My Manifesto: The Incoherent Ramblings of a Madman

Wiggas

Why in the fuck do average, to perhaps, even well educated, white people choose to talk like poorly educated black people? Ebonics (talking like an African American) or Abonics (talking like an Aboriginal Australian) is fine if you are a poorly educated African American from a low socioeconomic class or a poorly educated Aboriginal Australian from a low socioeconomic class - but middle class educated white guys? Why? eg. the entire band N*Sync et Al.

Well educated black people do not even talk in ebonics. You would not catch Colin Powell or Kofi Annan or Martin Luther King Jr speaking poorly. These are the type of role models people should be looking up to. Samuel L Jackson, while not in the same league as the previous persons, again does not stoop to using poor English.

Why have we created this culture where it is cool to be poorly educated and/or sound poorly educated? It makes no sense at all. We should be trying to boost peoples self esteem and helping them get the best education that they can so that they can make something of their lives. People shouldn't be ashamed of being well educated and trying to hide it behind crass slang and poor diction.

I was talking the other day with my friend about the differences between the city and the country. In the country everyone comes across with poorer rougher sounding English - which is difficult for the city person to understand so often they discount the intelligence of the person because of their diction. It makes the stereotyping that you are brought up doing subconsciously very difficult when you are thrown into an environment you are not used to. With everyone in the country sounding rougher - you really have to listen to every person for a long time before you can discern the intelligent ones from the not so intelligent ones.

The city is a lot different - if you sound rough chances are that you are rough.

NOW we have to deal with people deliberately skewing their voice to mask their upbringing and education to a level that is below them? Why? So many people will discount you merely on your voice. Why pretend to be something you're not? It does not make you cool - it makes you imitation and you are mocking those who have not had the opportunities that you have.