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To start off I'll put the issue of A-rab being offensive on the back burner for a second, so this will not be so superficial to brand people racist, ignorant, or bigoted based on the pronunciation of a word. I only speak about Chicago on the subject because I don't know the specific dynamics of say Detroit, ATL, NYC etc.
Fundamental to this argument is the relationship between Blacks and Arabs. People talk about things and people from their experience and knowledge, and hopefully limit it to just that. So when we talk about Arabs 9/10 we are not talking about someone in Saudi Arabia living their everyday life. The people we are talking about are the people who we see in our day to day interactions. To some extent the same people who pronounce it A-rab have alot more sense than the general American public to know that what's going on in Iraq is American imperialism and are sympathetic to the larger issue to some extant.
But the reality in Chicago that common speaks about is the reality that talks about the common interaction between Arabs. The issue becomes laughable to me because while this issue has garnered over 200 replies in cyberspace this kind of dialogue would not exist in reality. For example, where I live Arabs dont live. The only time you see them is when you go in their stores, in most cases, all Black communities. I don't think I ever had a conversation with someone who would be considered Arab until I went to college, and to find out he considered being called Arab, no matter how you pronounce offensive.
Now I dont even have to speculate about common's purposes for pronouncing it the way he did in the song. The way he said is the way it exist from the place he is speaking. If you dont like it don't listen, i choose not to listen to thousands of artist.
Not everyone says Arab the same way, but what is more real is, no matter how we say it, the sentiment about the Arabs we know in our reality is the same. Truthfully, from the Clergyman to the local activist, Arabs are seen as a sore in the community, much like how drug dealers are seen. When 20 different families from the middle east has divided up the Black community and operates on a mission for maximum exploitation, it's about much more than a word. There is only 1, possibly 2 Black owned grocery stores in the city. Outside of the more commerical establishments they are owned by who would be considered Arab, this can go on and on.
What is offensive, and to whom is the question. The ancillary questions is, why should the offender care if the other person is offended, especially when that is not the specific intent. Personally, I do pronunciate the term both ways, depending on the context. I liken it to my use of the word nigga. I don't use it hardly in regular speech, not because I find it offensive just because I know the history, and I dont see a use for it. But depending on who I am talking to and the nature of the conversation I will probably say it a few times. My point is, you can say being called an A-rab is offensive, my reply on behalf of the Black community is, so what? Beat it! That's just the way it is. No message board is going to change this because this is hardly representative of the people who use it. On a personal level if i know you, and we are cool I can respect you to call you whatever you want to be called.
Bottom lines Blacks and Arabs dont talk, and it is much bigger than respect and some people are trying to chalk it up, I think alot of you people are so entrenched in your political correctness you are blind to the real issues.
As a disclaimer, I am pretty defensive of the Black community, I care very little about what people outside the community has to say about it. Alot of these issues and opinions are "cyber opinions" and just by the way people have talked in this thread, throwing around words like "ignorant", I can easily say I am offended, but I still say so what! PinkoPanther spewing his racist charges are laughable, what does that mean to us, who's hearing you? We have 99 problems, but A-rab is not one.
****************************** http://myspace.com/jahi ****************************** "me as a black man will not stand here and allow you to talk dumb shit about white women that simply is not true" SouthPhillyMan
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