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Chemisse

(31,010 posts)
5. This one surprised me. "The pot calling the kettle black."
Mon Sep 4, 2017, 04:54 PM
Sep 2017

It never crossed my mind that it was racist, and I use it occasionally.

So just now, I googled it and came up with a blog that analyzed the expression, its origins, and whether or not it could be considered racist:

This saying, which personifies kitchenware in order to make a point about hypocrisy, means “to criticize someone for a fault you also possess.” Per WiseGeek, the phrase dates back to the early 1600s, when most pots and kettles were fashioned from cast iron, a material that acquires streaks of black smoke when heated over a flame.


It is true that, in the context of the expression, “blackness” does not come off as a neutral trait. On the other hand, “black” means something very different when you are a kettle instead of a person. It has less to do with race than with the physical reality of soot and grime accumulating on a shiny surface.


http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/12/22/the_pot_calling_the_kettle_black_is_the_idiom_offensive_racist_or_fair_game.html

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Agreed Lordquinton Sep 2017 #1
Don't hold your breath Warpy Sep 2017 #2
And a few more bad ones... Croney Sep 2017 #4
This one surprised me. "The pot calling the kettle black." Chemisse Sep 2017 #5
That's interesting, but I think it's best not to use it, Croney Sep 2017 #9
There is nothing racist about that one, it far predates that sort of thing Warpy Sep 2017 #30
I agree. Chemisse Sep 2017 #31
Now, now. Behind the Aegis Sep 2017 #3
Thanks, BtA. Warren DeMontague Sep 2017 #7
Very much appreciated! It's great to have great allies like you! LostOne4Ever Sep 2017 #13
Thank you again for standing up. beam me up scottie Sep 2017 #17
Thank you. nt Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #23
Thank you Piasladic Sep 2017 #32
One would think the experience of the Tillman family with the Bush admin. Warren DeMontague Sep 2017 #6
I'm not sure offensive is the right word; it's not a smear exactly. Chemisse Sep 2017 #8
I appreciate your supportive comments LostOne4Ever Sep 2017 #14
And it would have been so easy Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #21
Oh, "yet"! Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #22
I had a boss in 1983 lapfog_1 Sep 2017 #10
Thank you! beam me up scottie Sep 2017 #11
My bigoted post has 45,673 recs. So there! Mariana Sep 2017 #15
I know, I really should stop doing that. beam me up scottie Sep 2017 #16
Heh. Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #19
This has always been a great group LostOne4Ever Sep 2017 #24
Oh dear, the primary. Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #26
LOL the ultimate response. trotsky Sep 2017 #33
Bravo. Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #28
It was the whole shitshow of entitled outrage. Voltaire2 Sep 2017 #12
Bingo. Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #20
Or the people who thought the whole thing was like, riotously funny ohmigod TOTALLY Warren DeMontague Sep 2017 #25
That was about the level, yep.. nt Susan Calvin Sep 2017 #27
Thank you and Great Point! LostOne4Ever Sep 2017 #18
Hey, that's it. I really hope so. defacto7 Sep 2017 #29
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