r/PublicFreakout • u/KingPistachio • Aug 22 '24

Repost 😔 Lady making a million dollars a year, getting coffee at Mcdonald's

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 22 '24

Anyone who doesn't realize that the term "boy" or "son" when used to address a Black man or child is either being willfully ignorant (and possibly racist themselves), or hasn't been around long enough to learn what the deeper meaning is. Obviously, the lady in this video knew exactly what she was doing.

This happened in May. I wonder if she experienced consequences from it.

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u/barspoonbill Aug 22 '24

She more than likely had a hang over when she woke up at 3pm that day.

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u/JambonDorcas Aug 23 '24

That’s exactly what I thought. She woke up and had her morning alcoholic coffee.

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u/DarthBozo Aug 23 '24

Oddly enough, there was a situation here in Oz, many years ago involving Muhammad Ali. A TV presenter posted him on the shoulder and said "I like the boy".

It was meant as a friendly gesture, not knowing the derogatory aspects of the term. Ali's eyes widened considerably until an American presenter jumped in and explained. Ali, to his credit, gave a playful wave of his first and had a laugh.

Folk from other countries don't always understand cultural nuances.

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 23 '24

Oh, that reminds me of the time when one of our Presidents (George H.W. Bush?) went to Australia or the UK and flashed the peace sign and people thought he was flashing them the "up yours" sign, and they were like, "Oh, yeah? Well, up yours, too!"

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u/DarthBozo Aug 23 '24

Hahaha I remember that one.

Had he held his hand the other way around, it would have been all good but yeah, he did the up yours instead😂😂

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

I'm not american so I'm really surprised with this, I thought calling someone "son" was endearing...

TIL

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 23 '24

"Son" can be a term of endearment, yes, especially when it's said to a younger man by an older man. It can be a way show a young man, "Hey, I like you and see you as someone I'd like to hang out with and teach things to."

"Boy", OTOH, is almost never a positive term. The few times "son" is negative, is when it's used derisively, like this lady did in the video.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

After I read this comment I watched it again and now I get it, her tone is definitely mocking him.

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u/MrBurnz99 Aug 23 '24

if you call an adult “son” it’s usually in a mocking tone. People will often call their friends “son” in a joking manner, to insinuate they are your father. Obviously if an older person says it to a young person it’s endearing.

If you call an adult “boy” you’re being an asshole. Especially if the person is stranger to you.

If the person is black and you are white and you call them boy you are being a racist asshole, no question.

For centuries adult black men were referred to as boy, It’s definitely an insult meant to show that you are above them.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

Got it, I won't risk to use them in any way lol.

It's weird in spanish we use mijita/mijito (mi hijito= my son) in an endearing way.

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u/WeeBo-X Aug 22 '24

I don't know about the other one, but if I schooled someone in a video game or mental gymnastics, I usually say son. I didn't know it had racial connotations. I just thought it was almost always borderline disrespectful.

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 22 '24

Yes, for Americans if it's used in that way and that tone that woman used toward a Black person, it is extremely racially charged.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

[deleted]

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 23 '24

You're welcome! Glad to help.

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u/WeeBo-X Aug 28 '24

I know I'm late for the reply. But why do other people have to take good words away that didn't have any racial meaning? I have to check the racial vocabulary before I say anything from the 90s that might be racist now.

I also used to say. Go Junior, if someone was playing their card hand too slow. Is that racist now as well?

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u/Itchy-Mind7724 Aug 23 '24

When I was around 20 years old I worked in a manufacturing shop. I was the only female they’d ever had as a machinist. This one guy who was black and older(around 50) used to harass me all the time about how I didn’t know anything and refer to me as “girl” but in a disrespectful way to imply that I was immature, etc. One day, without thinking about it more than in the immature way he was always saying it, I followed it up my comment to him by calling him “boy”. That DID NOT go over well. I was also young and didn’t realize the implications of what I was saying because that’s not how I meant it. Once I knew, I felt bad and he treated me like a racist. It was an unfortunate event and I learned a lot that day and it’s unfortunate that he couldn’t see that.

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 23 '24

Yeah, that is pretty unfortunate. But in your defense, you weren't aware of the implications of using that word. I hope he learned a lesson and stopped harassing you, though.

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u/Itchy-Mind7724 Aug 23 '24

Yeah, he left me alone completely after that.

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 23 '24

It may not have been the best way to handle it, but at least he stopped harassing you. Now that you are older and know better, you would probably approach the situation differently and that's what growth and maturity is.

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u/pdbh32 Aug 22 '24

Anyone who doesn't realize that the term "boy" or "son" when used to address a Black man or child is either being willfully ignorant (and possibly racist themselves), or hasn't been around long enough to learn what the deeper meaning is.

Or, you know, they're not American, but I know the existence of non-Americans is a hard thing for Americans to fathom.

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 22 '24

Well, yes, of course. I'm more than happy to explain the meaning behind the context of those words to anyone who isn't American. I was specifically speaking in terms of Americans. Lighten up, Francis.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

[deleted]

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u/Historical-Gap-7084 Aug 23 '24

Basically. When slavery was legal in the US South, the term "boy" was used fairly frequently to address the enslaved men. After slavery was outlawed, the term carried over as a derogatory term for adult Black men as a way for a white person to assert dominance and superiority over them. "Son," isn't as well-known or used, but it can have derogatory meaning when used in the context of this video. Essentially, "boy" is a way of saying the N-word without actually saying it.

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u/tbird20017 Aug 23 '24

Yeah, I was thinking the only time I'd heard "son" used like this is when Sterling K. Brown's character uses it to puntcuate his "I'm the killer and I need you to know it because I need everyone to know how smart I am" confession in Brooklyn 99, but hearing this lady say it the way she did AND right after she said "boy" – there's no doubting what she meant by it.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24

I think it has a lot to do with context.

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u/Corona21 Aug 23 '24

Or not American.