Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Cycles. (contains some strong language)

I took my old Masi, which had been hanging on the wall after I bought the Merckx, over to Yojimbo's to have Marcus turn it into a fixie. I'd never ridden a fixie but I carried around an unmentioned fascination with all the messengers I saw riding them. Sheldon Brown's website convinced me to ride fixed gear.

If Tolkien's Mordor had a bike shop, it would be just like Yojimbo's, the name comes from some old Asian chop-chop samurai movie. It's in the heart of Cabrini- Green, or what's left of it now that the whiteys have shoved out the *******, enough SUVs to make you barf blood. There's this old beat up building with an old beat up door with a sign that reads "knock loudly". Marcus opens the door to let me in. Inside there is **** EVERYWHERE, from ceiling to floor; bikes, tires, wheels, CDs, donuts, bags, shoes, a beat up old couch with a crashed out bike messenger catching his afternoon z's. It's dark and greasy and absolutely enchanting; like you've fallen into Middle Earth where Marcus has his fires, spells and magical anvils to transform crude metal into human powered devices. Marcus, the high priest, dreams of one day making these simple machines drop their earthbound curse and take flight. "Sure, I'll make it a fixer" he says.

He calls a week later, "Masi's ready." I take it nice and slow the first week. No brakes, no coasting, it's like riding a feisty colt, it bucks and snorts as it teaches me to ride on its terms. At first it's like a time machine, talking me back to memories and feelings twenty years back; standing on the crest of something dangerous and managing to find balance. Spinning just to the edge of chaos. Then it becomes an anarchy machine, demanding it's rider take an offensive stand in the violent car culture. Guy in a van cuts me off which endangers my life, his stupid act could easily have killed me. I catch him at the stop light. (I'm fifteen minutes into my ride, good and warmed up. My heart rate somewhere near 170, which is my comfortable pace. It's the afternoon so the Van guy's probably coming home from work. He's probably drowsy, heart rate, maybe 70) Suddenly I'm inches from his face screaming as loud as I can. This is done by design, in order to shock him. I get in front of his car, dismount, hold the bike in the air and shout as loud as I can "Kill Me Mother****er, Kill Me Mother****er, Kill Me Mother****er". The light changes, I get out of the way. I catch him at the next light, scream at him "the road is for everyone mother****er." I then empty my water bottle in his face and bolt. Naturally this is all an act, but he didn't know that. I went to the extreme to make a point that his action nearly killed someone.

These type of situations happen nearly once a week, mostly just shouting matches. Since last Spring I've driven to work maybe 10 times, I cycle most days. One tank of gas in the car lasts one month. I've come to hate what the automobile has done to our society, how it turns perfectly fine people into aggressive threats. Asphalt, aggression, and pollution everywhere. Right now I smell of soot and tar after riding 20 miles through the city.

Last week I'm eating a beef at Al's Italian Beef late one night after work. These two young kids are walking down the street and stop at to check out my Masi. To them it must have looked strange with it's steel lugged frame, something from 20 years ago, before they were born. They took out their digital camera and took a couple of pictures. They then came over to the window with huge smiles and gave me to big thumbs up. Because it was late I had the city to myself as I cycled through time all the way home.

I've come to hate what the automobile has done to our society, how it turns perfectly fine people into aggressive threats.

Sounds to me as if you're the one with an aggression problem. Do you really think that you've endeared cyclists to that van driver? You had the opportunity to calmly point out the guys error so that he would drive with more care in the future. Instead you've probably made the guy hate all cyclists. Thanks for nothing.

some people need a kick in the pants.

mayonaise is not one of them.

you're heart's a muscle the size of a fist. keep loving, keep fighting.

Just ignore him, he's from Perth ;)

That was a nice post, poetic. The actions are not quite to the extent that I would do, but I have had my beef with some drivers, mostly flipping them off or shouting a brief caution of sorts.

It can be a strange ride, this bicycling business. But I wouldn't give it up at all.

Very well written. I dig.

good post. have you posted pics of the masi?

"Yojimbo's, the name comes from some old Asian chop-chop samurai movie"

Let's give credit where credit is due. Yojimbo is one of Akira Kurosawa's many masterpieces. It isn't a "chop-chop" samurai flick, you should check it out. Sergio Leone later remade it with Clint Eastwood as "A fistful of dollars" Marcus' shop is an amazing place and it's good to know he named it after something equally special.

jeff

Loved it!

