Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Memfrica

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This was nominated for speedy, but doesn't seem to be a candidate. Dic def neologism. Niteowlneils 14:19, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

  • I would speedy delete it. It's just another racial slur. We don't record and legitimize such hate speech. Geogre 17:16, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)
    • Actually, we've got a very large article about the word "nigger". -- Cyrius| 01:40, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)
    • And I'm glad we do. It's just these city-wide expressions of race hate and contempt that are always clever in that snarling way and proliferate like any other slang term are altogether too common and too ephemeral for me. I think Kevyn's case is not proven. He thinks it is. That's ok. These things are really, really common, and I don't think any of them are stable or widespread enough to be documented here. It puts us one step closer to cataloging mass forwarded e-mail jokes. Geogre 16:42, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)
  • Delete - Tεxτurε 20:45, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)
  • Ew. Delete. -- Cyrius| 01:40, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)
  • Merge and Redirect to Memphis, Tennessee. Kevyn 09:06, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)
    • Merge? Kevyn? Do we really want to indicate in the Memphis article that crackers call it "Memfrica" to make fun of how many Black people are living there? There are "funny" coinages like this in most cities. They appeal to a particularly shameful community. Before we'd even allow the least hint of this anywhere, I'd want some serious confirmation that this isn't one redneck's joke. I say this as a good old boy, too. Geogre 23:56, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)
      • OK, I just checked, and the article on Memphis already has Memphrica listed, in the section on demographics (61.41% of the population is African-American, hence the derogatory nickname). Seems like a logical and NPOV way of presenting the information, so I am changing my vote to just Redirect. Now, to jusify my position, let me say that I believe any common nickname for a place is encyclopedic, no matter how cheeky or offensive it is. (Full disclosure: I was the one who created the redirect Disgusta to Augusta, Georgia, and added info to the article on why Augusta has that appellation.) That having been said, is the term Memphrica in widespread-enough use to justify its inclusion? A couple of cursory searches suggests yes: At least one online dictionary lists the definition [1], and a google search reveals a couple hundred hits with the name, most of which seem to be referring to Memphis. Is it an offensive and racist slur? Absolutely. But is it NPOV true? Apparently so. Kevyn 00:24, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)
        • Um, that online dictionary you cite is a Wikipedia mirror. That's the only thing I really hate about having all those mirrors: there's potential for the echo chamber effect. I don't see the need to document racial slurs. Isomorphic 18:57, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)
          • Comment: D'oh! Right you are, Isomorphic. It is a mirror, and I apologize for not noticing that when I was assembling my evidence of notability of the term. I concede that it has somewhat reduced the validity of my claim of notability of the term, but it has not destroyed it, based on the number of uses I found on Google. I still claim it is notable. And I disagree completely with you on whether or not racial slurs are encyclopedic - I think they most definitely are. Kevyn 06:43, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)
    • I still don't like it, since the demographics speak for themselves, and putting in such an appellation doesn't help anything, IMO. In Atlanta, there were all sorts of "clever" racial slurs, too. I wouldn't care, personally, that all the Neil Borscht listeners used them, even though that might mean thousands. They are, given Atlanta's population, a tiny, offensive minority. Given the nature of the city and race relations in the city, the terms would be a positive misrepresentation. I have never lived in Memphis, but I have visited it, and I didn't get the impression that it was a particularly racially troubled town, so including this one particular fossil of the bellicose past seems to me to be unhelpful. I'm just one vote, though, and you have answered my objections. I just want to get my opposition on the record. Geogre 02:57, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)


Joe-[sorry have no idea how to use wikipedia] - Are any of you from Memphis? I am. Do you really think the slang term "Memfrica" was made by white people in Memphis? WRONG!! Black people in Memphis created it. It is not considered racist here by many blacks, as it is mentioned many times on our hip-hop radio stations. Also I believe triple 6 mafia[Memphis rap group] or one of their affiliated rappers has a song titled "Memfrica." Sorry that some of your are offended by this slang but we in Memphis for the most part aren't. It is one of those things you would just have to live here to understand.