this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
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I just got up from conversation with a couple of older black men, that I said "well I got to go back to work and start cracking the whip." And it occurred to me then that it was probably a really insensitive stupid thing to say.

Sadly, it hadn't occurred to me until it's already said.

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[–] vivadanang@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

where does everyone stand on cretin? IMHO it's medical use is obsolete afaik, so really it's just an insult right?

[–] Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 year ago

I think it might have originated in the Bible. Paul says in Titus‬ ‭1:12‭-‬13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: 'Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.' This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith.

I always found it comical that Paul, the great apostle, endorsed this stereotype of the people of Crete.

[–] kboy101222@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I think it's medical and insulting use are obsolete lmao

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[–] force@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is a great list for ableist terms . https://www.autistichoya.com/p/ableist-words-and-terms-to-avoid.html I'm disabled in multiple ways and there were a few on here that caused me to re-evaluate my lexicon.

A list has limited use because language evolves, and so do people, and on top of that, context is everything — but it can be a good place to start

[–] nothacking@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago

Unfortunately, this keeps changing. Old slurs get recycled or forgotten, and new words become offensive. Corporate guidelines are often hugely overbroad to avoid offending anyone. The best way to avoid things like what just happened, by checking slang in a dictionary before using it.

[–] Kwakigra@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is a misled approach. Rather than trying to list out the myriad phrases in our language based on historical prejudice, it's better to just understand that prejudice yourself so you can determine what you want to perpetuate and what you don't. That being said this won't prevent something like this from ever happening again, and sometimes things you would never guess are rooted in white supremacy or other ism. No one knows the full extent of it themselves and no one is expected to know everything. If it happens on occasion and you realize it like this and avoid it in the future it's fine for most people. If you keep saying something you don't realize is messed up and stop when you learn it's messed up, that's also fine. It's only when it's obvious that you know it's wrong but you insist on doing it or get defensive about how it shouldn't be a big deal when it becomes a real issue.

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[–] ReallyKinda@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I tried to look but the most official one (from University of Washington) is kind of ridiculous. Following for better ideas.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

For years I used the term "shylock" as a pejorative for greedy people while being ignorant of the connotations of using the characters name that way. I didn't even know it was from a Shakespeare play.

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