I don't shout out anyone, except right when they're about to make a really stupid driving move. Then I yell at the top of my lungs. Afterwards, I just shake my head in wonder at the stupidity of the modern automobile driver, a substantial minority of whom should not be allowed behind the wheel of anything more dangerous than a Mattell Big Wheel.

Look, they're driving around in a hurtling ton+ projectile, safely ensconced inside. If they want, they can guide that projectile in your direction, and you're exposed to the laws of physics. You will lose. What would be a slight fender-bender in a car will spell death to a cyclist. They will then claim they "didn't see you" and an understanding, compasionate judge will suspend their liscence for three and a half seconds and give them an hour of community service, which they will fulfill by double-parking in the nearest bike lane.

Yojimbo is a great movie, one of Kurosawa's best. Beautiful frame composition, and one of the greatest acting jobs ever by Toshiro Mifune. Great soundtrack.

I'm familiar with folks taking a second look at an older steel frame.

Mayo

I am guessing you are a lawyer. If your not you should be. I have not seen anyone create as much controversy as you in this forum.

Thank you and keep it up.

When I was younger I used to yell alot at motorist. Now I only do it a few times a year. I don't think it will ever stop completely. Most motorist are clueless and a few are dangerous. But we do have to share the road, so deal with it in your own way!!

Mayonnaise is a writer disguised as a cyclist.

Great story Mayo. I have a image of Yojimbo's etched in my mind and it sounds like a shop I would really love to go to.
Thanks.

Damn, makes me want to ride a fixie. And move back to Chi-caw-go.

I think Tarantino has watched a fair bit of Kurosawa. Not sure whether thats good or bad.

Seen Kill Bill?

I'm not sure to classify you as a troll, a **** stirrer, or just another ecletic member of the board. You suck for your stupidity on some post, but are brilliant for your insights in others. Double sided, I'd say. Next time you come to the southwest side of the continent.. let me know.

And, BTW, don't bag all SUV's. I've got one.. and it's not a mall cruiser... Just like all fixies aren't messenger bikes.. etc.

Your journey of discovery on the fixed gear is interesting.

Reminds me that I'm looking for a new frame and a better wheel.

Right now I smell of soot and tar after riding 20 miles through the city..

But these smells are part of what makes the city come to life. Sanatize it of that.. and you loose the soul of the city. To a certain extent, cleansing it of this would remove what makes it unique.




steel lugged frame, something from 20 years ago,


If only they made a lugged Al frame.. I'd be in love then.

Nice piece of writing. It vividly evokes the experience of riding fixed in the city. Two things I want to comment on.

1. "Darky" is a derogatory term evocative of Jim Crow and minstrelsy. You might want to reconsider its use.

2. Yelling "Kill me, mother****er!" to the wrong mother****er can get a mother****er killed.

i think mayo should be a short story author, if he is not already. :)

Nice piece of writing. It vividly evokes the experience of riding fixed in the city. Two things I want to comment on.

1. "Darky" is a derogatory term evocative of Jim Crow and minstrelsy. You might want to reconsider its use.

2. Yelling "Kill me, mother****er!" to the wrong mother****er can get a mother****er killed.

i think his use of the terms 'whitey' and 'darky' are perfectly acceptable. its a very creative piece of writing, and creative writing can't be criticized as it if was a published work. if it was a newspaper editorial it would be a different story, id stray away from using those terms. everyone knew exactly what he meant by the use, and i feel it adds to the overall feeling of the piece. in no way was it used in a derogatory sense. lighten up and let the man be creative. all this PC bullsh*t is getting out of hand

i strongly agree with #2, you must be very careful who and how you confront them. especially when commuting through north philly

MAYO- good stuff, keep it coming, and dont get yourself run the f*ck over!

i think his use of the terms 'whitey' and 'darky' are perfectly acceptable.

To whom is the term "darky" perfectly acceptable?

To whom is the term "darky" perfectly acceptable?

i did not say it is acceptable. i said it is acceptable how he used it. i wouldnt go running around outside screaming it, bc thats not acceptable. any slur can be acceptable in specific situations.

i think his use of the terms 'whitey' and 'darky' are perfectly acceptable.


You ARE kidding, right??

You ARE kidding, right??

ok, not to get too involved in lit theory here over a short character/situation sketch, but let's just take a quick look at the context the words "darky" and "whitey" were used in, ok?



