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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Quote:
Do dictionaries exhibit bias by not mentioning the negative connotation of the term?
Maybe so, Jon. AHD4 and W3 both omit the pejorative sense; but OED2 covered it:
tar-baby, (a) the doll smeared with tar, set to catch Brer Rabbit (see quot. 1881); hence transf., spec. an object of censure; a sticky problem, or one which is only aggravated by attempts to solve it (colloq.); (b) a derog. term for a Black (U.S.) or a Maori (N.Z.) [E.A.]
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Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Dictionaries often mention that a word is considered pejorative or vulgar. For example in Merriam-Webster, common derogatory terms for various racial or ethnic groups are introduced as usually offensive or usually vulgar. "Honky" is defined as usually disparaging : a white person. Hillbilly is defined without editorial comment as "a person from a backwoods area."
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
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Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, racism is in the eye of the minority which perceives that it has been subjected to a pejorative term. To view this in any other way is to outright dismiss the views and feelings of others; that of course is racist in and of itself.
It is all too easy for those of us who are in the majority to say piously, "Oh, but we didn't understand that term to be racist."
Well, h**ky politician, now you do understand (because you have been told that it is so) that the person whose ox is gored is belittled by the usage. So stop using it already. To try to argue that it is not racist because the user did not intend to be racist is disingenuous.
I have no doubt in my mind that Romney did not understand the negativity of the term, so I think we should give him a pass on it. Once. It isn't exactly something that comes up in conversation on a weekly basis, now is it?
I actually had not realized how pejorative this was, as is evidenced by the fact that I recently had a picture of the tar baby on line here as my avatar. Or avatar-baby. I thought it was a cute pun, not realizing it was offensive. It' would still have been here if I hadn't come up with the current pun in my avatar.
I, as did Mitt Romney, plead ignorance; ignorance is curable. And we need to be understanding of the ignorant.
TEd
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
Interesting reoccurring topic this one. I have often heard the idea suggested that most racism or xenophobia is generated within the group against which it is apparently perpetrated, because they are the ones who know each other best. There seems to be this naturally tendency to speak in derisive terms of one's own 'group' (perhaps in jest), which in turn acts as a means to delineate the boundaries of the group/race/etc. This notion seems to be supported by the fact that I have received joke mails along the lines of 'You might be from [place name] if you .....'. Of course, this process flows in the other direction too - where derogatory terminology is adopted by the group against which it is directed - these words then have particularly ambiguous intent.
I wonder, however, whether the origins of some culturally/racially derogatory terms can support the idea of xenophobia from within.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Quote:
Quote:
The image of a Uncle Remus as happy is problematic because it doesn't just imply, it comes right out and *says* he's satisfied with life. He might as well be singing "I'm a slave and everything's great!" Disney's got a good reason to want to put it in a vault.
Well then, Jon, better stuff "Satchmo" Armstrong in Disney's vault too because his great smile and his deep laughter while under the boot of deplorable segregation is antithetical to those who you would allow a degree of happiness.
After basic necessities are met happiness comes from within and not from without.
Are all poor people unhappy? If not, maybe we should chide the happy poor people for their happiness and demand that they mope around in accord with their unfortunate lives.
Wise old Uncle Remus said nothing about slavery. But wise old Uncle Remus said everything about the joy of being alive.
Policing words and distorting reality is something best left to the Word Police among us - they, unlike good people (emphasis added), enjoy being unhappy and enjoy others being unhappy too.
I agree with most of this. except the last sentence with implied superiority and judgement. that's beneath you, Milo.
formerly known as etaoin...
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
I wrote... Quote:
Policing words and distorting reality is something best left to the Word Police among us - they, unlike good people, enjoy being unhappy and enjoy others being unhappy too.
So etaoin decided to write this...
Quote:
...agree with most of this. except the last sentence with implied superiority and judgement. that's beneath you, Milo.
Now Etaoin, just what do you mean "implied"?
Are you implying that I'm not a better person than the Word Police? And really, yankee Etaoin, are you really suggesting that I shouldn't use "judgement"? Wow!
Gee Etaoin, you have every right to morally judge what is "beneath" me, but when a small group of elitist protectors of other humans of whom they, by their paternalism, demostrate that they think them to be beneath them, then, yes, they are "bad" people and I am better than they.
You do believe that all men are equals and should be treated as such, now don't you Etaoin?
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Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
oy.
either I say nothing to that Milo, or I have to write a book. and I'm too lazy to write a book.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
veteran
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veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
Quote:
oy.
either I say nothing to that Milo, or I have to write a book. and I'm too lazy to write a book.
You doesn't have to write a book,
You doesn't have to call me mister mean.
But you do have to apologize for empathizing with the Politically Correct.
I'll return here in 10 days to view your message of apology.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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you joined them when you said you were better.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Quote:
But you do have to apologize for empathizing with the Politically Correct.
Ah yes. So much easier to be politically incorrect. All you have to do is find out how the PC think about something and then just do the opposite.
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