Political Correctness Needed

[pErvinalia]

The whole point about words such as nigger and abbo is the context in which they were used. Nigger in the US, and abbo in Oz were routinely used by hate-filled white racists in a deliberately derogatory way. Not using those words is a part of recognising that the people they were used to describe in those words were constantly being hurt by their use. Simple human decency should be enough reason to avoid that...

I agree completely with this. But the line creeps forward by the year. Here in the UK the term 'handicapped' was in common use twenty years ago. Now people turn pale if you use the word. You have to use the word 'disabled' at the very least if not something even more circumlocutory.

I understand what you're getting at, but seriously, who cares that you are being asked to modify language? Aren't there more important things in life to be worried about?

[pErvinalia]

The whole point about words such as nigger and abbo is the context in which they were used. Nigger in the US, and abbo in Oz were routinely used by hate-filled white racists in a deliberately derogatory way. Not using those words is a part of recognising that the people they were used to describe in those words were constantly being hurt by their use. Simple human decency should be enough reason to avoid that...

I agree completely with this. But the line creeps forward by the year. Here in the UK the term 'handicapped' was in common use twenty years ago. Now people turn pale if you use the word. You have to use the word 'disabled' at the very least if not something even more circumlocutory.

Yeh. It's creep creep creep.
My dad never used any word, other than nigger, for black people.
Back then, we used to tell him off, and try to get him to say negro.
Now, if you said negro, you'd get some pretty hard stares.

Aren't racists cute?!

[laklak]

I think the preferred term is "differently abled" these days. You aren't blind as a bat, you're "as differently visually abled as some individual members of the order Chiroptera ".

[laklak]

Hell, you can't even say someone has "a touch of the tar brush" or "there's a nigger in the woodpile" any more. You have to say "multi-racial".

[pErvinalia]

Bloody feminists!

[Rum]

The whole point about words such as nigger and abbo is the context in which they were used. Nigger in the US, and abbo in Oz were routinely used by hate-filled white racists in a deliberately derogatory way. Not using those words is a part of recognising that the people they were used to describe in those words were constantly being hurt by their use. Simple human decency should be enough reason to avoid that...

I agree completely with this. But the line creeps forward by the year. Here in the UK the term 'handicapped' was in common use twenty years ago. Now people turn pale if you use the word. You have to use the word 'disabled' at the very least if not something even more circumlocutory.

I understand what you're getting at, but seriously, who cares that you are being asked to modify language? Aren't there more important things in life to be worried about?

Well one could say that about 101% of what's discussed here. People just passing the time in the futile exchange of text on the internet.

We are clearly handicapped here..

[mistermack]

We are clearly handicapped here..

Oh right.

I thought I was just feeling a little queer.

[laklak]

ooo er missus.

[Rum]

Coming soon - you can't say 'Mrs.'

[JimC]

The whole point about words such as nigger and abbo is the context in which they were used. Nigger in the US, and abbo in Oz were routinely used by hate-filled white racists in a deliberately derogatory way. Not using those words is a part of recognising that the people they were used to describe in those words were constantly being hurt by their use. Simple human decency should be enough reason to avoid that...

All very good, except that if you just knuckle down to every sensitive soul who decides that they are now offended by words that used to be ok, you end up just like the sheeple that I've heard so much about.
Give these "offended" fuckers an inch and they take a mile.
And the same goes for the people who follow their lead. Bunch of sheeple.

I don't like being dictated to, as to what's ok and what's not, just by some poncy bastard who decides to instruct the world on what words are ok.

I make my own judgement, and as I'm not likely to meet any abbos, I guess I'll feel free to use the word. In a non derogatory fashion. Just like Rolf.
Turn me abbos loose, bruce, turn me abbos loose,
turn me abbos loose Bruce, now that they're no further use.

All together now :

An appeal to the sensibilities of Rolf Harris has little credibility these days...

And Rum, I know what you mean about the creep. I think there is a real difference between words that were genuinely used by hate-mongers to put others down, and words that someone has decided recently are non-PC like handicapped...

[JimC]

We are clearly handicapped here..

Oh right.

I thought I was just feeling a little queer.

As long as the height-challenged LBGT consents, I suppose...

[Tyrannical]

Nigger is just a bastardisation of the word for black in the romantic languages. Coon on the other hand is a bastardisation of the word barracoon which is Portuguese for a slave pen. Barracoon, barrel of coons.

[JimC]

You might be correct in the etymology, but the words are not "just" anything. They were, and still are by some, used with malice and contempt...

[Tyrannical]

The coon barracoon link is not very well known, even amongst some African American history professors. I considered mailing him once to tell him coon was not originally linked to racoon. Racoons have black faces and like to steal, so that's the source of confusion.

[pErvinalia]

The whole point about words such as nigger and abbo is the context in which they were used. Nigger in the US, and abbo in Oz were routinely used by hate-filled white racists in a deliberately derogatory way. Not using those words is a part of recognising that the people they were used to describe in those words were constantly being hurt by their use. Simple human decency should be enough reason to avoid that...

I agree completely with this. But the line creeps forward by the year. Here in the UK the term 'handicapped' was in common use twenty years ago. Now people turn pale if you use the word. You have to use the word 'disabled' at the very least if not something even more circumlocutory.

I understand what you're getting at, but seriously, who cares that you are being asked to modify language? Aren't there more important things in life to be worried about?

Well one could say that about 101% of what's discussed here. People just passing the time in the futile exchange of text on the internet.

We are clearly handicapped here..

Well any rigorous action requires discussion first. I think things like neoliberalism and neoconservatism are the biggest threat to our freedom and security. Worrying about substituting words is just a waste of time.