quote:Mitchelson was also found to have roughly treated five different patients by pushing them on to a bed or chair and in one case slapping one on the head.
posted
Alternatively, it's a pretty bland descriptor along the lines of tall, blonde or long haired. They only become offensive when used with malice. In many cases, it is the commonplace derogatory mis-usage of a word (see origins of 'nigger') that turns it into anathema.
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posted
well it's not though, because it doesn't really mean anything beyond 'not white'. And I would wager that only white people would use the expression. It's just me then, but when I hear it, it makes me wince.
[ 16.02.2006, 11:52: Message edited by: Dr. Benway ]
quote:Originally posted by Skalski: In many cases, it is the commonplace derogatory mis-usage of a word (see origins of 'nigger') that turns it into anathema.
Not sure about this one. The word "nigger" was used "neutrally" to refer to black people by white people -- ie. it wasn't thought of as, or intended as offensive -- but that neutral use was within a social structure whereby those white people thought they were inherently superior to the black people.
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Benway, my understanding was that it's often considered to be a more polite way to say black / brown when describing someone. I didn't think it encompassed people of oriental persuasion, who are often considered 'not white' by virtue of being 'yellow'.
This is just my understanding of a certain kind of nomenclature, and not one that I subscribe to.
ETA: damn editing... must remember to quote for context.
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kovacs, I was referring to the origin of the word: coming from niggardly, which had no colour connotation.
A little research, however : "The word 'negro' stems from the same Spanish word for the colour black." shows I've been under the wrong impression. My mistake.
quote:Originally posted by Skalski: Benway, my understanding was that it's often considered to be a more polite was to say black / brown when describing someone. I didn't think it encompassed people of oriental persuasion, who are often considered 'not white' by virtue of being 'yellow'.
This post honestly does sound like it's travelled forward in time from 1973.
quote:Originally posted by Skalski: They only become offensive when used with malice.
Context is all. Anyone under the age of 70 who uses the term 'coloureds' is usually doing so to prove a point. If you don't believe me, ask yourself whether they'd modify their usage if a black or asian person was actually standing in front of them (see also: "chinky" for Chinese food, which I suspect is tucked discreetly down the back of the sofa, should someone who was ethnically Chinese actually be within earshot).
Samuelnorton famously uses the word 'negro' when talking about black people, claiming that it's "scientifically accurate" or somesuch. I think that tells you all you need to know about supposedly 'neutral' words.
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kovacs - quoting me out of context is poor form. Just because I am aware of how some people speak does not mean I either condone it or use such language myself.
quote:Originally posted by ben: (see also: "chinky" for Chinese food, which I suspect is tucked discreetly down the back of the sofa, should someone who was ethnically Chinese actually be within earshot).
Tyrone from Coronation Street just had a look under the bonnet of the above sentence and declared it beyond repair. Seems there's a misfiring subjunctive or something like that. Posts: 8657
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quote:Originally posted by Skalski: kovacs - quoting me out of context is poor form. Just because I am aware of how some people speak does not mean I either condone it or use such language myself.
Were you using "of oriental persuasion" as an example of what someone else would say, then? I thought that was your own expression.
Wasn't there some news story recently about a successful complaint of racism when a woman used the word "niggardly". Actually that word has nothing to do with blackness, as far as I know.
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Oh, don't be so touchy. I've not made any kind of faux pas that Prince Phillip could lay claim to. Oriental is hardly derogatory, now is it?
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'asiatic' is a good word to use if you want to highlight that somebody is of a south east asian appearance. For example (describing me) - 'his eyes have an asiatic quality because his mum is chinese'
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The biggest PR disaster Skalski now faces, it if Snorton turns up and says something along the lines of "Don't worry Skalski, mon ami there's nothing wrong with speaking as one sees fit and one can hardly keep pace with the constantly, perpetually, ever changing changes that continually alter, all the time, forcing us to keep pace with whatever jargon the ethnic minorities have decided to label as potentially offensive today."
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quote:Originally posted by Dr. Benway: oriental is kind of bad, yes.
My mistake. Apologies.
quote:Usage Note: As with Oriental, the use of Asiatic in referring to the peoples and cultures of Asia sounds conspicuously dated in contemporary American English, tending to evoke the prejudicial and offensive stereotypes of an earlier era. The preferred ethnic term is now clearly Asian. In most other contexts, however, as in Asiatic Russia or the Asiatic elephant, the term remains a neutral geographic descriptor that need not automatically be replaced with Asian. See Usage Note at Oriental.
posted
So it isn't just a joke that Benway is "Chinese"? I always thought it was a long-running gag based on the common knowledge that he wasn't -- in fact, I thought it was Fish-troll 'Sweet' who started the myth of Benway being Chinese. I suppose I assumed calling him "Ben-Wah" derived from that.
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I always thought it was a long-running gag based on the common knowledge that he wasn't -- in fact, I thought it was Fish-troll 'Sweet' who started the myth of Benway being Chinese. I suppose I assumed calling him "Ben-Wah" derived from that.
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