It's in the heart of Cabrini- Green, or what's left of it now that the whiteys have shoved out the *******, enough SUVs to make you barf blood.


The idea that the recent "urban renaissance" in Chicago, Cleveland and other Midwest cities (and Seattle for that matter) has been racially one-sided is nothing new. Mayo is using irony to bring across his perspective that the "urban renaissance" of Cabrini-Green has come at a cost, which is that a dangerous yet culturally rich mixed neighborhood has seen its property values skyrocket (thus forcing out most of the non-white residents) after becoming an "trendy" place to live for rich white folks bored of the suburbs and wanting to live in an exciting neighborhood. This is a valid perspective, and he ironically uses traditionally racist terms to highlight the fact that the Cabrini-Green urban transformation shows us a side of Chicago that only offers two places to live... expensive, safe, white places or poor, dangerous, black places. I'm oversimplifying of course... suffice it to say that Mayo has taken a complicated stance with just a few words. At least he's got something to say.

in terms of the gentrification of cabrini greene, and the way it makes people of color feel when such a thing happens, i think it's acceptable. gentrification is doing just that, pushing the "less desirable" people out of an area they've come to call their home.

i think it was meant in an ironic sort of post-modern way. it made me uncomfortable to read it, and i liked that. is it something i would have written? no. i feel like it's a reminder that racism still exists, it's just not as public now as it was in the past. now it's covered up by city governments claiming they're "improving areas" when all they're really doing is raising the rent and "pushing the ******* out, and replacing them with whiteys." in that context i think it's fine. now, if he had said "the other day i was riding around and some ******* said such and such." it would be unacceptable.

it's racism disguised as classism.

whether or not any of this was mayo's original remains to be seen, i'm just saying how i interpreted it.

yeah, it made me uncomfortable, but in a "damn, white people still have problems with people of color" way, or more appropriately, "wow, people with money and power are still oppressing people who don't have money and power."

alexs, onetinsloth-

thanks for putting into words so well what i couldnt. you both hit the nail on the head in terms of what i was *trying* to say! i felt as if i was trying to be made into a racist by some of the replies....i guess i saw in his writing what they couldnt

I didn't think twice when I read it. I read it as a creative writing piece, a sort of intimate rant, journal entry. On the street, in your homes, people use much worse terms. Do I agree with them as words to be used? No. But I can understand or see where some people come from and why some people choose to use the words they do = context.

Wesley Willis (RIP) had a song called "Kill Whitey" and how many times have you heard that term used in academia or the like? In spoken word shows? Poetry? Jokes?

In the end it's all about context and delivery. Here, the context doesn't offend me.

When I read Mayo's piece, I thought of how well it represents city life: stark, drastic and reactive. How odd that this narrative style smacks of these exact elements. This writer has succeed in acheiving the true gift of literature: to spark thought.
This piece also reminds me of Henry Rollins' wonderful narratives, raw with life and grit. Exploring not only the immediate world, but also the words used to describe it.
Oddly enough, I have ridden through this city off and on for the past 12 years on a variety of bikes and have yet to smell like tar and soot. Might I suggest you avoid repaving sites? :D

Bravo, Mayo, bravo.

Do we have a new Travis at hand?!?!

Bravo, Mayo, bravo.


err, yeah. in a hurry to stem the rush of ignorant critics, i forgot to mention one thing.

this was really good, mayo. thanks for sharing. really.

in a hurry to stem the rush of ignorant critics...
too late.

Sticks and stones may break my bones,
But words may break my heart...my spirit...my camel's back....

Maybe one day I will be so jaded and post-modern as to think that words have no meaning apart from their context and that pleading irony blunts the force of emotionally loaded words. I hope not.

Believe it or not, irony is not lost on me. Nor did I miss Mayonnaise's point about regentrification. But, I know too well that some words do have an emotional charge and should not be used carelessly.

I pointed out that the word "darky" is derogatory. It is steeped in the foul history of slavery in America. It smacks of the cork-black comedy of the minstrel show. It belittles African-Americans. You may dismiss this as P.C.B.S. if you wish. I hold it to be a simple fact.

I suggested that brother Mayo reconsider the use of this word. I didn't call for him to recant. I did not report him to the mods. I did not complain. I only ask if a writer with Mayonnaise's apparent talent cannot find a way to express the same thought forcefully (and with irony intact) without the unnecessary use of Ku Klux Klanguage?

