Moments of Permanence - Wait, what?

From: ataxi.livejournal.com Date: March 30th, 2009 07:31 am (UTC) (Link)

The latter -- deliberate association between the working classes of England and the slave / servant classes of the colonies -- sounds most likely to me. Wasn't the use of similes such as "like a darkie", "like a nigger" etc. common in the past? Small step from that to a straight substitution (all speculation without facts of course).

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From: tevriel.livejournal.com Date: March 30th, 2009 03:33 pm (UTC) (Link)

See below for context. But this is 1839. Enfranchisement at that point had just expanded to take in the middle classes and perhaps some of the skilled artisans, but these *aren't* the rabble we're talking about.

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