Republican defends use of ‘uppity’ [View All]

Source: AJC

U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), who was born and raised in the South, said Thursday he’s never heard the word “uppity” used in a racially loaded fashion —- and meant nothing more than “elitist” when he applied it to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his wife.

“If anyone read more into it, no undercurrent was intended,” said Brian Robinson, a Westmoreland spokesman.

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Westmoreland, who is contemplating a 2010 run for governor, released the following statement:

“I’ve never heard that term used in a racially derogatory sense. It is important to note that the dictionary definition of ‘uppity’ is ‘affecting an air of inflated self-esteem —- snobbish.’ That’s what we meant by uppity when we used it in the mill village where I grew up.”

Read more: http://www.ajc.com/search/content/news/stories/2008/09/05/westmoreland.html