That absntr "didn't think twice" about the use of this word is an example of why I find it troubling. Everytime we come across a racial slur, we should think twice. And three times. My first post to this thread was intended to raise exactly that issue. Don't let racial epithets go by easily. Don't let racial and ethnic prejudices go unchallenged.

Words are powerful. Use them carefully.

RG-
I believe that is understood (gulp-at least I hope so...I am not a fan of the Klan) in the writing. Yes, it revives a variety of negative images and shakes the past for some of us. But at the same time, it shows the anger and hatred that Contractors pave over in the name of fiscal gain (face it-gentrification is not about making sure the people displaced are comfortable everytime they are moved). I have been to Yojimbo's too many times to remember, as I lived about a mile west on near Damen/Division. That section of Chicago has lost its flare, and is in the process of being used...most likely to be tossed to the side once it has become 'boring' for all the fashion lemmings that are currently poisoning it. I moved to Rogers Park so I could get the mixed, world cultures (there are roughly 70+ different Nationalities in this area of Chicago alone) that I enjoy. I know from going to Cabrini to visit Marcus and get my bike from James (when he worked there), that there is so much tension from all the new River Whatever condo concstruction that is going on there right now.
When I read it, I read it as a mockery at how some people think others are completely disposable. Come to Chicago and we can ride around the Loop. We can listen to what people say about one another. It sure the Hell ain't Dixon (been there on my way to the Palisades).
Scary a town that small is armed like that...

I suggested that brother Mayo reconsider the use of this word. I didn't call for him to recant. I did not report him to the mods. I did not complain. I only ask if a writer with Mayonnaise's apparent talent cannot find a way to express the same thought forcefully (and with irony intact) without the unnecessary use of Ku Klux Klanguage?


Challenging popular opinion and taboos is the responsiblity of an artist. Well, maybe not the only responsibility. In my mind, the only true responsibility of an artist is to speak the truth from their perspective. Artists who cannot see clearly enough to challenge both our stereotypes and our feeble attempts to cast aside said stereotypes... well, those artists aren't worth a whole lot.

Another line of argument would suggest that the only reason to use such emotionally charged language would be to bring said emotions to the fore. By using such language, the author forces us to think about the context in which he uses them... such words stand out on the page like a bus in a bike lane. This context clearly implies irony, which should then settle the instinct to take such emotional language literally.



That absntr "didn't think twice" about the use of this word is an example of why I find it troubling. Everytime we come across a racial slur, we should think twice. And three times. My first post to this thread was intended to raise exactly that issue. Don't let racial epithets go by easily. Don't let racial and ethnic prejudices go unchallenged.


Neither let your fight against prejudice allow you to challenge every single piece of art that tackles (even obscurely) the complex issues of race, no matter what the obvious intention of the author.

I can't speak for absntr, but the reason I "didn't think twice" about the use of the word is because it was absolutely clear on my first reading that it's being used ironically. It is not necessary to think twice or a third time in this case. In my opinion, it should be obvious to anyone paying attention to the text they are reading.


Words are powerful. Use them carefully.

I prefer authors who use them joyfully, reverently and thoughtfully. Carefully, to me, implies caution, stagnation and fear of conflict.

I must admit I'm interested to hear Mayo drop back in on this thread. :)

RG-
I believe that is understood (gulp-at least I hope so...I am not a fan of the Klan) in the writing. Yes, it revives a variety of negative images and shakes the past for some of us. But at the same time, it shows the anger and hatred that Contractors pave over in the name of fiscal gain (face it-gentrification is not about making sure the people displaced are comfortable everytime they are moved). I have been to Yojimbo's too many times to remember, as I lived about a mile west on near Damen/Division. That section of Chicago has lost its flare, and is in the process of being used...most likely to be tossed to the side once it has become 'boring' for all the fashion lemmings that are currently poisoning it. I moved to Rogers Park so I could get the mixed, world cultures (there are roughly 70+ different Nationalities in this area of Chicago alone) that I enjoy. I know from going to Cabrini to visit Marcus and get my bike from James (when he worked there), that there is so much tension from all the new River Whatever condo concstruction that is going on there right now.
When I read it, I read it as a mockery at how some people think others are completely disposable. Come to Chicago and we can ride around the Loop. We can listen to what people say about one another. It sure the Hell ain't Dixon (been there on my way to the Palisades).
Scary a town that small is armed like that...

