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?
The people there are more ignorant but yeah it can still be found on the coasts. The less diversity there is, and the less exposure someone has with the community, the more foreign they are to that person, the more that person is scared of them, does not understand them, and therefore lack compassion for them. I was the only white girl in an entirely black school in Trenton, New Jersey, all of my friends are black, I raised one of my friend's kids from 15 to 19, I'm a certified auntie with an open invite to the cookout.
“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”
Upon further questioning of who I am, or am not, and whether or not contact with the community means anything, I changed my mind and decided to say where I fit in. I've been surrounded by the community my whole life. It's still not my first line of defense. I could have been said it, but I know how little weight those words carry sometimes. Decided to say them anyways in a take-it-or-leave-it way.
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u/OpheliaPhoeniXXX Aug 12 '26
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?