Multiculturalism running amok

Lest I be accused of cultural hubris, I have to point to one of our own toxic offshoots.

And yes, ebonics, like it or not, is a specifically American cultural product, as native to North America as tobacco. Sorry. You can get a divorce but you can't fire your kids. And if you want to maintain peace in the family, you can't fire your in-laws, either. (As you get older, you will also see how the most hybrid of seeds can go wild a couple of generations out.)

Robert at The Marmot's Hole points to a March post at Becky's T*Blog, Conversational Ebonics, a dictionary of African-American street slang for Japanese readers. It's not clear if some cross-cultural enterprise is in the works calling for this book, but who knows? I can envision smiling groups of Japanese young people trooping down the sidewalks of the 'hood, trying to walk properly so as not to be noticed too much. Better yet, a clutch of young black kids in Yokohama, squinting without their shades and scratching discretely as fitted clothing feels too snug in the groin.

Meantime, Becky is caught a bit off guard today finding that her March post has taken on a life of it's own. I think this is what they call a meme. Becky may have started something. This a great flight of fluff for weekend reading. Drill away.

(Don't neglect the comment threads or you might miss this.)