YIKES! i've been to dixon, i think, or at least through it.

i grew up in good old freeport, illinois...a town very much like dixon. *shudder*

That section of Chicago has lost its flare, and is in the process of being used...most likely to be tossed to the side once it has become 'boring' for all the fashion lemmings that are currently poisoning it.

When I lived in the city almost 20 years ago, Cabrini Green was a monument to failed paternalism and a crime ridden warehouse of poverty. I'm sorry to hear that it has lost that flair.

That was ironic. I understand the issues of gentrification.



Come to Chicago and we can ride around the Loop. We can listen to what people say about one another. It sure the Hell ain't Dixon (been there on my way to the Palisades).



Don't imagine that you know a place for having passed through it. Come ride around the greater Dixon metropolitan area with me. We can listen to what people here say about one another, too. It might surprise you.



Scary a town that small is armed like that.


Eh. The local constabulary only break out the riot gear when they know Chicagoans will be in town. ;)


Challenging popular opinion and taboos is the responsiblity of an artist. Well, maybe not the only responsibility. In my mind, the only true responsibility of an artist is to speak the truth from their perspective. Artists who cannot see clearly enough to challenge both our stereotypes and our feeble attempts to cast aside said stereotypes... well, those artists aren't worth a whole lot.

Another line of argument would suggest that the only reason to use such emotionally charged language would be to bring said emotions to the fore. By using such language, the author forces us to think about the context in which he uses them... such words stand out on the page like a bus in a bike lane. This context clearly implies irony, which should then settle the instinct to take such emotional language literally.


By this reasoning, spray painting racial epithets on the gravestones of a Jewish cemetery could be excused as art.



I can't speak for absntr, but the reason I "didn't think twice" about the use of the word is because it was absolutely clear on my first reading that it's being used ironically. It is not necessary to think twice or a third time in this case. In my opinion, it should be obvious to anyone paying attention to the text they are reading.


But now you have thought twice, and I've done the job I set out to do. If you want to use the argument from art, then one of the functions of art is to make you think about things that are uncomfortable. If you don't think twice, and more than twice, the artist has failed. I don't think we should ever let racial epithets go by without taking pause and giving thought.



I prefer authors who use them joyfully, reverently and thoughtfully. Carefully, to me, implies caution, stagnation and fear of conflict.


Ah, but care is not only caution. Care is also love, craft and respect.



YIKES! i've been to dixon, i think, or at least through it.

i grew up in good old freeport, illinois...a town very much like dixon. *shudder*

Go pretzels! Why do you shudder? Freeport is a lot like Berkeley. There is good and bad in it.

Okay-
I spelled 'flair' wrong...and am embarrassed.
What I meant by 'flair' (it was late, too tired for proper word choice)
I prefer sections of Chicago that still have some life in them, that are not infested with Starbucks or other such places. I remember riding to Yojimbos and seeing the Starbucks going up on Division and Clyborn. Just want the Green needs: Skim Lattes and Mocha Frapps. I was wishing, deep down inside, that it would be burned to the ground. I know it provides the opportunity for employment, but so did the Third Reich (a bit extreme, but it gets the point across). It appears that Chicago is ready to send off the CHA residents to DeKalb or Rockford or Schaumburg and make their old homes into new overpriced yuppie ****holes. I would prefer to ride down a street being called "Whitebread" than listen to some Trixie or Chad blab on their cell phone.
Want to stab at the heart of diversity? Want to cripple the creativity of an urban area?
Make it all the same.
What ever happened to balance?

"I know it provides the opportunity for employment, but so did the Third Reich (a bit extreme, but it gets the point across)."

Forced labor camps and a chain of 'flairless' corner coffee shops in your neighborhood... yea, just a bit extreme

My company does a few products for Star*ucks and I think the Third Riech analogy is pretty close!!!!

I would prefer to ride down a street being called "Whitebread" than listen to some Trixie or Chad blab on their cell phone.

http://www.lptrixie.com/lifestyles/jetta.asp

Where's Mayo in all this? I'd like to here his comments. As usual, the BF bleading hearts run out to cry fowl.. yet I bet that they've been hiding in their shelters way to long.

Where's Mayo in all this? I'd like to here his comments. As usual, the BF bleading hearts run out to cry fowl.. yet I bet that they've been hiding in their shelters way to long.


As would I. Thought the piece was excellent, very evocative. Can see why some have reacted to the language however.

