When Arugula is Merely "Elitist"

I thought it had been long established that arugula-gorging Barack Obama is uppity. “Uppity … you say?!” Yeah, uppity:

up•pi•ty (adjective – Informal)

1. affecting an attitude of inflated self-esteem; haughty; snobbish.

Regarding Obama? Yeah, that sounds about right.

Accurately, at the GOP convention yesterday, Republican Congressman Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, merely noting the obvious, called Obama “uppity.”

Unforeseeably, Democrats brought the pitchforks against Westmoreland after he "blew the cover" off his previously concealed racism. How could Westmoreland not have known, or have had the conceit not to care, that the term was first used by blacks in the 1880s to scornfully deride fellow blacks for their ambitiousness?!

Surely, given the The New York Times’ profound feelings on the matter, if Westmoreland had consulted the Times' online dictionary before first using the word, he would have realized the dangerous waters he treaded. Oh… no? The Times’ own dictionary doesn’t mention or suggest any racial or pejorative significance, but it does with other words that are commonly accepted as racial slurs? “Wop” is categorized as an offensive slang, but “uppity” is merely an informal adjective?

Strange. Everyone knows they’re both racial pejoratives, utterly unacceptable these days. I know every time I hear the word “uppity” used, it usually sparks a bitter inter-racial fight. And when I’ve slipped into using it myself, I know people have quickly apprehended me: “whoa… whoa… Thinking Man… I don’t know where you come from, but we don’t use that kind of language around here. Geez…”

It’s great that the Times made sure to call attention to Westmoreland's staunch conservative credentials, too. What an outrage it would be if everyone didn’t groundlessly associate conservatism with racism. Those public program-gouging niggards! (Oh…)

Taking necessary action, Jane Kidd, the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, didn’t hesitate to demand that Moreland apologize for “more of the same, tired old politics that are dividing this country.”

Actually, Ms. Kidd, these trivialities that the Times, its kin, and Democratic political leadership have manipulated to defame all conservatives represent the stale, exhausted politics that have led to the present congressional approval ratings of 18%.