What's wrong with "Darkie"? They're dark, aren't they?

I need to stop reading Mickey Kaus.

Half-defense: I don't quite understand why it's offensive to call Sen. Obama a "halfrican." It's a useful word! It efficiently describes a real phenomenon. It isn't, on its face, pejorative--and even if it were, it wouldn't be pejorative for long if it were simply used descriptively to mean people with one parent from Africa.

The funniest part of this is the update...

Update: A reader emails to point out the word is distressingly close to "half-breed." That does seem like a hard connotation to shake.

Technical correctness is not a good enough reason to use what amounts to a slur. Hebe is short for Hebrew but that doesn't mean I'd answer to it. I don't know how someone can be so culturally tone-deaf until I remembered what Mickey Kaus' house looks like:



(h/t TBogg for the pic)