Offensive Terms

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

Just out of curiosity @23melissa28 which "ORIGINAL reasoning for the term to be used" are you referring to? Because there seem to be mixed responses when to comes to origin

portentosa · May 2014

23Melissa28 said:

CarmAlarm said:
Just out of curiosity @23melissa28 which "ORIGINAL reasoning for the term to be used" are you referring to? Because there seem to be mixed responses when to comes to origin
It was used toward black people. It was used to address them, refer to them, it's what they were called. And equally offensive to that word, call an old black man "boy". They were both used to condescend, and demean black people.

That's exactly how @CarmAlarm‌ is saying hick and hillbilly are being used toward her students....so I'd say so are just as offensive.

Perhaps they don't seem as offensive as the n word because socio-economic discrimination is not seen as taboo as racism. ....yet, I would hope.

I'm going to second that mean words are mean and shouldn't be used.

MikeBeth1 · May 2014

I grew up in Alabama, and the word 'redneck' was used often. I've never personally taken offense because I don't pay attention to stupid comments from others. I think that often times, people use these types of phrases with no mal intent, which can be ignorant on their part, but I feel like no harm no fowl. That doesn't excuse them not educating themselves on social etiquette, but I feel like sometimes people just like to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

@23melissa28 That's absolutely ridiculous. Because someone wants to judge based on socioeconmic class and region, we can move to fix it? How about people just aren't bigots?

Besides, it ISN'T that easy to just pick up and move when you're in a region like this. The industries are next to none. The access to education is limited. Resources are scarce. If you have no money, education, or resources, it is going to be very difficult to remove yourself from a situation.

ETA: Even if moving was an option or something that someone even wanted to do, the words are still being used toward a specific region of people. Should we just shut down Appalachia so there's no one left to call names? And, I'd venture to guess, that if I went to San Fran, people would pick up on things I can't change like my accent and my birthplace and could still use that against me, if they wanted to.

What you're implying is that these people could ignore their heritage and their culture and their history.....that's just as offensive as saying black people should just forget slavery or Jewish people should ignore that the Holocaust happened.

trebekastan · May 2014

CarmAlarm said:

@23melissa28 That's absolutely ridiculous. Because someone wants to judge based on socioeconmic class and region, we can move to fix it? How about people just aren't bigots?

Besides, it ISN'T that easy to just pick up and move when you're in a region like this. The industries are next to none. The access to education is limited. Resources are scarce. If you have no money, education, or resources, it is going to be very difficult to remove yourself from a situation.

This is like telling someone to just move out of the ghetto if they don't want to be called a nigger, as if that would solve anything. Discrimination based on skin type is just as bad as when it's linked to socio-economic status. I don't get PP AT ALL

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

I can't agree to disagree on this, because it IS ridiculous. What about a teenager? Who has ZERO control over where they live or what tax bracket they're in. They can't help this anymore than a person can help their race.

Or if you don't want to be called a cunt or a bitch, just change your opinions.

You are placing blame on the PEOPLE being called these names rather than on the idiots saying them. It is EQUIVALENT to saying that if a black person doesn't want to be called a nigger they should just do _________ instead of telling the person who said it not to say it.

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

23Melissa28 said:

Mkay, well, when I read this post, I thought it was a "what is your opinion" type of deal. Clearly, there was only one right answer to this post. Shrug. Oh well.

No, lots of people agreed with you on it not being as offensive. But your reasoning that they could just move is flawed and offensive in and of itself.

And, if anyone is interested, the three most vulgar or offensive terms according to one study I read (I'll have to re-find it) were 1. Cunt 2. Motherfucker 3. Fuck

None of which apply to an entire group of people. I didn't realize the number of people it applies to is what makes something more or less offensive.

trebekastan · May 2014

So if a black person called me a "cracker", which originated during slavery as a term for those that "crack the whip", would it be the same because it is a general term for a whole race of people; or not because I'm not black and, therefore, can never be as offended as if I was and was called a "nigger"?

mrsdanielleM2010 · May 2014

23Melissa28 said:

trombgirl said:

23Melissa28 said:

CarmAlarm said:
Just out of curiosity @23melissa28 which "ORIGINAL reasoning for the term to be used" are you referring to? Because there seem to be mixed responses when to comes to origin
It was used toward black people. It was used to address them, refer to them, it's what they were called. And equally offensive to that word, call an old black man "boy". They were both used to condescend, and demean black people.

That's exactly how @CarmAlarm‌ is saying hick and hillbilly are being used toward her students....so I'd say so are just as offensive.

Perhaps they don't seem as offensive as the n word because socio-economic discrimination is not seen as taboo as racism. ....yet, I would hope.

I'm going to second that mean words are mean and shouldn't be used.

