# I pit cultural hypersensitivity **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 1, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540 "2013-04-01T16:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/21 "2013-04-01T20:39:58Z")
> [@VernWinterbottom](#): > > Colonials did not call the Indians “Native Americans.” > > I guide historical walking tours and do Revolutionary War era reenacting in my home town, which was once the home of the Wampanoags. > > Seventeen years ago, I started out calling the natives “Indians.” In time, I heard suggestions that we really should refer to them as “Native Americans,” so, partly because I work for an official government office, I started calling them “Native Americans.” > > Until I heard that the Indians don’t much like to be called “Native Americans”–from an elder Indian leader himself, in fact. And, of course, the people living in the 1770s time period I reenact didn’t call them “Native Americans” either. > > So I call them Indians again, despite the looks I sometimes get from the soccer moms who are chaperoning their kids’ field trips. Honest question: do real Indians, i.e., from India, get a say in any of this? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/22 "2013-04-01T20:42:22Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Why not Vader? I can’t say. Because Vader knew the Force was with the Father and the Son, and that just ain’t orthodox! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/23 "2013-04-01T20:48:16Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Honest question: do real Indians, i.e., from India, get a say in any of this? I bet would prefer not to be called Native American either. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/24 "2013-04-01T21:01:20Z")
In Canada we go with ‘First Nations’ which aims to demonstrate respect, differentiate from people actually from India, and acknowledge they are not all one group but actually many different tribes. I think we no longer use words like racial slurs because we changed the language, in part. I’m okay with that. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/25 "2013-04-01T21:01:37Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Honest question: do real Indians, i.e., from India, get a say in any of this? Honest question: do you think they should? My general inclination is to call people what they want to be called. As such I’ll call Fred Phelps a Christian (to use the most extreme example). If a Cherokee dude wants to be called an Indian, I’m happy calling him that. But I’d never considered the idea that someone from India might object. Do you? Do you think such an objection should carry the day, or even should be weighted against the desire of the Cherokee dude to be called Indian? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/26 "2013-04-01T21:16:59Z")
I like the portmanteau [Amerind/Amerindian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerind_%28people%29) myself. Nice, neutral, unambiguous term. But almost nobody else does - it’s kinda archaic these days in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/27 "2013-04-01T21:23:46Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Honest question: do you think they should? > > My general inclination is to call people what they want to be called. As such I’ll call Fred Phelps a Christian (to use the most extreme example). If a Cherokee dude wants to be called an Indian, I’m happy calling him that. > > But I’d never considered the idea that someone from India might object. Do you? Do you think such an objection should carry the day, or even should be weighted against the desire of the Cherokee dude to be called Indian? Well, the reason we call the Cherokee dude an Indian is because Christopher Columbus or whoever thought that America was India. So, regardless of Mr. Cherokee, we certainly ought to respect Mr. Gujarat’s right to not have people classified with him beyond his wishes. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/28 "2013-04-01T22:39:14Z")
Jabba’s palace _should_ look like a religious shrine. It was originally built to be one. The building that became Jabba’s Palace was originally built as a monastery by the B’omarr Monks. The monks live lives of self denial and nonviolence. Eventually, when they are spiritually ready, they have their brains removed and put in glass life support cylinders. Every now and then, for reasons that escape me, their brains are put into arachnid droids. We see such a droid in Jedi. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/29 "2013-04-01T23:01:16Z")
> [@Scholar\_Beardpig](#): > > Well, the reason we call the Cherokee dude an Indian is because Christopher Columbus or whoever thought that America was India. So, regardless of Mr. Cherokee, we certainly ought to respect Mr. Gujarat’s right to not have people classified with him beyond his wishes. Non-rhetorical question: why would I respect Mr. Gujarat’s right not to have people classified with him beyond his wishes? How is that a meaningful right? ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/30 "2013-04-02T00:26:22Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > The offensive thing isn’t that LEGO was implying that Jabba the Hutt is Muslim. _They were implying he was a Turk!!_ Which is highly offensive, because we all know that Jabba was Greek. I thought Jimmy was the Greek ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/31 "2013-04-02T13:21:27Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > … > Clearly, LEGO is saying that Jabba is the Patriarch of Constantinople. > [@Ludovic](#): > > Why not Vader? I can’t say. Yoda just likes it better that way… ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/32 "2013-04-02T13:26:50Z")
I thought you were going to be one of those atavistic troglodytes who are complaining about [Chink’s Steaks in Philadelphia changing its name](http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/04/01/iconic-northeast-philadelphia-cheesesteak-joint-changes-name/). Some idiot was interviewed on the news shaking his head and saying, “Man, I don’t know what this world is coming to.” Yes, this crazy modern world, where people no longer want their diners to have horrible racist names. Wait, you’re not? Well, can we laugh at the morons anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/33 "2013-04-02T13:54:35Z")
My initial reaction was to wonder why Austo-Turkish people were upset at Lego and not George Lucas. Then I figured out that it was because the Lego Jabba’s Palace doesn’t look anything like [the actual Jabba’s palace](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071211223830/starwars/images/3/3d/Jabbas_Palace.jpg). Shame on you, Lego. > [@Anaamika](#): > > Honest question: do real Indians, i.e., from India, get a say in any of this? No. But we get to say “dots not feathers”, and that makes it totally worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/34 "2013-04-02T14:00:03Z")
[quote=“Cat\_Whisperer, post:10, topic:654540”] [All round buildings are mosques?](http://www.visitingdc.com/images/capitol-building-picture.jpg) I did not know that. :D[/] I thought all round buildings were Viking roundhouses. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/35 "2013-04-02T14:05:28Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I thought all round buildings were Viking roundhouses. Nope - the people who are protesting a toy have set us straight on the round houses. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/36 "2013-04-02T15:03:27Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I thought all round buildings were Viking roundhouses. No, that’s all kicks from Chuck Norris. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/37 "2013-04-02T15:05:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > How do we know he’s really a Hutt? Has anyone seen his birth certificate? Well, he’s as big as a hut. That’s gotta count for something. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/38 "2013-04-02T18:16:00Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Honest question: do real Indians, i.e., from India, get a say in any of this? Only if they live next to the Indus River. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/39 "2013-04-02T18:28:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > It’s doubly ironic when you think of the history of the Hagia Sofia. Especially considering that the reason that domes became traditional for mosque was to due to the Dome of the Rock which was specifically inspired by Haiga Sophia. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540/40 "2013-04-02T18:39:19Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > My initial reaction was to wonder why Austo-Turkish people were upset at Lego and not George Lucas. Then I figured out that it was because the Lego Jabba’s Palace doesn’t look anything like [the actual Jabba’s palace](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071211223830/starwars/images/3/3d/Jabbas_Palace.jpg). Shame on you, Lego. Yeah, pics were provided in the OP. How does the LEGO thing NOT look like Jabba’s Palace? Round building, three ring structures toward the top… I’m not seeing any reason for shame. I thought this thread was going to be about Muslim foot-baths in government buildings in redneck states. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-cultural-hypersensitivity/654540.md?page=3)