University of Virginia Library

Some Thought

In his letter to the Editor
appearing in Wednesday's Cavalier
Daily, a Mr. Robert F. Fagin
argues that "there are Negroes,
and there are niggers; there are
Jews, and there are kikes; there
are Italians, and there are wops;
and there are Poles, and there are
polaks."

I agree that every ethnic group
contains individuals who are
worthy of being labelled with derogatory
epithets, but I see no reason
why the epithet should refer
to the ethnic origin of the person
against whom it is directed.
It would be possible to say, for
example, that there are Irishmen,
and there are micks, and that Mr.
Fagin is a mick; or that there are
lace-curtain Irish and shanty Irish,
and that Mr. Fagin belongs to
the latter category.

Consequently, if I were asked
to comment on Mr. Fagin's use
of ethnic insults, I would simply
characterize it as ill-bred, undiscerning,
uncultivated, and boorish;
and if I were given good reason
to believe that such behavior is
typical of Mr. Fagin, I might
employ the same adjectives in describing
him. But just as one need
not be a Negro to be a moronic
slob, or a Jew to be a tightfisted
chiseler, one need not be
Irish to have the manners of a
peasant, even though persons
of Mr. Fagin's stripe might lead
us to believe that it helps.