I'm glad you've come back to clarify, and I see where
you may have taken the offense, though, in itself,
that leads us to another path of history.

First, let me say that part of my frustration stems
from the fact this was the first post I made to anyone
on my cell phone.  I am definitely not a text pager,
and it took a great amount of effort to get the words
to print. (And those of you will then say, "So you
shouldn't have said it"--don't.)

Secondly, I don't have the luxury in so doing of
excising text from someone else to lead to the path of
putting forth the best response.  It was a test to see
if I could respond to list mail using the phone, and
on such pregnant things, perhaps, in the future, I
won't.

But the perspective intended was that of what the
slaves might say in response to what Deb Fuller had
posted, paraphrasing, why was "Miss Nancy" hanging the
quilt up once a month.  "Miss Nancy" is in keeping
with the dialogue a slave might have used in positing
such a question.  I went with the mindset of what
might the slave have said (since, in truth, I am
disappointed that the codes in quilts are presumed to
be a myth with no evidence to the contrary, and it
makes me wonder all the more how folks knew to get
from Point A to Point B when a lot of folks can't get
anywhere today without a Google Map.).  

The intention was that it was one slave speaking to
another suggesting that "Miss Nancy" was intending to
have her husband "Massa James" (just an old, Biblical
name, chosen for its history going back to James
Madison and beyond) come give her affections.  The
trigger to that was the once a month thing. 

In today's parlance, couples communicate with one
another and give the sign that the intent to mate is
there.  Unless we were suddenly created, this
generation, by intelligent design, sex has been
happening for eons, and one party signals intent. 
While the Victorian era had us thinking many a woman
thought sex was a burden or her wifely duties, it's
not, hasn't been for many, and a woman of wealth could
have afforded to give her husband the "come hither"
without worrying that it would bring another mouth to
feed.  Watch some of the HBO specials concerning sex
in history, and you'll know not everyone thought it
some sort of evil punishment.

As for the concern that it was the intention of a
slave to bring the master, it would seem some are now
denying that there were slaves and their masters who
had loving, intimate relationships (not always by
choice at first, perhaps, but think of the saga of
Sally Hemmings among others).  Many a quadroon or
octaroon, now terms deemed passe and often dismissed
in our "politically correct" era, came to be as a
result of such unions.  In the case of my ex-husband's
family from Lousiana, there were many, many
light-skinned people when interracial dating wasn't
the norm (and let's not argue the fact that it is now
if that's not your norm).  By the same token, his
mother had a Creek Indian father and was born about
the time of the Trail of Tears in a place where the
First Americans were exiled.  Years later, she didn't
want anyone to know of her Creek heritage for fear
that would be used against her.

So, the perspective of the comment which was said in
jest and landed with a thud was that two women (not
the landowners) at the home were noting that Miss
Nancy wanted to be with her husband.  That's all. 
Think to your own homes and what you do to signify to
one another that tonight's the night.

Is such dialogue appropriate for this list?  I should
certainly hope so on multiple acccounts: 1) we are all
adults; 2) many of you have museums that do "living
histories" or "reenactments."  If you are museums for
People of Color, would you not expect folks to speak
in the dialogue written?

Now as for those who challenged the oppressiveness of
the language, I'm not buying it.  My eldest is soon to
be 32.  I've had more than 3 decades to trying to
wrong many a civil unjustice, but you're not going to
know that if you don't ask and simply say "That's
offensive."  State why you believe something to be
offensive so that I or whomever you take exception
with can clarify if it deserves to be clarified.

I was born in the fall of 1952, just before Brown v.
Board of Education and the "Civil Rights Era."  I grew
up a child of the 60s and watched all that ensued with
tremendous angst and umbrage.  I've seen prejudice in
action, and frankly, we all need to take a page from
Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing."  Prejudice comes in
many forms and in all colors.  My personal bias is
against stupidity (not to be confused with people who
are born "slow", but rather those who were born with a
brain and do stupid things).  I've watched the tide
turn from some Blacks who were severely intimidated by
some Whites to now seeing some young Blacks try to
severely intimidate some Whites (I witnessed personal
evidence of this--again--not more than two weeks ago).
 It's wrong in any color.

I believe some of the umbrage at my particular post
stems in the mind of the reader as much in the words I
wrote.  That's why email is so oft subject to
interpretation, often misinterpretation.  I intended
no malice in what I wrote, but I know for a fact that
I simply cannot be responsible for how everything is
received on this list or any other.  If I stood in the
middle of the room and hurdled epithets, well, I'd
have to own up to it and take the beating.  But I used
the word "Massa" at a time when people's political
correctness seems to want to pretend the word wasn't
used.

I didn't intend offense.  Because someone took it, I'm
expected to apologize.  My only apology is I'm sorry
if anyone was offended; not for what I said or why I
said it.



--- Lanora Pierce <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I do believe your comment was not intended to be 
> malicious but it appeared your joke was that a woman
> 
> slave could be secretly signaling to her master to
> come 
> meet her for a rendez vous instead of a coded
> message to 
> other slaves. I was surprised at the shocking
> disregard 
> for the violence perpetrated during slavery between 
> master and slave, particularly sexual violence
> against 
> women. 
>

Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]

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