Quote of the Day
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Apr 212009
“Ghetto, in its most unironic usage, is a word for people you don’t know. It’s word that allows you to erase individuals and create boxes.” – Ta-Nehisi Coates
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I’ve always been fascinated by the word “ghetto.” In its own language, Yiddish, it means “neighborhood,” sort of “the area around here.” In Eastern Europe, it came to mean “the neighborhood of people who speak Yiddish,” that is, Jews. It took on a more sinister meaning when the Germans decided that Jews didn’t get to *choose* to live in the ghetto, they *had* to move into the ghetto. Of course, this meant serious overcrowding. The non-Jews also living there objected, and that’s when the systematic “removal” began. Eventually, anyone who could move out, did move out, and the word slipped its meaning to “neighborhood where you have to live.” Housing values fell there, and it became “neighborhood of poor people.” In the USA, that’s what it now means: Neighborhood of poor people.
I like to twist the meaning of poor, and refer to gated communities as “Republican ghettoes.” It annoys *everyone*. What more could you want?
I really love how language flows and changes. And i think it is a good lesson in how context changes meaning. And even though i am jewish I don’t think I had any idea that ghetto was a Yiddish word.
I do highly suggest you follow the link back to the original source of the quote, I think you would like his blog – everything from politics to race relations to world of warcraft.