Is this post racially insensitive?

[ElectionsGuy]

Only to the types that find racial insensitivity everywhere.

[Mr. Illini]

Not particularly offensive, and not close to the most offensive thing I've read on this forum.

[Sol]

Pretty insensitve, I'm afraid.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Surely they would have better things they could be spending their time doing?

dude you've made over eight thousand posts on an internet forum

You've made 32,000.

well yeah but I don't go around criticizing how other people spend their time, now do I?

I seem to recall you telling me to "good get laid" on a few occasions. Not bad advice, just noting that you have indeed criticized how I spend my time.

[TDAS04]

Insensitive maybe, but Scott is no racist. 

[Hifly]

There's something wrong with you Americans who complain that everything is racially insensitive. I cannot detect a slither of racial insensitivity in this post.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

There's something wrong with you Americans who complain that everything is racially insensitive. I cannot detect a slither of racial insensitivity in this post.

Yes, because your decisive, impartial, indeed, positively Oxonian perspective is exactly what this question called for.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

What is it Scott should have said that would have carried anything like the same meaning?  "I have a roommate who fits the stereotypical image of monolithic black culture held by the Atlas Anti-Racism League"?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

It makes my think of this for some reason.

[dead0man]

What is it Scott should have said that would have carried anything like the same meaning?  "I have a roommate who fits the stereotypical image of monolithic black culture held by the Atlas Anti-Racism League"?

I was wondering the same.  Someone who is obviously racist wouldn't use the words Scott did, somebody that wasn't comfortable around black people (but wasn't a racist) wouldn't use those words.  The only kind of person that would use those words is somebody that knows he's not racist and doesn't give a flying funk if you think he is or not.  Which is the best way to be.  You can't and shouldn't change who you are because some people who get offended all the Og damned time might get offended yet again by the words you use.  Who cares what those overly sensitive assholes think?

[ilikeverin]

What is it Scott should have said that would have carried anything like the same meaning?  "I have a roommate who fits the stereotypical image of monolithic black culture held by the Atlas Anti-Racism League"?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Alternatively, something like "inner city black kid from Charleston".  You can refer to someone as dark-skinned and from a less-than-ideal neighborhood (although who knows if he is) without calling him "gangsta-type" and saying he's from "some hood".

[Gustaf]

Not to be too semantic but a lot of people here seem to be answering no saying things like "it's not racist" or defending it as not being intentional.

But the question is whether it's insensitive and to me that is almost by definition (no, not technically, but the way it is used) something that isn't racist and isn't intentionally offensive but comes off...wrong. And it clearly is precisely racially insensitive.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

What is it Scott should have said that would have carried anything like the same meaning?  "I have a roommate who fits the stereotypical image of monolithic black culture held by the Atlas Anti-Racism League"?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Alternatively, something like "inner city black kid from Charleston".  You can refer to someone as dark-skinned and from a less-than-ideal neighborhood (although who knows if he is) without calling him "gangsta-type" and saying he's from "some hood".

So "gangsta" and "inner city black" mean the same thing to you?

[memphis]

I really hate the term 'inner city." Nobody would use it to describe residents of Central Gardens in Memphis or the Central West End in St Louis because *surprise*, these neighborhoods are full of well to do white people despite being very old neighborhoods that are near the urban core. Instead, the term gets applied to places like Ferguson and Hickory Hill, which are very much suburbs and further out, just because most people there are black. I prefer the term ghetto. It's one word instead of two, the meaning is clear and there's less of a patronizing tone. Yes, it's a bit offensive, but no more so than "inner city." Frankly, there's no way to describe the sort of behavior we're talking about without being a little bit offensive. That's life sometimes.

[King]

Yeah, inner city is a racist dog whistle term.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Inner City in the sense of urban geography does not refer to the city centre but to a ring - the classical shape, though less common than it used to be - of deprived neighbourhoods around the city centre. It replaced (and is arguably a euphemism for) the older term 'slum'. There isn't really an English term for deprived suburb, but there is a French one and we might as well use it: banlieue.

[memphis]

Inner City in the sense of urban geography does not refer to the city centre but to a ring - the classical shape, though less common than it used to be - of deprived neighbourhoods around the city centre. It replaced (and is arguably a euphemism for) the older term 'slum'. There isn't really an English term for deprived suburb, but there is a French one and we might as well use it: banlieue.

And that's why I said near the urban core. Most American big city downtowns (as we call them, not sure if that term is used in the UK) are perfectly safe and, in addition to hosting the traditional officespace, are full of trendy, supercool types living in expensive lofts next to wine bars and small plate restaurants. Even in Memphis, the least supercool city in America. Outside of stray homeless people, of course poors don't live downtown. They often work there in restaurant kitchens and hotels though.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yeah, but the term emerged as a replacement for 'slum', which was my point really. Of course in Australia (where they do cities differently) 'inner city' has very different connotations.

