Realizing My Unknowing Insensitivity: A Reflection

[Manchot]

So, I just found out that a nickname I used to refer to my little sister by (and still occasionally do) is an ethnic slur for Hispanic people. I won't say what it is, except that it has to do with beans. In case you're wondering, the name was a corruption of the name of one of the characters from the television show Out of this World. I probably referred to her by that nickname for a good five to six years, and I feel bad that I can no longer say it.

 

[Cyrus]

What, you mean beaner? Carlos mencia's show makes fun of it all the time (He makes fun of everyone). He calls mexicans beaners and wet backs. :rofl: His show is awesome.

 

[Pengwuino]

What, you mean beaner? Carlos mencia's show makes fun of it all the time (He makes fun of everyone). He calls mexicans beaners and wet backs. :rofl: His show is awesome.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: got to love those beaners! as in me i guess.

 

[dav2008]

What, you mean beaner? Carlos mencia's show makes fun of it all the time (He makes fun of everyone). He calls mexicans beaners and wet backs. :rofl: His show is awesome.

You think Mencia's show is awesome and Colbert sucks?

 

[Cyrus]

Uhhhhhhh, yeah. Colbert sucks.

 

[Cyrus]

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/view?&h=105&w=140&type=msmedia&rurl=www.riotvideo.com%2FMind_of_Mencia%3A_Border_Jumper_Sign.html&vurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.riotvideo.com%2Fvideodir%2F812422761573897763.wmv&back=p%3Dmind%2Bof%2Bmencia%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dslv1-%26cv%3Dg%26x%3Dwrt&turl=re2.mm-so.yimg.com%2Fimage%2F1796892371&name=812422761573897763.wmv&no=13&tt=19&p=mind+of+mencia&oid=4e17923bf22f925c&size=8.7MB&dur=205

:rofl:

yeaaaaaaaah, Mencia funny. Colbert, no...not even close.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aERa-vBl6g8

:rofl:

 

[JamesU]

Mind of Mencia- sucks
Steven Colbert- Sucks

 

[Pengwuino]

yomamma - sucks

 

[Cyrus]

You're not old enough to get Mencia's jokes yet Yomamma.

 

[dav2008]

Or Colbert's jokes for that matter

 

[JamesU]

I get Mencia's jokes...The show was okay for the first few episodes, and it went WAY downhill from there

 

[DeadWolfe]

Mind of Mencia- sucks
Steven Colbert- Sucks

I'm inclined to agree

 

[wolram]

Why do you yanks like to (suck) on some thing that is nasty :rofl: oh and
that thing about (turdistan) was just so base, maybe some one should seek
a job on stage, it would be such a waste deny the public of this talent.:rofl:

 

[Rach3]

Stand up comedy in general - sucks.
Television entertainment - sucks.

 

[FredGarvin]

So, I just found out that a nickname I used to refer to my little sister by (and still occasionally do) is an ethnic slur for Hispanic people. I won't say what it is, except that it has to do with beans. In case you're wondering, the name was a corruption of the name of one of the characters from the television show Out of this World. I probably referred to her by that nickname for a good five to six years, and I feel bad that I can no longer say it.

Well, I can empathize. It's not as bad, but it took me a long time to realize just what my parents and grandparents were calling me all those years when they called me "their little bugger." (Brits help me out here)

 

[brewnog]

Well, I can empathize. It's not as bad, but it took me a long time to realize just what my parents and grandparents were calling me all those years when they called me "their little bugger." (Brits help me out here)

Disagree here, if 'beaner' is some kind of racist term (even if not very severe) it'd still be on a par with 'jock', 'taffy', 'paddy', and perhaps 'frog'. Haven't ever heard beaner before but I know plenty of people who would be offended (in a racial way) by the use of these four, but nobody who I couldn't call a bugger!

 

[Cyrus]

Ah man, this ones priceless, Wet back mountain.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TcvHbqQDyR4&search=WETBACK ENGLISH

 

[Astronuc]

Back in 1974, some friends and I used the term "beaner" to mean something like "egg-head", i.e. something like a nerd or geek, and actually it really meant "smarta$$."

We used the term "cleat" to refer to "jocks".

Then we used to insult each other with these and other terms. We even used the word "turkey" before it became mainstream in the late 70's and 80's.

 

[Moonbear]

Okay, I've never heard of "beaner" as a racial slur. I can't say I've ever heard anyone use that word for anything actually. It sounds like a perfectly good name for a little sister though. :tongue: I haven't heard it used as a term for a nerd either...just plain "bean" for that.

Brewnog, you're going to have to translate to American again. Here, "jock" refers to someone who is athletic but not necessarily very smart (usually said as, "dumb jock")...like a guy on the high school football team (that's American football...we all know the soccer players are smarter than them ) flunking out of math class. It's a stereotype, but not at all racial. What does it mean to you in Britain that it would offend someone in a racial way?

I don't know at all what "taffy" or "paddy" means. Taffy is a type of candy, and that's the only meaning I know of it. And, I've only heard of "getting tossed in the paddy wagon," which means getting arrested and carted off to jail. I have no idea of any other use of the word "paddy."

I know "frog" is what you call the French as a slur, but that wouldn't stop someone from calling their little sister a frog to imply she might be green and have a big mouth.

I guess with most of these terms, it's all context dependent. There are a few racial slurs that are words with no other meaning other than as a racial slur. I don't even know where or how most of them originated, but there is no other legitimate use for them, and they are best avoided. But, when a perfectly ordinary word is also used as a racial slur, as long as you are using it in a context other than as a racial slur, I don't see it as a problem. It's still not nice to call your sister names, but if you just made up the word without knowing it had another meaning, then it would be quite a stretch to accuse you of racial insensitivity for it...you're just being a mean older brother.

 

[loseyourname]

"Beaner" is a very commonly used ethnic slur in southern California, although it's not really something anyone takes all that much offense to. It's like calling a German a "kraut." Does anyone honestly care? In both cases, you refer to a group of people by a dominant side dish in their culture. Apparently this term isn't even used anywhere else, since no one has ever heard of it. "Wetback," on the other hand, is much more offensive.

 

[Danger]

Hi, Moonie. 'Taffy' refers to a Welshman, 'Paddy' (or 'Mick') to an Irishman, and 'Jock' to a Scot. (Unless Canuk culture has taken a different route than the Brits.) I have lots of blood of the latter two, and neither one is the least bit offensive to me. There's also Spanish in there, but most of the Hispanic epithets seem to be aimed toward Mexicans rather than people from Spain, so they don't apply to me.

 

[Kazza_765]

Well, just to avoid any further confusion, check this site out.

http://www.rsdb.org/

Who would have thought there would be so many racial slurs. But besides that, the background behind some of the slurs is kinda interesting.

 

[Gabrielle]

A former co-worker has a license plate "Lil Mex" but I don't understand how someone would find it offensive.