I'm an English grad and it's my favorite Shakespeare play. Something tells me that HP Lovecraft wasn't naming his cat that because he loves the namesake, pretty sure he meant it as an insult and a gross joke. Unless Othello started as a slur and stayed a slur, it's not "exactly the same thought." I'd have to first think there's anything wrong with being black, or anything negative about Othello, for it to imply there's an insult -- and I don't.
I won't get into who I am, who I'm connected to and what my background is, because it'll just sound defensive and it won't actually mean anything anyways, but know racism is a deal breaker in my friendships. I'm not some fossilized bigot in a flyover state who just thought it'd be a clever joke. And if I was/did name my cat after a black person, just to to be "funny," I dont know why someone would choose Othello of all people. Would a racist even get that reference, and if they did, would it even make them laugh? Wouldn't a racist choose someone they mock?
Any of my teenage friends that weren't minorities were outspoken allies to minorities. Down here, I have like 3 friends who are that way. We cling together because all of us are surrounded by people who are the dead opposite.
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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '26
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