By this reasoning, spray painting racial epithets on the gravestones of a Jewish cemetery could be excused as art.


:Godwin's Law: /prov./ [Usenet] “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” There is a tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress. Godwin's Law thus practically guarantees the existence of an upper bound on thread length in those groups...


sorry, but i'm done with this one.

Forced labor camps and a chain of 'flairless' corner coffee shops in your neighborhood... yea, just a bit extreme
I wasn't talking about the Camps. The analogy was pointing to those actively participating in the Reich in pushing its toxic spread across Europe. I was not directing sympathy to the Baristas in green as your interpretation suggests. I have nothing else to comment on this as I do NOT wish to discuss the atrocities of Nazi Germany in this forum.
Thanks for your understanding Bombusben
(FYI- HUGE sb fan here!)

Go pretzels! Why do you shudder? Freeport is a lot like Berkeley. There is good and bad in it.


i've noticed the similarities. oh yes. i've noticed. one of the reasons why i hate it here.

the only difference that i can see between freeport and berkeley (aside from the obvious geographical one) is that freeport is a dying, burnt out cinder of what was once a really nice community. the local businesses are being squashed by multi-national corporations and in the name of progress and cheaper socks. while berkeley retains some of it's community feel, it is also the land of broken souls and dreams. people come here because it's California (note the capitalzation), and it's the land of dreams and the "New Frontier." i look around here and all i see is a once beautiful countryside ruined by urban sprawl. the hillsides are blocked out by cookie cutter $250,000 houses (not homes) and the only way in or out of some of the most beautiful places is via the freeway. the differences are subtle, but they're there. it all feels the same to me anyway: boring and without purpose or soul.

Berkely isn't what it used to be, that's for sure. I remember back in the day, sitting on shattuck.. going to Rasputins.. late at night.. I hear that Starbucks has taken over berkely..

Okay-
I spelled 'flair' wrong...and am embarrassed.


Gee, spelling is the one thing that no one has been criticized for in this thread.

It isn't just ethnic urban neighborhoods that are disappearing, by the way. OneTinSloth mentions the blight that has befallen Freeport. All across America, communities are succumbing to a uniformity imposed by television culture, mall marketing and multinational megacorps. Diversity, the watchword of our age, is dying.


:Godwin's Law: /prov./ [Usenet] “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” There is a tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress. Godwin's Law thus practically guarantees the existence of an upper bound on thread length in those groups...


sorry, but i'm done with this one.

I'm sorry you're done with this one, too. I was debating your post-modern aesthetic principle, a principle which I find widely used. I used a reductio ad absurdumto make the point that subjective truth and shock value are not the same as art. I did not resort to any mention of Nazis or Hitler. I was referring to domestic hate crimes.

Actually, the first reference to the Third Reich comes in the post following mine.

This is a good discussion. RegularGuy, I see your point and I agree with you. I see where you're coming from.

I've lived in Chicago for five years, and for the same amount have been in the US for as long.

This is not a defense at all but sort of why I didn't think twice about it. I grew up in London and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and the word Darky also has similar but not the same meanings in both countries and cities. In Malaysia the word doesn't carry the same sort of history or derogatory term, it's almost brotherly in a way. It implies the same thing on a surface level but no harm is meant by it. In London however it's similar and holds the same sort of implication and meaning as it does here.

That said, which again, is not a defense or an excuse, I do understand the "heaviness" of the words and understand that despite apparent intentions or meanings, it may not be right to use them (I wouldn't) as they may offend people.

Anyway, this is a good discussion and while it's strayed away from our love for bikes, I think it's great to see thinking and discussing going on, I've been appreciating everyone's thoughts.

This is not a defense at all but sort of why I didn't think twice about it. I grew up in London and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and the word Darky also has similar but not the same meanings in both countries and cities. In Malaysia the word doesn't carry the same sort of history or derogatory term, it's almost brotherly in a way. It implies the same thing on a surface level but no harm is meant by it. In London however it's similar and holds the same sort of implication and meaning as it does here.


My grandmother came from Greenock, Scotland. Among my treasured possessions I have an enameled pin of a golliwog, the mascot of the Golden Shred marmalade company, playing cricket. My grandma got this as a premium for saving marmalade jar lids and gave it to me when I was a very young child. I understand that the golliwog character was still used in advertising by Golden Shred until very recently. It may still be in use.

