Started as a Lounge post, turned into a rant so I moved it here:

The Nighttime Driving Glasses thread is drifting, but it made me think of this as both these two topics/examples came up today.

The first was "colored". My father, who is certainly "old and out of touch" still refer to some people as "colored". Those people are his lifelong friends. Who still refer to themselves as colored. Because most of their lives that was the preferred term over Negros or worse. Now you're going to tell them it's a slur and can't be used?


The other sort of related topic was the word "Injin." It's the word Indian pronounced, or mispronounced with an accent. What makes that offensive? (People who said it that way are the ones who should be offended. lol)
I suppose it's simply because it was used in old movies, where they were the "bad guys", so people started to assume some derogatory connotation, rather than that the character spoke funny.

Dumb. And while I'm rolling and starting to rant... as dumb as people who say "Indian giver" is a derogatory term and offensive. Yeah it's a slur, but to the "white man" not the "red man". Idiots.

(Red man, another term in common use by white and "Native American" alike, but somewhere along the line someone decided it was bad.

(rolling eyes for Native American because, that became the accepted term because "Indian is wrong, since that's the name we gave them."
Which to me is like saying "Dave... it's wrong that I've called to Bill all these years, so instead I'm going to call you Bradly."

Words have no intentions good or bad, it's the user who speaks those words and their intent in the use.

quote:

Originally posted by spunk639:
Words have no intentions good or bad, it's the user who speaks those words and their intent in the use.

Agree. I don’t know why people get upset about words. Especially if they were acceptable before.

It’s all about intent not the words. People can use everyday innocuous words and that could be more confrontational than slurs.

Some people will just find things to get upset about.

quote:

When do slurs become slurs?

When someone gets their panties in a wad.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

When do slurs become slurs?

When someone gets their panties in a wad.

Exactamundo.

Queer is an interesting one.

Originally meaning "odd" it was used to describe anything that deviated from the norm. 1 red pencil in a box of yellow pencils? That's queer.

Got used to describe a homosexual as they "deviated from the norm" of society.

Went through a period where we could no longer say the word at all for it's perceived derogatory slang association.

Now is a preferred term by many homosexuals, but no longer allowed in polite company for its original use.

When ever you use your words in public you risk offending those you don't know personally.

It's that simple.
There's a time and a place to
Say everything.

It's with whome you do it that is the key.

Even with people you know,
Mom and Dad taught us that
Politics, religion, personal finances and sex are never discussed.
It's not polite.

Deportment has been pretty close to forgotten.

It's only important if you care about others opinions of you .

A guy on You Tube commented about people "jewing him down" on his firewood.

When I explained to him that the phrase has been considered pejorative for forty years,
He got all
FREEDOM OF THE Press, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS !!!!
On me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,

One way is when the word or phrase is used to demean or insult someone. Sped is short for Special Education. I remember in the 70s/80s that was in insult in school. But in a weird twist, I know some Millennial aged teachers, and they used that term now to describe some kids and the programs they need. When I mentioned that Sped is an insult, they had no clue.

But then again, I'm Irish. And we know what the POTUS thinks of Irish.
(middle finger emoji)

quote:

Originally posted by IrishWind:
One way is when the word or phrase is used to demean or insult someone. Sped is short for Special Education. I remember in the 70s/80s that was in insult in school. But in a weird twist, I know some Millennial aged teachers, and they used that term now to describe some kids and the programs they need. When I mentioned that Sped is an insult, they had no clue.

But then again, I'm Irish. And we know what the POTUS thinks of Irish.
(middle finger emoji)

When I was in Junior High School in Alaska, Special Education was a series of classes for the best and brightest students only. There were around 20 kids in the class and it was an honor to be there.

Retard has always been a slur, but now Retardation has become unacceptable. This sort of stuff is ridiculous. I actually had a college Course called Mental Retardation and the IQ classifications all used that word. Imbecile and moron were classifications many years ago as well.

In contrast making fun of how people speak and implying that Chinese have small penises is clearly a slur and over the line.

As mentioned, a word is a slur when it’s intended to be a slur.
But taking something to be a slur and objecting to it has long been a way of attracting attention and influencing others to someone’s will. This is something I came to realize some time ago, and every time I see an example it confirms my belief. At one time more often than not if someone complained about a word that was used to describe him or his group, it would just be dismissed with, “Oh, get serious,” and ignored.

Now, however, society in general has accepted the attitude that if someone claims to be offended for any reason it must be given the serious attention it’s intended to attract and apologized for. That gives the offended a moment (and sometimes much longer) of power over others by bending them to his will.

That’s also why what’s acceptable and unacceptable shifts and flows so freely today, including the concept that a word may be used by one group but not another. The need to keep track of what one may say continues to maintain the power of the self-styled arbiters over the majority (who permit and encourage it). And all of that is most important to and enforced most diligently by those who would otherwise have the least power and influence in society.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

That’s also why what’s acceptable and unacceptable shifts and flows so freely today, including the concept that a word may be used by one group but not another. The need to keep track of what one may say continues to maintain the power of the self-styled arbiters over the majority (who permit and encourage it). And all of that is most important to and enforced most diligently by those who would otherwise have the least power and influence in society.

Fight it by taking your cue from the government’s old war on drugs: Just say no, when someone complains about your speech. As in, “No, I don’t care that you’re bothered by it.”

quote:

Originally posted by tsmccull:
Fight it by taking your cue from the government’s old war on drugs: Just say no, when someone complains about your speech. As in, “No, I don’t care that you’re bothered by it.”

I usually say "here's a quarter. Call someone who cares."

That works.

IIRC it was the DC budget director who was fired years ago because he either used the word niggardly in a news conference or written report.

I remember that. Stupid.

As for slurs, give me a break. One guy posts in an accent and another guy busts his balls. It's a fucking joke. Relax.

We are going to lose this one because you now have guys accepting their rules as THE RULES.

ruh roh shaggy. I guess I can never again tell the joke about what you call a Japanese lady with one leg shorter than the other. Because slur, whatever.

Remember the United Negro College Fund ? Still around and still happy to be called Negro if you're donating to them ...

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Remember the United Negro College Fund ? Still around and still happy to be called Negro if you're donating to them ...

And how about the NAACP

National Association for the advancement of Colored People.

If you let the other guy make all the rules don’t be surprised when you constantly find yourself on the losing side.

quote:

ruh roh shaggy. I guess I can never again tell the joke about what you call a Japanese lady with one leg shorter than the other. Because slur, whatever.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Context is important. Telling that joke at the Japanese Embassy is probably not going to get laughs. Besides I have heard that joke and it is clearly not funny.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

ruh roh shaggy. I guess I can never again tell the joke about what you call a Japanese lady with one leg shorter than the other. Because slur, whatever.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Context is important. Telling that joke at the Japanese Embassy is probably not going to get laughs. Besides I have heard that joke and it is clearly not funny.

I've heard it a bunch of times and I think it's funny.

Kind of like what do you call a nun with only one leg?

Hopalong chastity. Same sort of thing.

People are way too sensitive these days.