I was remembering an incident from EP where I almost went off on someone—based on a miscommunication…
There was a poster (whom I still miss) who, at the time, lived in NOLA (Tremé, where my father’s from).
Occasionally we would communicate in French, and one day a poster whom I’d never before encountered referred to us as "coon asses". 😳
My back went up, I couldn’t believe what I’d read. I dm’d my friend, who told me, "he’s probably not trying to insult us. He’s Cajun—and he probably thinks we are, too. Some of them call each other that, here—and only a Cajun can call another Cajun that without a fight breaking out."
Wow. So I spoke to the poster and that was indeed what had happened. I had never heard of or seen that term before. Among black people (Creole or not) "coon" is an insult comparable to the "n" word, except that I don’t know anyone who uses it affectionately.
The guy apologized, because he understood why we might be confused. But I was grateful that my friend had explained it to me first.
Occasionally we would communicate in French, and one day a poster whom I’d never before encountered referred to us as "coon asses". 😳
My back went up, I couldn’t believe what I’d read. I dm’d my friend, who told me, "he’s probably not trying to insult us. He’s Cajun—and he probably thinks we are, too. Some of them call each other that, here—and only a Cajun can call another Cajun that without a fight breaking out."
Wow. So I spoke to the poster and that was indeed what had happened. I had never heard of or seen that term before. Among black people (Creole or not) "coon" is an insult comparable to the "n" word, except that I don’t know anyone who uses it affectionately.
The guy apologized, because he understood why we might be confused. But I was grateful that my friend had explained it to me first.
