Wednesday, June 15, 2005

All the cats that feel me say "ofay"

Posted by Mickey Z on 06/15 at 04:18 AM
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  1. you’re right about ofay not being a compliment…

    but I guess it was also used as a term of endearment by black jazz musicians for their white counterparts.

    term of endearment, or term of subtle derision.

    I am not sure how it fits in with the subject discussed in any way.

    Anyway, if the confusion ever gets cleared up I’d like to hear about it.  I am a pretty big fan of jazz and it’s history and I have never heard that word before.

    Posted by James from Puerto Rico  on  06/15  at  07:42 AM

  2. Did Dex really write you? He said he corresponded with you by email in his post. 

    It sounds to me like he’s trying to make a really clever backhanded compliment. In essence Counter punch’s unaffiliated hell raiser. lol Or at least that’s how I interpreted it. 

    Personally I think James Baldwin would of taken your site and writings in a broader context then Dex did.  ;)

    Posted by Luna_C from God only knows... I sure don't.  on  06/15  at  10:29 AM

  3. Do you know him, Luna?

    I guess he did write me. I have an excellent memory but I simply can’t recall e-mail exchange. At least, according to him, I was “classy” about it.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  06/15  at  10:38 AM

  4. No sorry I don’t.  I was just referring to him by his blog name. ;)

    Posted by Luna_C from   on  06/15  at  12:34 PM

  5. What someone thinks someone else might think of yet another person needs much more support for me to be able to get it. That would make interesting speculation in some circumstances, but it wouldn’t go any further. On top of that, I’m having too hard a time getting past the phrase itself, and the context in which I might say something like that, to extract any larger meaning.

    So, I’m baffled.

    Posted by Harry from   on  06/15  at  01:42 PM

  6. Hi Mickey -
    Well, it don’t look like no compliment - though, who knows?  We all “reinvent” various words and phrases, from time to time, perhaps we’ll not know till he defines it for us…
    I’ve had an odd week, too, here in the Left - which, in broad terms, is often neither a home nor a friendly place… Perhaps, it’s just another day here in the land of dissent. 
    I must admit, I’ve never once felt un-welcome, here at Mickey’s Place:  You’ve been wonderfully and unusually gentle with all of us.
    The Left, of course, like the middle and the right, lives and breathes in EliteLand, where norms of behavior and action have become so twisted, we must all be, to some extent, negatively affected. 

    As far as I can see, ofay means:  A guy whos door is always open, always has some good coffee brewing, some good tea steeping, and there’s always good, respectful conversation to be had…

    Posted by joe from Oregon  on  06/15  at  05:23 PM

  7. Thanks. Joe...and everyone else. I feel fortunate to have this site and to have lured in an interesing mix of regulars. When I was younger, I was very much into the zine scene and this site feels like that to me.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  06/15  at  06:56 PM

  8. Hi Mickey,

    I believe “ofay” comes from the French “au fait”, and it ain’t necessarily not a compliment, so to speak.

    See this thread:

    http://www.google.de/search?biw=771&hl=de&q="au+fait"+ofay&meta=

    Venceremos,

    Pat

    Posted by Pat L from Berlin  on  06/15  at  07:19 PM

  9. If the link doesn’t work, just google “ofay + au fait”.

    À nous la liberté,

    P.

    Posted by PatL from Berlin  on  06/15  at  07:23 PM

  10. Let’s assume, without actually knowing the author’s true intention, that “ofay” is indeed an insult. That still doesn’t explain why anyone (James Baldwin or otherwise) would read my essays on Counterpunch and call me that site’s “sweet little ofay cat.” What do the essays have to do with me being white (or sweet)?

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  06/15  at  07:23 PM

  11. Thanks, Pat…

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  06/15  at  07:24 PM

  12. Hi Mickey, when I heard “Ofay” years ago the talk was it was Pig Latin (foe). Slang for a White guy. Hadn’t heard it in years.
    Later.

    Posted by joe osorio from   on  06/16  at  12:50 AM

  13. I think he meant that James Baldwin would have liked you, although as I remember (and this may be accurate or not, as I read Baldwin a loooong time ago) Baldwin somewhere in an essay defined ofay with the pig latin “foe” definition.  On the other hand, Baldwin had an understanding of both races, as evidenced in “Another Country” which I re-read quite regularly.  I can almost recite the passages of Rufus’ suicide and the funeral oration.  “Sweet little ofay cat” is likely an affectionate reference to your kind manner.

    Posted by Lorana Tremper from Detroit, Michigan  on  06/17  at  11:24 PM

  14. Thanks, Lorana...nice to hear your voice.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  06/18  at  08:52 AM

  15. You’re most welcome.

    Posted by Lorana Tremper from Detroit, Michigan  on  06/19  at  01:07 AM

  16. <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif” size="-1" color="#000000">...both races?...yikes!!...
    [which 2 did u have in mind sweety?]
    sweet ofay cat: “naive” + well intending but essentially not particularly “with it”...but “really” trying “earnestlly”...know what I mean?

    ...both races? that’s..deeep yo...ahem...and that was AFTER reading baldwin a loooonnngg time ago huh?...

    ..anyway…
    ofay here so u get he context. ok?</font>

    Posted by [xL] from ny  on  07/12  at  02:09 AM

  17. Thanks, xL.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  07/12  at  05:11 AM

  18. “which 2 did u have in mind sweety?”

    The same two Baldwin spoke of in Another Country and other writings, although we all know today the concept of “race” is an artifical construct, with no bilogical backround.

    “ ...both races? that’s..deeep yo...ahem...and that was AFTER reading baldwin a loooonnngg time ago huh?... “

    The discussion was about Baldwin, and though I’m quite sure he understood culture and ethnicity in a much broader context, his work expressed a duality of race, much more often than more current concepts of cultural diversity, first vs. third world, or the genetic complexity we understand today.

    ...Sweety

    Posted by Lorana Tremper from Detroit, Michigan  on  07/14  at  11:45 PM

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