Talk:Rastus/Archives/2015

Cleanup still needed
The following post was from 2007 and has now been archived, but it's still accurate: It's remarkable that an article this short could simultaneously have so much good information and so many problems. I've added information showing that "Rastus" was not in fact a common slave name; its association with African-Americans is factitious. I've also removed the claim that the name "became synonymous with the stereotype of the happy, carefree Southern Black created by Southern Whites to justify their continued oppression of Blacks." I don't question that "Rastus" is an ethnic slur, but statements like that have a lot of unsupported claims wrapped up in them. For example, what's the basis for the claim that the stereotype was created by Southern Whites? How do we know it wasn't Northern Whites, for example?

The immediate cleanup need is to put references in good form (most of the information is already there). A text edit, with an eye for good support and maintaining NPOV, would also be helpful. John M Baker (talk) 14:52, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

Cleanup still needed
The following post was from 2007 and has now been archived, but it's still accurate: It's remarkable that an article this short could simultaneously have so much good information and so many problems. I've added information showing that "Rastus" was not in fact a common slave name; its association with African-Americans is factitious. I've also removed the claim that the name "became synonymous with the stereotype of the happy, carefree Southern Black created by Southern Whites to justify their continued oppression of Blacks." I don't question that "Rastus" is an ethnic slur, but statements like that have a lot of unsupported claims wrapped up in them. For example, what's the basis for the claim that the stereotype was created by Southern Whites? How do we know it wasn't Northern Whites, for example?

The immediate cleanup need is to put references in good form (most of the information is already there). A text edit, with an eye for good support and maintaining NPOV, would also be helpful. John M Baker (talk) 14:52, 23 October 2015 (UTC)