Marion Barry insults Polish people calling them "Polacks"

Ex-Washington DC mayor Marion Barry put his foot in his mouth again. While apologizing for insulting Asians, he calls Polish people "Polacks".

It appears Barry said this more out of ignorance than maliciousness. He doesn't seem too sophisticated.

Marion Barry:

"America has had racial tensions from the time it was founded and immigrants came. The Italians caught hell. The Irish caught hell. The Jews caught hell. Polacks caught hell. Chinese caught hell. Asians caught hell. That didn't start yesterday. It started some time back," he said, as leaders of Asian-American and Filipino nurses' groups stood beside him at the podium.

wmal.com/Article.asp?id=2463107

wtop.com//109/2878890/Marion-Barry-I-misspoke-when-I-said-Polacks

washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/marion-barrys-offensive-apology/2012/05/25/gJQAcNKPpU_blog.html

freebeacon.com/barry-uses-ethnic-slur-after-apology-meeting-with-asian-americans/

Don't be so silly

Then what's the purpose of your post? Most people woulda said "sheesh, whatta jerk", and moved on. This needed four supporting links?

Ojejku somebody is offended by calling Poles "Polaks". Isn't this what they call each other anyway? By the way, I've met some people who are offended by being called "Jews". They prefer Jewish.

No, we call each other "Polacy".

It's like saying Pakis instead of Pakistanis.

Oh,give it a break.MediaWatch is absolutely oversensitive.He is always looking for someone who insults Poland or "Polacks":D

Hey pal relax.

I didn't create this story.

I'm just reporting on what's in the media about Polish people.

Just callus Polish not Polack. It's like someone using the n word. You think he would be sensitive to that.

Of course you didin't but it's clear to me that he used word "Polacks" with no intention to offend so what's the big deal?Btw the word Polacks is clearly from word Polak so I don't know what the problem is.

I'm gonna give the ex-mayor a pass and this is why. In my neck of the woods the Poles have co-opted the "p-word" similar to blacks using the n-word. I hear it all the time. Staś asks his black friend "where is that polak Jaś". They call each other "dumb polak", so on and so forth. Unless told otherwise, as our african american brothers have done, non-Poles will assume it's ok and cool to use the offensive word......just a thought

I've said it before on the forum many Latinos or Blacks don't know that the word Polack is offensive. They hear it said and think it simply means a Polish person. Besides who cares, Marion Barry is a ex crackhead with holes in his brain.

youtube.com/watch?v=mTMif8cGlcE

Using Your own logic it's fine for me to say "I don't care what that dope head N***** has to say" then,is it? Don't know much about your neck of the woods but I can't imagine that there's a heck of a lot of Poles living in the redneck country.


BS, are you saying they lack the basic knowledge on the very issue they themselves struggle with on daily basis even now in the US.


Oy vey!, should I use another example to better illustrate this point to you? Funny how this "sheesh, whatta jerk" attitude is missing every time the Jewish issues are raised, they are always described as anti-Semitic in nature by You. Now that's being a jerk!

youtube.com/watch?v=SOnkv76rNL4

would be far more courteous if you posted a few lines about the link instead of just posting a web address

Why is everyone so critical of the OP? I see nothing wrong with his post. Here is another liberal nut making fun of the Polish Dyngus holiday.. He has since apologized,after the American Polonia complained.

thefw.com/anderson-cooper-dyngus-day/

It happened twice. Once in New York I was chating with some Latinos and asked if they're Mexican one answered 'my friend's here are Mexican I'm Puerto Rican' I told him I'm from Poland he says' ohh ok Polack' I told him it's offensive like using the N word he says 'ohh I didn't know.' Another time also a Puerto Rican but here in Philly said 'my friend Tomek is a Polack' I explained it again he replied 'so how do you calls yourselves, Polish?? I replied yes. People who live in their own little ethnic communities don't really know.

There's your answer, little sarcasm for your ignorance, I would do the same if I was the Puerto Rican', well deserved insult for a stupid statement too yet you still don't see the difference.

I think you mean his ignorance.. he wasn't being sarcastic silly, he looked shocked and worried that I might say something to him about using it. Do you even live in the States?

Every single one of the ethnic groups Barry mentions has slurs associated with it, yet he went with "Polack" alone. He could have just as easily said "Polish," since he used "Italian," "Jew," "Irish." That's a noteworthy insult to Poles everywhere!

Well this story was all over the news, so evidently many Poles and non-Poles felt it was newsworthy and a big deal.


Yes English language word "Polack" is from the Polish word "polak" and "Polack" has a harder sounding P and K sound which was used in a derogatory context during the 1960's and 70's TV shows where Polish people were slurred. It was part of that anti-Polish TV era of "Dumb Polack Jokes" which were meant to insult Polish people.


Well like I said in my first post, I give Marion Barry a pass as far as him saying the P-word maliciously. Its clear he was not saying the P-word to malign Poles. Ironically, he was using the word to sympathize with Polish people "catching hell" in the US.....which he is right about. His P-word comment was more said out of ignorance then anything else. But the story was newsworthy because most Poles and non-Poles thought an ex-mayor of Washington DC would know better than to use that word.

As for those unsophisticated Poles who use the P-word and parrot other Hollywood anti-Polish media messages like "dumb Polack" in an attempt to "co-opt them", that's no better than those Italians calling each other dumb waps or Jews calling each other hooked nosed Kikes or Blacks calling each other Niggers.

Is it so wrong for decent people to critique the crude language of others to raise the level of conversation? Or should we all just settle for crude unsophisticated language?


Yes......that's the point.


To your point, I have also heard white people say the P-word in a degrading way about Polish people, but I have ALSO heard white people and non-white people say it in a neutral way about Polish people.

But there are also people out there who use words like wop for Italians, Kike for jews, Nigger for Blacks in a non-deragatory way because they don't know better. Now MOST people know better then to use these terms for these groups because these groups have been vocal in the past, speaking out against these ethnic slurs about them.

Oh no, another thread trying to determine if "polack" is an insult or not.

After living 13 years abroad, nobody has ever once said something like this to my face, although I know they think it. Trust me, we know a lot of you don't like us. The Internet gives people this fall sense of 'guts'. Maybe you're the one guy who would do this, but I have a feeling you're not.

ShortHairThug and Patrick,I moved both of your posts.I don't want any one crying favoritism,ShortHairThug,I'm not going to show quotes as

both Know what was said.This is an interesting thread and has been pretty clean thus far,lets keep it that way,what do you say?

To quote my Saudi students, "No problem".

The funniest thing about this is that Marion Barry is a disgraced former mayor who was caught on tape smoking crack cocaine with a prostitute. And that was just the START. I think having him say anything is the biggest endorsement against repeating that thing there could be. Let him keep talking!

Thank you Patrick.

It just seemed befitting that with the word [i]insult[i] in the title of this thread, that a few may be tossed around.

Patrick,I know,I'm just trying to keep it civil.

Okay enough of the jokes. Yes you are doing your job.

You have an interesting point.

The only Poles I know who might be insulted if I called them a Polak are the women. They prefer Polka.