for 5 years, I might/can help her with understanding non-Midwesterners. Super Hose - closetted Army of Steve member originally hailing from Hudson, Ohio. |
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-07-26 2:10:05 PM |
#8 ``I am fascinated at the way some African-Americans speak to each other in an English I struggle to understand, then switch to standard English when the situation requires,'' Don't be dissin' my niggaz, bitch. |
Posted by: 50 Cent 2004-07-26 1:38:44 PM |
#7 "The Dems and the Pubs would both have better chances if they'd learn to stop this regional bashing." Except for the Samoans. And the Irish, of course... And the Swedes... |
Posted by: Fred 2004-07-26 1:28:54 PM |
#6 this isa piss me off! im in rite her leter! >:( |
Posted by: muck4doo 2004-07-26 1:03:50 PM |
#5 Her snobbery and arrogance come from her focus on regions and race. Plenty of whites from Iowa mangle English. I spent six weeks in Ames one summer 10 years ago. Ubetcha. |
Posted by: Michael 2004-07-26 12:57:20 PM |
#4 The Dems and the Pubs would both have better chances if they'd learn to stop this regional bashing. When the Dems were still deciding on a candidate, I saw a few news articles blasting Iowans specifically and Midwesterners generally for not being up to snuff to decide a candidate for the rest of the nation. Nixing someone because of their regional roots rather than their weak ideas is foolish. |
Posted by: jules 187 2004-07-26 12:49:01 PM |
#3 I'm not maybe not talk good, but Florida's got more electro votes than Iowa got elementary sckools! so HA! |
Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-26 12:17:23 PM |
#2 Ahhh, nothing says "Party of the Common Man" like gratuitous slams against ones speech. |
Posted by: BH 2004-07-26 12:07:29 PM |
#1 ...a West Virginian waitress once offered her friend a ``side saddle'' instead of a ``side salad.'' Huh. From the Texas Land & Cattle website: Wood Fired Steaks are served with your choice of House Salad, Caesar Salad or Wedge Salad and any Side Saddle. Stupidy dumb Texans! |
Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-07-26 11:44:40 AM |