That may have been what she meant. However, even at the time, Pankhurst was criticized for her hyperbole in drawing comparisons between slaves and wealthy white women. And quotes like this combined with the fact that black women were pretty much nowhere to be found in the British suffragette movement, and Pankhurst’s…

To clarify, she didn’t say women are weak. She said it’s “a weakness.” Two very different things. Everyone is prone to their own weaknesses, but that doesn’t necessarily make you a weak person altogether. What might make us weak in one situation, makes us stronger in another.

Yeah, that actually can be a stretch. Some parents use spankings as punishment and it doesn’t extend to their spouse because they don’t believe it’s abuse but a tactic to correct behavior in kids. I don’t know her story, but a person can certainly abuse their kids physically and not their spouse or vice versa. In…

I think it’s condescending exactly because it’s anti-woman. The interviewer asked that questions as if Nicki wasn’t aware enough to pick up on how bullshit it was, which is where I see the condescending nature of the exchange.

Absolutely not. She could have joined a traditionally black sorority but she didn’t and the pride of any of these organizations and ESPECIALLY the black sororities would not even allow them to entertain letting her go through the pledge process. Most of them would see her actually joining a non Divine Nine…

No - this is where choice of words are important. She did not say “women are weak”, she said it’s a “weakness”. Strong people can have weaknesses, a weakness in a particular area is not an indictment on overall strength of character.

Eh. I don’t agree but I also believe in staying out of other folk’s business, even if I am the common element.

She actually specifically says in the full internview that her father did not abuse her/them (physically), just that he was (verbally) abusive; a drunk and an addict.

That doesn’t mean she has to provide an answer. As my mother used to say “My name is Bess and I ain’t in that mess”.

But now you’re selectively quoting. The lead-in and follow-up to that question made it clear the interviewer wasn’t talking about Nicki feeding on drama with other rappers, but rather drama between people she cared about.

According to Wikipedia, Sally Marr was a dancer when Lenny Bruce was young, then quit to work as a waitress to raise him, and only got into comedy later as part of a nightclub act.

Oh poor white males. Such tough lives...

Bob Hope said he invented it. Bob Hope said a lot of things.

Henny Youngman also played the violin, which is sort of my point. Plus, he was a child when Amateur Night started.

..okay.. I’m saying that it is condescending. If someone asked me that I would find it condescending.

I think it’s a real stretch calling music hall and Vaudeville stand-up comedy. Most of the comedy acts did sketches and/or songs along with the jokes. Stand-up comedy as we know it today, a guy standing in front of a mic just telling jokes, started at the Apollo.

I have to agree with you. Jacob Zuma is a terrible president and a terrible human being in general. This piece leaves me uncomfortable though. JZ is VERY often criticised for the way he speaks or because he is unapologetically traditional, which has nothing to do with his presidency but everything to do with his being…

It’s difficult to judge. As a white South African I know that much of the criticism any ANC politician receives is motivated by racism- “he speaks badly” etc. That said, I think the Zuma penis pictures are motivated by the fact that he is probably a rapist, and definitely homophobic and misogynist.

A black girl would have been punished as harshly, if not more so. Black girls are as denied the right to be ‘just girls’ as adult Black women are allowed to be ‘just women’ - in relation to white girls and white women.

I guess I’m just not clear... how to say this. Him being a uniformly horrible person doesn’t automatically mean criticisms of him can’t be racist, in the same way Sarah Palin being a horrible person (to a lesser degree, obviously) doesn’t mean criticisms of her can’t be sexist.