See, I guess I just simply don't agree. I feel like, if the negative term being used toward a person, derives from an area or region in which they live (and can move away from), versus someone's race or skin color (something that cannot be changed), I don't see it as offensive.

If someone calls you a hillbilly because if where you live, and then you move to San Diego, you can now no longer, in theory, be called a hillbilly. If you call a black person a nigger, that person is still black no matter what. That's my point.

This brings me back to a question I raised earlier in the thread - which nobody has yet addressed. Why is it important to rank what is more or less offensive? Shouldn't the fact that something is offensive to people - whether I think it should be or not and whether it's based on race, location, or anything else - be enough to get any decent person to say "ok, I won't use those hurtful words anymore" ?

Djcieply · May 2014

mrsdanielleM2010 said:

Just out of curiosity @23melissa28 which "ORIGINAL reasoning for the term to be used" are you referring to? Because there seem to be mixed responses when to comes to origin
It was used toward black people. It was used to address them, refer to them, it's what they were called. And equally offensive to that word, call an old black man "boy". They were both used to condescend, and demean black people.
That's exactly how @CarmAlarm‌ is saying hick and hillbilly are being used toward her students....so I'd say so are just as offensive. Perhaps they don't seem as offensive as the n word because socio-economic discrimination is not seen as taboo as racism. ....yet, I would hope. I'm going to second that mean words are mean and shouldn't be used.
See, I guess I just simply don't agree. I feel like, if the negative term being used toward a person, derives from an area or region in which they live (and can move away from), versus someone's race or skin color (something that cannot be changed), I don't see it as offensive. If someone calls you a hillbilly because if where you live, and then you move to San Diego, you can now no longer, in theory, be called a hillbilly. If you call a black person a nigger, that person is still black no matter what. That's my point.
This brings me back to a question I raised earlier in the thread - which nobody has yet addressed. Why is it important to rank what is more or less offensive? Shouldn't the fact that something is offensive to people - whether I think it should be or not and whether it's based on race, location, or anything else - be enough to get any decent person to say "ok, I won't use those hurtful words anymore" ?

I think it just comes down to ignorance, people just dont actually know what the terms mean. If someone using those terms were confronted by a person that was actually offended by the word or just knew what the word meant and explained "so you are calling me a uneducated, imbred, poor person? Because thats what the term really means" in reference to the word hillbilly. They would probably say "No, i just meant you like living in the country and like the simple life" those people need to be made aware that those words dont mean what they think they mean and maybe they would quit using them.

Most people know what the n-word means and thats why people find it more offensive, they know its an insult.

Dawson56 · May 2014

Like I mentioned in my previous post, this opinion is coming from a black female. So I'm from NJ, live in ATL and went to Auburn. At Auburn & ATL, I have heard the term "Yankee" many times and not referred to in a positive light. Yes I'm offended when I hear the term but not nearly the same way I am when I've been called the a nigger by white person. Being called a Yankee, is because of where I was born and raised. Not until I open my mouth does that give people the right to judge me and determine that I'm from jersey. But being black, I am who I am. I could be poor or wealthy, educated or uneducated, and some people will always judge based on the color of my skin. Yes wrong is wrong. And like I said, I don't use terms that are derogatory because it's ignorant. But being a black person and being someone that's been called a name because of the region that I'm from, being called a nigger stings like you can't even imagine. My husband and I are raising our daughter not to hate and I will raise this little one the same way, but the fact of the matter is that there are hateful and/or ignorant people in the world.

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

ravelleb56 said:
Like I mentioned in my previous post, this opinion is coming from a black female. So I'm from NJ, live in ATL and went to Auburn. At Auburn & ATL, I have heard the term "Yankee" many times and not referred to in a positive light. Yes I'm offended when I hear the term but not nearly the same way I am when I've been called the a nigger by white person. Being called a Yankee, is because of where I was born and raised. Not until I open my mouth does that give people the right to judge me and determine that I'm from jersey. But being black, I am who I am. I could be poor or wealthy, educated or uneducated, and some people will always judge based on the color of my skin. Yes wrong is wrong. And like I said, I don't use terms that are derogatory because it's ignorant. But being a black person and being someone that's been called a name because of the region that I'm from, being called a nigger stings like you can't even imagine. My husband and I are raising our daughter not to hate and I will raise this little one the same way, but the fact of the matter is that there are hateful and/or ignorant people in the world.

I really wouldn't consider yankee the same. It's origins are not derogatory. We have the New York yankees and Yankee Doodle is still sung in schools. Damn yankee? Sure. But that can be added to anything to make it offensive (damn Brits , damn Americans etc)

I'm referring to terms that have always had a derogatory meaning.

