Ethnic Slurs in the English Lexicon

[Ericandblueboy]

44 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

An interesting note about Bill Belichick that I read about awhile back - apparently, he's of Yugoslavian descent, possibly Croatian:

Dec 9, 2017 - "Have We Been Pronouncing Bill Belichick's Name Wrong?" by Brent Schwartz on patriotswire.usatoday.com

Within his family, the name is pronounced something like "Buh-LIH-chick" (and I say this as someone whose maternal grandmother arrived on a boat from Zagreb, and had a last name of Bulic (Boo-litch).

Just don't *ever* call him a hunky, trust me - he'll plaster you. To Eastern Europeans living in Western Pennsylvania, or the Maryland-West Virginia border, that's as off-limits as the "N-word," and I'm not exaggerating - the only time I ever saw my mom give an eat-shit look to a stranger is when a guy made a perfectly innocent, friendly joke about it, not understanding the depth of insult that it represents.

I had to ask her later that night why her demeanor had completely changed - "That son of a bitch," she said, before explaining to me what it meant.

--- 

Just did a little investigative work: his grandfather was named Biličić, came from Croatia, and settled in Monessen, PA in 1897. 

It's spelled honkie.  Now you have to say white trash.

[DonRocks]

9 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

It's spelled honkie.  Now you have to say white trash.

No, honky (*) is different (and may derive from honky-tonk) - it doesn't have the same whip-ass connotations;  hunky and hunkies derives from "Hungary." 

Sorry to veer off-topic!

(*) Actually, now that I dig deeper, there may some overlap in etymology, but in terms of usage, they refer to completely different things: The former, as a fully justified (IMO) slur for all white people; the latter, as an unjustified slur for unskilled, Eastern European laborers (coal miners, etc.)

Regarding the term "cracker," I always thought that people mistakenly assumed it was derived from white, saltine crackers, and that the "real, more sinister" etymology was someone who cracked a whip - I just found out that both of us were wrong.

[Ericandblueboy]

2 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

No, honky is different (and may derive from honky-tonk) - it doesn't have the same whip-ass connotations;  hunky and hunkies derives from "Hungary." 

Got it.  Guess I didn't know any Hungarians as a kid.

[DonRocks]

I just moved this into a separate topic, because I think it's fascinating (I debated about whether or not to put it in the "Building a Wall" thread, but it's more topical here, although perhaps it should be in the History Forum under some sort of "American Culture" thread).

Please, please limit this to academic discussion only, and absolutely DO NOT type out the N-word, or any other similar pejorative which is so taboo that it shouldn't be repeated in civilized company. I question whether I should have even mentioned hunky, but I think it's interesting, and at the end of the day Judge Rockwell rules in favor of Freedom of Speech (within limits - if any, one, individual of Eastern European descent, who is genuinely insulted by the term, wrote me and asked me to remove it, I would replace it with "the H-word").

Don't be afraid to discuss things in order to instruct or learn; please do not discuss things in order to insult or demean. I lean towards being in the George Carlin camp when it comes to political correctness and words which are off-limits (although he may be more laissez-faire than I am - for example, I feel that I do not have the right to use the N-word, even in an academic setting; others feel it's okay, and that burying it will mean pretending it didn't happen - there is no one, correct stance). My attitude is also that if the object of a given word doesn't want it used, then I won't use it - hillvalley almost chopped my head off when I innocently used the R-word as an adjective ending with -ed (she works in a related field) about ten-years ago - I had *no idea* it had become so taboo, but I'll tell you this much: I learned my lesson that day, and haven't spoken or written it since. Hillvalley, if you're reading this: Thanks for telling me - I never knew.

Peace to all,
Rocks

[Tweaked]

Ginger-ism

[dcs]

"Are Leprechauns Racist?" by William McGurn on wsj.com. 

I know it is behind a pay wall, but when I clicked the X in the upper right in the box that says "Continue reading your article with a WSJ membership" the box went away and the article appeared.

The page is showing up differently when clicked on the link above.  Click through from the Mike Pesca Tweet to relive my experience.

[DonRocks]

12 minutes ago, Tweaked said:

Ginger-ism

Oh God, if you had *any* idea how much I was called Ronald McDonald, etc. Even my mom sometimes called me Freckle Face Strawberry! (We used to occasionally have Funny Face drinks in the house.) 

 <--- Probably wouldn't fly these days.

Having red hair now is an asset for children; when I was growing up, it was the worst thing in the world (or seemed like it). Matt loves his red hair; I hated mine.

[Tweaked]

13 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Oh God, if you had *any* idea how much I was called Ronald McDonald, etc. Even my mom called me Freckle-Face Strawberry!

Having red hair now is an asset for children; when I was growing up, it was the worst thing in the world (or seemed like it). Matt loves his red hair; I hated mine.

The struggle is real.  It's interesting, the use of the term Ginger has increased a lot in the U.S. recently, but I don't think many Americans know about its pejorative usage in England.  The gf's cousin has a red-headed son and she started talking about her ginger child and when I told her about Ginger-ism in England she was shocked.

[DonRocks]

3 minutes ago, Tweaked said:

The struggle is real.  It's interesting, the use of the term Ginger has increased a lot in the U.S. recently, but I don't think many Americans know about its pejorative usage in England.  The gf's cousin has a red-headed son and she started talking about her ginger child and when I told her about Ginger-ism in England she was shocked.

Yep, being "a ginger" was the ID of choice for Matt when he was growing up - the first time I heard it, I had to ask him what he was talking about. He had no idea (and maybe still doesn't) that it's pejorative in England. Context is everything.

 

[Al Dente]

Only a ginger can call another ginger, ginger.

(I'm very slightly ginger and my girlfried is definitely one)