Letters to the Editor
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Uppity
First, Salon writers are critized for using the word "stewardess", now "uppity" had joined the banned list. Pretty soon salon writers will have to have their stories pre-approved by the Vatican. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "uppity" as follows:
Above oneself, self-important, ‘jumped-up’; arrogant, haughty, pert, putting on airs. Cf. UPPISH a. 2d. a. attrib.
1880 J. C. HARRIS Uncle Remus 86 Hit wuz wunner deze yer uppity little Jack Sparrers, I speck. 1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 Nov. 776/2 Grammy is living contentedly enough with an ‘uppity’ young creature named Penny. 1952 F. L. ALLEN Big Change II. viii. 130 The effect of the automobile revolution was especially noticeable in the South, where one began to hear whites complaining about ‘uppity niggers’ on the highways, where there was no Jim Crow. 1982 B. CHATWIN On Black Hill v. 28 He had a head for figures and a method for dealing with ‘uppity’ tenants.
b. pred.
1932 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Aug. 6/2 [She] could have plenty o' friends. The trouble with her is she thinks folks too common to bother with unless they're too uppity to bother with her. 1947 ‘N. SHUTE’ Chequer Board 68 They've been here alone too long, and they've got uppity. 1955 F. O'CONNOR Wise Blood v. 89, I reckon you ain't as uppity as you was last night. 1966 D. BAGLEY Wyatt's Hurricane i. 27 The Navy is trying to build up Cap Sarrat as a substitute for Guantanamo in case Castro gets uppity and takes it from them. 1973 P. WHITE Eye of Storm viii. 381, I came prepared to rough it... It's Dorothy who grows uppity if all the cons aren't mod.
Some of these examples are used in reference to African Americans; others are not. Last time I checked, Castro was not black. If it reaches the point where salon writers are afraid to use "uppity" and "stewardess" then I will have reached the point of finding better things to read.