|
On October 22 2015 23:31 Ketara wrote:
Well, among other things, that Merriam Webster notes that it's an offensive word when you Google it.
Don't really want to get into a discussion of whether or not it's offensive or how offensive it is.
+ Show Spoiler +Full Definition of ORIENTAL
1)
often capitalized : of, relating to, or situated in Asia
2)
a : of superior grade, luster, or value
b : being corundum or sapphire but simulating another gem in color
3)
often capitalized sometimes offensive : Asian
4)
capitalized : of, relating to, or constituting the biogeographic region that includes Asia south and southeast of the Himalayas and the Malay Archipelago west of Wallace's line
The third definition and the word "sometimes" in front of it.
The word cracker is sometimes offensive but I'm not going to stop buying things to put my cheese on.
|
On October 22 2015 23:30 Requizen wrote:
Anything is offensive if you're easily enough offended.
People nowadays get offended at the slightest non-offensive things.
|
True enough, it really comes down to the person hearing the term and being offended. There are plenty of people who are offended by way too much, and sadly in US culture there's now plenty of support for anyone who feels "abused" by a word to speak out against it and have people respect that. Behind it all there just needs to be a modicum of respect for your fellow humans, and part of that is not trying to intentionally piss someone off. If you say something that someone takes offense to, don't get defensive and try to argue why the term shouldn't be taken offensively by that person and instead just apologize and remove yourself from that situation with said person.
|
Yesterday there was this kid telling me that his SJW Theology professor deducted points for "not using gender inclusive vocabulary". The offending word? "mankind".
Madness.
|
When I was younger I used to really be in the camp that words always depended on context, that everything could be offensive in the right context and everything could be not offensive in the right context.
I still think, in a theoretical way, that that's true.
But over time I've realized that words actually do hurt people, sometimes unintentionally and by accident. And it's often much easier to just use words that aren't likely to hurt as many people.
There are people in the world who get offended by things on purpose for whatever reason, but they're a minority in comparison to the people who actually can get caught up in something they just rando heard in a conversation they weren't even part of and have a shitty day because of it.
|
I remember in grade 12 I did a summer English course to get it out of the way.
The teacher was a very progressive black man who would go on rants about Denzel's Oscar troubles and whatnot, and refer to his SO as his 'partner' so we had no idea if he was gay or not. Probably the point.
Anyway we had to read a story about a mixed race boy and in the story he was referred to as 'mulatto.' well apparently that term is offensive (but we had no idea) so after we all wrote our pieces on it and handed them in, the next day he reamed out the entire class.
That class was fucking hilarious though, I remember him giving an example of a sentence in relation to something (don't remember what it was, not important) and I quote, verbatim :
'the boy ran furiously down the garden path---no wait, a boy does not run furiously down a garden path---the boy ran furiously down the ghetto streets! '
|
mulatto is supposed to be offensive too?
99% of people dont even know that's a word how can it be offensive
|
I think most people in the US know the word mulatto?
We all have Archer to thank for that!
|
On October 22 2015 23:47 Dandel Ion wrote:
mulatto is supposed to be offensive too?
99% of people dont even know that's a word how can it be offensive
As a fellow Euro I can say that I've never seen that word.
Mulatto sounds kinda cool to me though, I'd be up for being described like that.
|
Back in high school, I did a speech on how things were and are getting far too politically correct. Granted, this was delivered to a predominantly white private school in Connecticut. Since then, I've adapted my position similar to these:
On October 22 2015 23:35 Zdrastochye wrote:
Behind it all there just needs to be a modicum of respect for your fellow humans, and part of that is not trying to intentionally piss someone off. If you say something that someone takes offense to, don't get defensive and try to argue why the term shouldn't be taken offensively by that person and instead just apologize and remove yourself from that situation with said person.
On October 22 2015 23:43 Ketara wrote:
But over time I've realized that words actually do hurt people, sometimes unintentionally and by accident. And it's often much easier to just use words that aren't likely to hurt as many people.
With the acknowledgement at the same time that, yes, there is a subsection of people who choose to get offended at everything they can and make huge issues out of things that would otherwise be minor pain points. And I think the majority of people are not intentionally dicks to each other and don't mind accommodating when it's reasonable. But, as usual, the vocal minorities on both sides make life hard for everyone.
|
first time i heard mulatto ('mulatte' in german) i thought it was a kind of coffee
i believe this to be understandable
|
More like have Nirvana to thank for that.
|
United States23745 Posts
On October 22 2015 18:59 Cixah wrote:
Happy Birthday OWB :D
Thanks 6ah! Time to enjoy the day, be lazy, and then go get real drunk lol.
|
I know it, but it's a literary term in French (mulâtre), deprecated and all. It's probably offensive in the same way nigger would be deemed offensive, because it was the term commonly used to refer to mixed-race people at a time when they and black people were still being looked down upon.
Talking about a "nègre" (literally the same as nigger, in the context of what it points at, regardless of how it's perceived) in France probably wouldn't be as offensive as in the US though. I'd want to say it wouldn't be offensive period, but I'm not sure and I do find it a bit dumb (I don't know the "recent" history of its usage in the US/English language, but here if you use nègre most people will first be surprised that you use such an out of fashion word, then maybe they'll find it offensive (I'm not sure whether it's because of the perceived meaning of the word, or because it's perceived as deliberately using an obsolete term to drill a point across)).
|
Honestly a big part of what changed my opinion on this shit was using a girls name on the internet and for it being privy to actual sexual harassment. Guys online are horrible holy shit.
It wasn't always that way. Ketara used to be a fine handle.
FUCK this bitch.
+ Show Spoiler +
|
|
|
Man, I made this name up for a d&d character when I was 14.
Then miss watertwat has to sail in and ruin everything.
And the worst part is I can't even hate on the show because its amazing
|
On October 22 2015 23:59 Ketara wrote:Honestly a big part of what changed my opinion on this shit was using a girls name on the internet and for it being privy to actual sexual harassment. Guys online are horrible holy shit. It wasn't always that way. Ketara used to be a fine handle. FUCK this bitch. + Show Spoiler +
My Vietnamese Garena League name is razorgirl, it's funny how many people PM me "grill?" after a game. Especially after I play support. That said, I take it as more of a dank maymay than harassment (harassment does happen though, I won't deny it).
|
I took an African American Studies class which was supposed to be about plantation slavery... then the professor (who wore a dashiki to class) flipped the curriculum on its head and made it about hiphop. I wrote my final paper on Macklemore.
|
On October 23 2015 00:20 ticklishmusic wrote:
I took an African American Studies class which was supposed to be about plantation slavery... then the professor (who wore a dashiki to class) flipped the curriculum on its head and made it about hiphop. I wrote my final paper on Macklemore.
he taught you how to not be picky
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT![[image loading]](http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25800000/Katara-katara-25848180-1800-1200.jpg)