Most American big city downtowns (as we call them, not sure if that term is used in the UK)

City centre. Colloquially the usual term is 'town' or 'the city'.

[ilikeverin]

What is it Scott should have said that would have carried anything like the same meaning?  "I have a roommate who fits the stereotypical image of monolithic black culture held by the Atlas Anti-Racism League"?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Alternatively, something like "inner city black kid from Charleston".  You can refer to someone as dark-skinned and from a less-than-ideal neighborhood (although who knows if he is) without calling him "gangsta-type" and saying he's from "some hood".

So "gangsta" and "inner city black" mean the same thing to you?

No, of course not.  "Gangsta...from the hood" implies things (mostly, er, about himself) that I don't think Scott meant to imply.  Racial insensitivity is in the form, not the meaning.  As Gustaf said:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[traininthedistance]

Inner City in the sense of urban geography does not refer to the city centre but to a ring - the classical shape, though less common than it used to be - of deprived neighbourhoods around the city centre. It replaced (and is arguably a euphemism for) the older term 'slum'. There isn't really an English term for deprived suburb, but there is a French one and we might as well use it: banlieue.

And that's why I said near the urban core. Most American big city downtowns (as we call them, not sure if that term is used in the UK) are perfectly safe and, in addition to hosting the traditional officespace, are full of trendy, supercool types living in expensive lofts next to wine bars and small plate restaurants. Even in Memphis, the least supercool city in America. Outside of stray homeless people, of course poors don't live downtown. They often work there in restaurant kitchens and hotels though.

You have Graceland and Beale Street; you're far more supercool than, say, Fresno or Jacksonville.

As for the OP's question... Gustaf has the right of it. 

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Although, and let us be absolutely honest here, a knotted handkerchief on your head is cooler than Fresno.

[memphis]

Inner City in the sense of urban geography does not refer to the city centre but to a ring - the classical shape, though less common than it used to be - of deprived neighbourhoods around the city centre. It replaced (and is arguably a euphemism for) the older term 'slum'. There isn't really an English term for deprived suburb, but there is a French one and we might as well use it: banlieue.

And that's why I said near the urban core. Most American big city downtowns (as we call them, not sure if that term is used in the UK) are perfectly safe and, in addition to hosting the traditional officespace, are full of trendy, supercool types living in expensive lofts next to wine bars and small plate restaurants. Even in Memphis, the least supercool city in America. Outside of stray homeless people, of course poors don't live downtown. They often work there in restaurant kitchens and hotels though.

You have Graceland and Beale Street; you're far more supercool than, say, Fresno or Jacksonville.

Ok, we might be a little cooler than Fresno or Jacksonville, but to be fair, Fresno has killer proximity to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, for which I would trade all the cool in the universe. However, the Memphis supercool crowd woudn't be caught dead at tourist traps like Graceland and Beale Street. That'd be like a New Yorker going to party at Times Square. As it happens, Graceland is in one of those "inner city" that's not really inner city neighborhoods we were just talking about. Perfect example of Al's banlieue. Unless it's for work or making the token visit to the King's house to satisfy visiting relatives, local whites won't go within miles of Graceland. And there's no reason to.   To the extent we have them, the cool crowd goes to South Main, not far from Beale, in Downtown, or to either Overton Square or Cooper-Young, in Midtown. If you ever want to visit and blend in with the local crowd, there's your tip. I feel like most cities have the tourist fun district and the local fun district, which is kind of a shame. It seems a little silly to travel many miles just to visit a readymade Disneyworld tourist district. Bourbon Street, Fisherman's Wharf, etc

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

What is it Scott should have said that would have carried anything like the same meaning?  "I have a roommate who fits the stereotypical image of monolithic black culture held by the Atlas Anti-Racism League"?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Alternatively, something like "inner city black kid from Charleston".  You can refer to someone as dark-skinned and from a less-than-ideal neighborhood (although who knows if he is) without calling him "gangsta-type" and saying he's from "some hood".

So "gangsta" and "inner city black" mean the same thing to you?

No, of course not.  "Gangsta...from the hood" implies things (mostly, er, about himself) that I don't think Scott meant to imply.  Racial insensitivity is in the form, not the meaning.  As Gustaf said:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Your attempt at providing an example what Scott could have said that would be racially sensitive eviscerates not just the form but also the meaning of his post. The fact that his roommate is black does not in itself explain why he and Scott would be "polar opposites."  If Scott is not supposed to use terms associated with a certain subculture, what terms should he use to indicate that subculture?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

He's from the same hood I hail from! Charleston represent!

[memphis]

He's from the same hood I hail from! Charleston represent!

Where do the locals hang out in Charleston? As tourist neighborhoods go, South of Broad is beautiful, but I suspect the crowd there is mostly out of towners.