Exactly. I just had this argument with a couple of friends who were raised rich white kids, in the rich white neighborhood. They were criticizing me for appropriating black vernacular, and wouldn’t believe me that my entire neighborhood and school spoke that way. It’s inter-urban (poor) slang, not specifically black. Most of my neighborhood was Mexican, yet they all used these terms. Granted, they have different inflections on the words, but the vocabulary is pretty much the same. Anyways, now I have friends accusing me of racism for speaking the way I’ve spoken my entire life. I just hadn’t loosened up enough to speak that way around them before. Ain’t identity politics grand?
Exactly. I just had this argument with a couple of friends who were raised rich white kids, in the rich white neighborhood. They were criticizing me for appropriating black vernacular, and wouldn’t believe me that my entire neighborhood and school spoke that way. It’s inter-urban (poor) slang, not specifically black. Most of my neighborhood was Mexican, yet they all used these terms. Granted, they have different inflections on the words, but the vocabulary is pretty much the same. Anyways, now I have friends accusing me of racism for speaking the way I’ve spoken my entire life. I just hadn’t loosened up enough to speak that way around them before. Ain’t identity politics grand?
I find it charming in a way. Urban vernacular becoming the lingo of even contemporary rich kids.
Then again, I just said I found something charming, so maybe I’m out of touch.
I think you’ll find it’s the children who are wrong