Friday, February 16, 2007

My L'il Blozzle

So I see this commercial this week for an insurance company. It features ostensibly real agents talking about how they helped the client. This one nice middle-American, middle-aged, unremarkably white bread woman, remarks that her company is open “24/7.”

I cringed. Then shuddered. Then threw up in my mouth just a little.

Why such a visceral reaction to such a seemingly benign quote? Call it the proverbial straw. (And don’t EVEN get me started on the overuse of the word “proverbial.” People THERE AREN’T THAT MANY PROVERBS!!!!).

You see, I find it a bit pathetic and laughable that middle class white people have adopted the patois of the urban street. The appropriation of hip-hop culture among middle class folk whose “street cred” involves a cul-de-sac absolutely cracks my ass up. When your “hizzy” is in a gated community, you can’t really own that word.

And when I hear a child of privilege peppering his speech with “-izzles,”—you get the picture.

It’s becoming an epidemic. And in case you think it’s just a little harmless vocabulary, I have two words for you: Kevin Federline.


That said, I am thinking about getting my moms a grill for her birthday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

ok sista cut the dis on my white bread homegirls, yo. Fo shizzle on my dizzle dude. Yo Moms will rock the grill!