It’s probably not the most polite way to put it, but warning-worthy?
The poster who was warned is repeatedly posting rude, obnoxious comments. If I were a native American, I think “Injun” would be up there with spic, coon, etc.
Wiki’s list of ethnic slurs…List of ethnic slurs - Wikipedia
*Injun
an offensive term for a Native American, corrupted “Indian.” *
Whether it was meant as a slur or not is another matter.
I agree that the warning was appropriate but I’d also like to see the poster warned for excessive use of smilies. For example, in this post.
Now if he had spelled it properly, as in “. . . then the engines would have to open up all their books in court,” he mighta slud by.
Probably the first thing to do if you want to know if a word is derogatory or offensive is to look at a dictionary.
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/Injun
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/Injun
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/injun
Bolding mine.
Now, in certain kinds of discussions, such as literary ones, “injun” could be permitted. However, based on his short but highly problematic posting history Pablo O’Malley was deliberately trying to be offensive. He has received four moderator notes from three different moderators since he joined a week ago, any of which were technically warnable. (He was given a break for being a newbie.) I have told him repeatedly to knock it off. Since he doesn’t seem to be doing so, his future posts of this kind will receive warnings; I’ve given him two today.
And the smilies- please let’s not forget the smilies.
It’s killing me.
Fair enough. Carry on, then.
I just have to say that this “definition” is silly. Since when did dictionaries start editorializing definitions?
Other than that, I agree the word can be offensive if used in certain conversations (and I’d bet real money the poster in question intended it to be so).
Macmillan dictionaries are primarily published for students, so they include usage instructions and so on.
Several dictionaries provide usage notes or other recommendations to alert users to non-standard or offensive words. This is not exclusive to MacMillan.
I’ve seen usage notes and recommendations, but that is the first time I’ve ever seen a dictionary say “do not use this word.”
Which, because I’m very immature, just makes me want to use it.
Can we now discuss the more important issue at hand, which is whether or not Pablo O’Malley will share his famous Corned Beef & Cabbage Burrito recipe with us.
The word Indian is (imo) derogatory. It’s incorrect, and it was a mistake to begin with, and continuing to call Native Americans Indians is somewhat ignorant. Indians are from India.
The Native Americans in my family don’t agree. However, I prefer Native American.
But didn’t the “Native” Americans come from Asia? So aren’t they really Asian Americans?
Yes, in the same way as we all came from Africa, so everyone in the U.S. is an African American.
Ok, lemme see if I got this straight. All of us “U.S. Americans” are “African Americans” so are African Americans “African American African Americans”?*
*Ok this is getting silly so I’ll stop.
I think “Injun” would be up there with spic, coon, etc.