slurs and objectivity

Often you are walking down a street and you see a person, say a Pakistani, and you say he is a Paki(and you are not a Pakistani), it might be taken as a racial slur

Often in African Americans, the rap music pioneers routinely use the "N" word in conversation and it is considered kool, however if a non African American uses that word it is taken as a racial epithet

Today a jury convicted MSG(a famous sports franchise owners) and Isiah Thomas(the Coach and GM of Knicks) of sexually harrassing a female worker of calling her a "ho" and a "B" bitch terms that are supposed to be ok in the African American world(along with other things, like he tried to kiss her etc)

The key thing here is she was rewarded punitive damages worth 11.6 million dollars for that

more details --> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/sports/basketball/03garden -cnd.html

(courtesy NY Times)

Question for debate

Do the defination of offensive terms change across the borders of minority/majority?

Is the price of using a epithet like that 11.6 million dollars?

Do you think it should be ok for person of one community to use a word freely and when someone else uses it, they can be branded as racists?

Originally posted by: sareg

Do the defination of offensive terms change across the borders of minority/majority?

It shouldn't but I guess it does. African-Americans use 'N' word among themselves but if someone else, esp. a Caucasian uses such a word then that they will create a huge hullabaloo. This is also the case of most ethnic community who makes a huge deal and cry racism at small instances. The recent one is 'Inept Filipino Doctor' dialogue in DH by Susan😆.

Is the price of using a epithet like that 11.6 million dollars?

In US, lawsuits are a bit of mockery at times. This comes under that 😊.

Do you think it should be ok for person of one community to use a word freely and when someone else uses it, they can be branded as racists?

Often it has confused me. For e.g.: if you take Pakistani forum of IF then many there use the word 'Paki' liberally but once when someone else used the same word, she got a warning posted. If it is a racial word then it should be made clear and those who are ignorant about it should be told. It is not Ok to use racial words at all.

Personally, I don't like any nicknames like Gujju, Mallu, Punju, Madrasi, Chinki, Gulti, Dehati, etc.. I might have used them few times😳 but I take extreme care not to. These are not derogatory terms but I still don't like it.

Do the defination of offensive terms change across the borders of minority/majority?

Yes. Ideally, it shouldn't but it so does. Well that's almost like Indians belittling India while talking amongst them, but when someone says anything, we all bring out our patriotic swords.

Is the price of using a epithet like that 11.6 million dollars?

And we say, people rip each other off in India...😆

Do you think it should be ok for person of one community to use a word freely and when someone else uses it, they can be branded as racists?

It should not be ok, but that is very much the way it is, whether we like it or not. Many a times, there are things we know to be true deep in our heart, but we don't like it when someone outs it out there for us and we brand them racists. If we talk about African Americans, the majority that I have met is uneducated. There are so geniuses from that race as well, but from where I have seen... there are not too many of that. But if I say that their race is uneducated, I will be branded racist even though it hold true for my area. But for words like Paki, Gujju, Mallu etc, there should be no exceptions if you use it yourself since they are not derogatory.

Originally posted by: sareg

Question for debate

Do the defination of offensive terms change across the borders of minority/majority?

Is the price of using a epithet like that 11.6 million dollars?

Do you think it should be ok for person of one community to use a word freely and when someone else uses it, they can be branded as racists?

Moral of the story - If you are a celebrity or employer , it is not ok to use words or terms that can be construed as slurs.

Originally posted by: lighthouse

Moral of the story - If you are a celebrity or employer , it is not ok to use words or terms that can be construed as slurs.

😆 so true.. that is why Shyam and shyama words came in existence 😆

Originally posted by: SholaJoBhadkey

Unless a term is outrightly abusive, no epithet is offensive on its own. It's the context, the connotation and the insinuation that decide the "slur meter" of a term. We keep referring to ourselves as Desis, Mallus, Pakis etc and have a laugh; however, if the same word was used to insult us, we would be up in arms. For that matter, even a perfectly normal word like Indian when said in a wrong way can be deemed offensive. We need to make better use of our judgement to sift the chaff, and decide whether someone is being racist or not.
As for the price being paid - American lawsuits are a joke - the mantra being "money ke liye kuch bhi karega"!

I completely agree with you... We also do have to look at the changing social values and mores of cultures and societies today. Plus American lawsuits are hilarious to hear about... There was this one lady, and she went to commit suicide on a subway track. The subway comes and injures her fatally. She sues the subway company and gets 9 mill... Its really sad at times...

Originally posted by: sareg

Often you are walking down a street and you see a person, say a Pakistani, and you say he is a Paki(and you are not a Pakistani), it might be taken as a racial slur

Often in African Americans, the rap music pioneers routinely use the "N" word in conversation and it is considered kool, however if a non African American uses that word it is taken as a racial epithet

Today a jury convicted MSG(a famous sports franchise owners) and Isiah Thomas(the Coach and GM of Knicks) of sexually harrassing a female worker of calling her a "ho" and a "B" bitch terms that are supposed to be ok in the African American world(along with other things, like he tried to kiss her etc)

The key thing here is she was rewarded punitive damages worth 11.6 million dollars for that

more details --> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/sports/basketball/03garden -cnd.html

(courtesy NY Times)

Question for debate

Do the defination of offensive terms change across the borders of minority/majority? Yes.. if a minority uses its, its ok.. majority should never use it... A girl can crack womens jokes but it a man cracks them its definitely offensive thats how it is....

Is the price of using a epithet like that 11.6 million dollars? Good for her... add one more to american absurdity....

Do you think it should be ok for person of one community to use a word freely and when someone else uses it, they can be branded as racists? yes its a black calls a black gal a ho.. its fine... but if a white uses that word its definitely offensive.. our sensitivities are built within our comfort zones.. how many of us think legal action against our family members for actions they would raise a ruckus against strangers....wife burns the food its ok... hotel chef burns it... call the manager...😊