Quote:

themilum
Not sure I understand you. How was I "disregarding conventional meanings on the outside chance that it might offend?" I was surprised that a political figure would use a term that I thought had been used as a slur for decades and had therefore adopted this derogatory meaning as it's conventional meaning. It is hardly an outside chance or overly sensitive to be offended if someone uses a phrase that has often been used by others deliberately to offend. Given the wide variety available in the English language, surely a word or phrase without that connotation could be found. I would consider this simple courtesy not political correctness.

edit - I changed the above because on rereading it sounded rather strident and it wasn't meant to.



Yeah, Zed, you do that.

But in doing so you will fail to impart a small bit of history to the people that you feel you must protect.

I reached adulthood in the segregated South.
Never, I say, never, did I ever hear anyone refer to a colored child as a tar baby. Down South, you see, we love babies.

And, as well, back then no one would be so insulting to suggest to another human being (black or white) that he was incapable of making the distinction between a parable and an insult.

I think that this little tidbit of paternalism is a product of the North.

Too bad.