Dawson56 · May 2014

CarmAlarm said:

ravelleb56 said:
Like I mentioned in my previous post, this opinion is coming from a black female. So I'm from NJ, live in ATL and went to Auburn. At Auburn & ATL, I have heard the term "Yankee" many times and not referred to in a positive light. Yes I'm offended when I hear the term but not nearly the same way I am when I've been called the a nigger by white person. Being called a Yankee, is because of where I was born and raised. Not until I open my mouth does that give people the right to judge me and determine that I'm from jersey. But being black, I am who I am. I could be poor or wealthy, educated or uneducated, and some people will always judge based on the color of my skin. Yes wrong is wrong. And like I said, I don't use terms that are derogatory because it's ignorant. But being a black person and being someone that's been called a name because of the region that I'm from, being called a nigger stings like you can't even imagine. My husband and I are raising our daughter not to hate and I will raise this little one the same way, but the fact of the matter is that there are hateful and/or ignorant people in the world.
I really wouldn't consider yankee the same. It's origins are not derogatory. We have the New York yankees and Yankee Doodle is still sung in schools. Damn yankee? Sure. But that can be added to anything to make it offensive (damn Brits , damn Americans etc)

I'm referring to terms that have always had a derogatory meaning.

You were the one that said that derogatory is derogatory. So for you to say that me being offended by the term "yankee" is not the same as "hillbilly" then why can't I say "hillbilly" is not as offensive as "nigger". My argument is not what is more or less offensive. I can't determine that what people take offense to, hence the reason I don't use derogatory terms all together. But for you to tell me that the term that I take offense to is less than a term that you might take offense to, makes me realize that this argument is null and void. People have the right to be offended by whatever term they deem offensive. Period. Regardless of where the term Yankee comes from, it's offensive to me. Your argument appears to have just gone up in smoke. Just my opinion.

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

I didn't say it WASNT offensive. I said my concern in previous posts was comparing what I consider to be comparable terms due to their nature and invention.

Again, I think we've all agreed here to not say things that are offensive to one another.

I didn't say yankee was LESS offensive, I said it didn't apply to what I was talking about. You, on the other hand, DID say that nigger was a more offensive term: you are the one quantifying the offensiveness , not me.

Eta: I see you're prob referring to the damn yankee brig offensive. What I mean is that I would say THAT is something with an origin as being offensive so it would fit with the historical aspect that was mentioned earlier. Wasn't meaning to imply that yankee couldn't offend you

Dawson56 · May 2014

Didn't say it was more offensive in general. What I did say that "I" was more offended by nigger (because of my race) than Yankee (because of where I'm from) when I have been called both. What I also did say was that it is not for me to judge and determine what others should be offended by, "people have the right to be offended by whatever they deem offensive." You have completely missed my point. "I" as in me, have been called names because of my race and because of where I'm from and "I" am more offended by the one regarding my race. That doesn't negate my neighbor that may take more offense to the term directed to where they are from. All I'm saying is that people rank in their minds what they find offensive and unfortunately these terms will never be seen as equal across the board by all. Offensive is offensive. Never did I say which was more offensive. What I was simply saying was how do you tell me Yankee is less than hillbilly, when one doesn't have the right to tell you that hillbilly was less than nigger? Not that I agree or disagree, it was just a question? You say they aren't the same, ok. Yankee and hillbilly have their similarities as well as their differences, as do hillbilly and nigger. They also have their smilarites as well as their differences. That's all. Just my two cents.

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

Sigh....I never said you weren't allowed to be offended. Or that it was "lesser". I said it was a different category of term. Category has zero to do with level of offensiveness to you, or in general.

Dawson56 · May 2014

CarmAlarm said:
Sigh....I never said you weren't allowed to be offended. Or that it was "lesser". I said it was a different category of term. Category has zero to do with level of offensiveness to you, or in general.

Well I sigh as well. You think that Yankee and hillbilly aren't in the same category the same way that I think that hillbilly and nigger aren't in the same category. All are extremely offensive, but we just don't agree that the terms aren't in the same categories.

MMason12 · May 2014

I was hoping when I opened this thread that this would be toss out terms you find offensive. :-(

My original thought was I cannot stand it and get super upset when people call my husband "My Baby Daddy" or me "Baby Mama". NO, NO, NO! He is the Father of my Child and I am the Mother of his Child.

bumpuser10199668 · May 2014

@mmason12 Yeah, those terms seem trashy to me. My stepbrother has 2 children with 2 different women, and I hear this term used frequently for all parties involved

AmandaR204 · May 2014

I think any word that stereotypes or negatively describes a group of ppl can be offensive.

MMason12 · May 2014

CarmAlarm said:

@mmason12 Yeah, those terms seem trashy to me. My stepbrother has 2 children with 2 different women, and I hear this term used frequently for all parties involved

@CarmAlarm - Yes, exactly! Those are the situations that those terms are mostly commonly used. I equate the term baby daddy to sperm donor and cannot stand it when people call my husband that. :-(

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