The golliwog is a caricature of a black African, with big white eyes and red mouth. Similar characters used in American advertising were either withdrawn from the marketplace or updated decades ago. Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima no longer look like slaves.

In the British Isles, which did not have the same history of slavery and racial oppression as the United States, the golliwog is considered cute. In America, it is offensive.



Edit: I hope no one has missed the point that I liked Mayonnaise's post.

I think the litmus test for whether a conventionally derogative term could be used without racist implications for the writer would be whether the intent of the piece would be to demean the referred to ( in this case) people. I went right over that first paragraph and the image left in my mind was of snub-nosed SUV's piloted by white people bumping out coloured people from the place where they grew up. To me the derogatory impression was reserved for "whitey." I also find the term "whitey" to be as offending as "darky", but I like the usage here, and I do understand that the price paid is not equitable.

I think we have to allow a little bit of shock value to be in the writing; to remove the varnish off of how we look at things-to make ourselves feel comfortable and advanced, so that we say to ourselves: "You mean it's all that all over again, we are the same."

Leonard Cohen's line:

"Old Black Joe's still picking cotton
For your ribbons and bows
Everbody knows."

And so are Malboro signs outside of schools in China, our new ghetto, since we prohibit them here.

comes to mind.
But thaks Regular Guy for the conterpoint.

But thaks Regular Guy for the conterpoint.

Barnaby:

Mark Twain, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, makes 215 seperate uses of the arch-ethnophaulism, the "N-word." Because of this, there have been attempts to ban the book, one of the greatest works of American English literature, from libraries and school reading lists. I contend that the book should not be censored, banned or sanitized in any way. But, every reader of the book should be aware of the word's meaning, its history and its emotional force. Then they can understand the power of Twain's use and his ironic intent.

In my first post to this thread, I pointed out that the word "darky" is a derogatory term with ugly roots. I didn't call for censorship. I did not express moral outrage. I just pointed out the word's meaning and history. For this, I believe, I was accused of "PC bullsh*t", branded one of the "ignorant critics" and called a "bleading heart" who cried "fowl." I don't think that I called anyone a chicken or a turkey. In fact, I don't think I've called anyone names at all. It's interesting that those who have tried to defend Mayonnaise's use of the word "darky" are also the ones who have resorted to name-calling.

(I think I've also been dismissed as something of a hick from the sticks. That's a shame. The natives and citizens of small towns are not backwards, unsophisticated hayseeds. Their points of view are valid and deserving of voice. Myself, though I live in the boyhood hometown of President Ronald Reagan, am not a native here. I was born in a large city and grew up in an ethnically diverse neighborhood during a turbulent era. Some years ago, I also lived in Chicago, and regularly went through the neighborhood Mayonnaise describes, often travelling by shoe leather.)

Is the use of the word "darky" indefensible? Of course not. Mayonnaise was using forceful words to make a point forcefully and economically. His irony was evident. But, if I were a publisher and I received Mayonnaise's essay as a manuscript, I would request that that sentence be rewritten in a way that did not include the derogatory words. If I were a creative writing teacher, and I received Mayonnaise's essay as a class assignment, I would make the same request and try to use the opportunity presented as a teaching moment.

Why would I prefer that Mayonnaise not use racial slurs, even ironically? Because the words themselves have a great power to offend regardless of their context. A glance at the reactions to another of his posts (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=350764#post350764) should show this clearly. The title of the thread comes from a song. Even knowing this when I first read the post, I thought it was poorly considered. I think another problem with that particular post was that it didn't convey a sense of time passing very clearly. Mayonnaise's statement "I am afraid of black people" cast that sentiment in the present tense. It was not clear, or perhaps not clear enough, that he has overcome that old fear and now sees it as irrational and ridiculous.

I really hope that every time readers come across a racial epithet, whether in the enduring works of Mark Twain or the transitory postings of an internet forum, they will be struck by it like a slap in the face. Those words are a slap in the face to the people who are stereotyped by them. I'm not saying that the words should be banned, only that they should never be used lightly or dismissed easily.

Is it Mayonnaise's intent to offend his readers? If so, his choice of words is perfect. If no, then other words might serve him better. Using words so loaded with emotional charge can actually derail the point that he is trying to make.

Anyway, the discussion has been good, and I love Leonard Cohen, and the song "Everybody Knows" and especially Don Henley's cover of it.

I liked this a lot. Has a street poet riff to it. Do I hear a sax in the background?