You People

Today at work someone was cluck-clucking about Ann Romney reportedly saying "you people..."

I asked who she had said it to. It sounded like she had said it to reporters. If so, I though, this didn't amount to much. Reporters aren't an oppressed group that people feel sorry for.

Since then, I'd heard she was answering a black reporter, which would raise the question of whether she meant "you reporter people" or "you African American people".

But, now it seems she didn't even say the offending phrase.

I'm still not sure why "you people" sounds so bad. If you said "you human beings" it wouldn't sound nearly so awful, would it?

It's a case of misquotation
with unfortunate connotation.