# Disgusting euphemisms **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682 "2004-03-05T11:41:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/41 "2004-03-05T23:04:47Z")
I swear I once overheard someone say that a recently deceased relative had been “taken home by the Lord.” ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/42 "2004-03-05T23:36:51Z")
I see nothing wrong with either the term “black” or “white” just as long as they are used as adjectives, not nouns. It should be black people or white people, not blacks and white. People are not the color of their skins. The only advantage to African-American is that it is a noun, but it’s a lot less accurate than describing someone as a black American, or a black Frenchman, or a black African. As far as the handicapped/disabled/whatever label goes, I’m pretty unconcerned about it either way. Because I can’t see very well, I’m able to use the RAMP system in my area, or the Regional Access Mobility Program. It’s a cute name for what I prefer to call the crip bus, but whatever floats your boat, I guess. If someone called me “handicapable” though, I’d do my best to beat them to death with my white stick. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/43 "2004-03-06T00:08:24Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > What people are telling you this? I don’t use the phrase African American and I’m quite a lovely shade of brown. It is highly unlikely you’d be branded a racist for using the term black. At the very worst, you could possibly be accused of being culturally insensitive and that’s a far cry from racist. To the people who would accuse you of being culturally insensitive for using the term black, well, fuck 'em. > Juanita ‘Black’ Tech I was once thrown out of a luggage store when retelling a story about a black man who just happened to be a crackhead. He objected to me calling him black(this guy was asian), and started a huge ruckus which in turn caused my friend, the manager to ask both my brother and I to leave. All that for relaying a humerous Las Vegas panhandler story. I’m still pissed off about the incident! Sam ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/44 "2004-03-06T00:12:13Z")
saying “black people” or “white people” instead of “white” or “black” is redundant and smacks of “you people” Isn’t John Kerry’s wife “African American” despite being Portugez? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/45 "2004-03-06T00:41:01Z")
> [@Tars Tarkas](#): > > saying “black people” or “white people” instead of “white” or “black” is redundant and smacks of “you people” I’m gonna have to say I don’t see the redundancy. There are plenty of black things that aren’t people, as there are plenty of people who aren’t black. We’re not talking about round circles here. As far as the “you people”, “black people” is a phrase that, well, could be used by a black person to describe black people, while “you people” is not. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/46 "2004-03-06T00:46:30Z")
Daniel Igali is a Nigerian-born freestyle wrestler who defected to Canada and then went on to win the Sydney (2000) Olympics at his weight class. He was described as the first African-American Canadian to win an Olympic wrestling Gold. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/47 "2004-03-06T00:59:34Z")
The idea of calling folk African-Americans does have a point to it. It’s to emphasize that there is a cultural distinction to them, beyond the color of their skin. Compare it to Italian-American, Jewish-American, or Mexican-American. Now, Africa obviously has many different cultures within it, but the idea is that those Africans who were forced into slavery here and their descendents developed a culture that is a common link between most black Americans. Feel free to poke holes in this viewpoint, but that’s what Jackson was trying to say. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/48 "2004-03-06T01:11:22Z")
[Smart-Ass] Can I call myself a “Native American”? My family’s been in American for about 150 years. Doesn’t that make me a native of America? [/Smart-Ass] I actually should use **Metacom’s** suggestion of Mutt. My ancestors are from England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Norway. My kids have all that plus my husband’s Italian, Greek and German heritage. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/49 "2004-03-06T01:18:29Z")
> [@Bill Door](#): > > I’m gonna have to say I don’t see the redundancy. There are plenty of black things that aren’t people, as there are plenty of people who aren’t black. We’re not talking about round circles here. Context would explain what they were talking about. It is a waste of time to add in an extra word. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/50 "2004-03-06T01:19:26Z")
And I’m a faggot or a queer. Don’t try to find polite ways to say this fact and sure as fuck don’t tell people I’m “that way”. It’s a technically correct label and the fact that people sometimes use it as abuse isn’t gonna scare this fag off it. Besides, it defangs things so beautifully to just say “Yup!” when someone throws them at you. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/51 "2004-03-06T01:39:37Z")
