The Gay Thread

Alex · 09-11-2012, 08:22 PM

Nice letter, but when people are slinging around the phrase "Uncle Tom" I wish that every once in a while one of them would show some sign of actually being aware of what the character Uncle Tom was. He wasn't himself an Uncle Tom.

There is no "Uncle Tom" in the pejorative sense in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." That was a creation of later works.

The actual Uncle Tom character refused to escape slavery because he feared it would put other slaves in danger of punishment and then encouraged others to escape and was beaten to death because he refused to rat give any information on where they might be.

I know meanings don't always correspond to origins but in that letter Frank doesn't say he's calling them Uncle Toms in the metaphorical sense but rather comparing them to Uncle Tom the character and that annoys me more than normal.

But otherwise the points are valid, I just would prefer he did it without name calling.

Kevy Baby · 09-11-2012, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

...I just would prefer he did it without name calling.

Well, then it wouldn't be politics.

09-11-2012, 08:22 PM	#1
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Nice letter, but when people are slinging around the phrase "Uncle Tom" I wish that every once in a while one of them would show some sign of actually being aware of what the character Uncle Tom was. He wasn't himself an Uncle Tom. There is no "Uncle Tom" in the pejorative sense in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." That was a creation of later works. The actual Uncle Tom character refused to escape slavery because he feared it would put other slaves in danger of punishment and then encouraged others to escape and was beaten to death because he refused to rat give any information on where they might be. I know meanings don't always correspond to origins but in that letter Frank doesn't say he's calling them Uncle Toms in the metaphorical sense but rather comparing them to Uncle Tom the character and that annoys me more than normal. But otherwise the points are valid, I just would prefer he did it without name calling.
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