Oh, lord -- my friend's father said, after we finally got furniture in our apartment after a summer of sitting on the floor, "Now you're living like white people!" Um, OK.

I also discovered this weekend that my friend's fiance is racist, which was kind of dispiriting. Especially since she's not white. He had a problem with the woman at the desk and extrapolated to black women in general. I just said, "Well, there are a lot of crappy people in service jobs in general..." and kind of left it at that, but UGH. I am with you, Robin.

I don't think I've ever heard "that's mighty white of you."

"That's mighty big of you" or "that's might nice of you" but never "that's might white of you."

Unless someone said it and my brain interperted it as "mighty nice of you" keeping me from going ballistic on the person who said it.

I love "that's mighty white of you," but never have encountered it used unsarcastically IRL.

Robin, without knowing the guy I can't say if he meant the two things separately. Because if I recognise that talking back at the screen is a cultural thing for some people, and therefore don't want to make them stop, so somewhere for those who are doing it as a cultural thing and those who are doing it just because why the fuck not -- I'm down with it. As long as all black people don't have to watch movies there, and white folk aren't barred.

Sometimes I hate going to the movies where no one is reacting, and sometimes I hate going to the movies where everyone is talking back. And those things definitely aren't 100% racially correllated.

I think it depends on the movie and the reaction.

I mean, when the reaction makes sense with what's happening on-screen -- okay. But when it's completely extraneous (Rudy!) no.

Also, people just talking through the movie isn't the same as reacting to it.

And in movie-related news: that King Kong preview thingy? Was that tonight? Was it between 7:59 and 8:02 central? Or an hour later?

Because I attempted to tape it and got nothing.

(Meanwhile, I just caught the fluffy cat eating the gray cat's food. She is completely unrepentent.)

that's mighty white of you

I don't think I understand this. Is it supposed to be an insult on white people or condescending to non-whites.

I think there's a special hell for those who talk in the theatre.

Also, people just talking through the movie isn't the same as reacting to it.

Sure, but I've definitely been in theaters where the reaction to the previous scene spilled over so you couldn't hear the next few lines. Of course, sometimes that has been me laughing too hard to stop....

Is it supposed to be an insult on white people or condescending to non-whites.

It's supposed to be a compliment. On magnanimity.

It's supposed to be a compliment. On magnanimity.

(Boggles.)

Originally, it was a compliment. The usage then turned ironic. In truth, my college friend may have been saying it with irony, but knowing her, and going by (what I remember of) the way she said it (we're talking 20 years ago, probably), I also knew she'd never had it click in her head.

Here's a reference on appearances of the phrase and similar ones: [link] If the page is too wide for your screen, click on the 2nd-to-righthand button, and it should behave.