And I’m a faggot or a queer. Don’t try to find polite ways to say this fact and sure as fuck don’t tell people I’m “that way”. It’s a technically correct label and the fact that people sometimes use it as abuse isn’t gonna scare this fag off it. Besides, it defangs things so beautifully to just say “Yup!” when someone throws them at you. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/52 "2004-03-06T01:46:41Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > …It is highly unlikely you’d be branded a racist for using the term black. At the very worst, you could possibly be accused of being culturally insensitive and that’s a far cry from racist… To me, “culturally insensitive” sounds like an euphemism for “racist”. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/53 "2004-03-06T02:12:51Z")
> [@Priam](#): > > And I’m a faggot or a queer. Doesn’t that make you a _wink wink nudge-nudge_ “confirmed bachelor”? Kidding! I’m kidding! ---
**Author:** ![rkts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@rkts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rkts)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/54 "2004-03-06T02:17:09Z")
> [@Bill Door](#): > > I see nothing wrong with either the term “black” or “white” just as long as they are used as adjectives, not nouns. It should be black people or white people, not blacks and white. People are not the color of their skins. True, but saying a person “_is_ black” – referring to whole person as simply _black_ – puts no less priority on the color of their skin. Calling them “a black” is simply a shortening. The creation of a noun from an adjective is very common and is responsible for countless everyday words: a blond is one who is blond, a president is one who presides (-ent being the equivalent of -ing), an accountant is one who accounts (-ant also), an official is one who holds office. If you really wanted to maintain the triviality of skin color you would say “he is a person with black skin.” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/55 "2004-03-06T02:59:23Z")
I won’t pretend to speak about terminology in the United States, but in the case of “Indian” here in Canada, we have a bit of a situation. “Indian” is still probably the most common colloquial term, but one would hope that saying “First Nations” would at least have the blessing of the [Assembly of First Nations](http://www.afn.ca/). ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/56 "2004-03-06T03:49:53Z")
So what are you trying to say, **Priam**? Are you “differently oriented”? … ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/57 "2004-03-06T05:23:36Z")
> [@cheddarsnax](#): > > So what are you trying to say, **Priam**? Are you “differently oriented”? > … …differently _orientated_. Get it right. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/58 "2004-03-06T05:36:33Z")
After sitting through two hours of Margaret Cho live, I am officially feeling like a BIIIIG HOMO! Gawd it felt like a gay pride parade for the fag quotient of things (really hawt ones, too, so I ain’t complaining). Sitting there with my mother was even better, but that’s a story in and of itself. I am not differently-oriented. I am not heterosexually challenged. I am not homosexually enhanced. I AM A BIG OLE QUEER BITCH! WOO WOO! Because, in my experience, the delicate phrases aren’t about defending my sensibilities. They’re about defending the speaker’s. And, quite frankly, FUCK THAT AND THE HORSE IT RODE IN ON. I don’t need it and it ain’t my job to make sure you’re OK with my being a big faggot instead of, what was the term someone else used?, a “confirmed bachelor”. The only thing confirmed is my ticket on the cocksucker bus. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/59 "2004-03-06T06:40:42Z")
> [@rkts](#): > > True, but saying a person “_is_ black” – referring to whole person as simply _black_ – puts no less priority on the color of their skin. Calling them “a black” is simply a shortening. > > The creation of a noun from an adjective is very common and is responsible for countless everyday words: a blond is one who is blond, a president is one who presides (-ent being the equivalent of -ing), an accountant is one who accounts (-ant also), an official is one who holds office. > > If you really wanted to maintain the triviality of skin color you would say “he is a person with black skin.” As long as we’re being persnickety here, I’d like to point out that black people’s skin isn’t black–it’s usually brown. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682/60 "2004-03-06T06:57:24Z")
Some of the differently abled, physically challanged people in this thread might get a kick out of the following story. My friend Andy is in a wheelchair. One night, we were out bar hopping. We were going from one bar to another, neither of us drunk but we’d had a few. We’re waiting for the light to change, when an older lady aproached us ( you know the kind, plump…er…horizonialy challenged, looks like she should be carrying a toy poodle around?) and said to Andy "My, you do so well with being _physically challenged_. As another poster said, it dripped with condesention, yet I’m sure the lady thought she was being as nice as can be. Andy cocked his head back, grinned his biggest grin and said:“Hell, I’m not physically challenged, I’m a fucking cripple!” I promptly spit out a lung I was laughing so hard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-euphemisms/232682.md?page=4)