# List of acceptable racial slurs by political leaning **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 15, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901 "2012-02-15T04:50:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/61 "2012-02-15T19:21:24Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > In your world intentionally insulting a black poster by calling him and oreo does not merit a warning, but some elegant snark making a point about it, while not calling another poster names, does. Aside from the fact that I didn’t make the original call, this is ATMB and this thread is about an insult in The BBQ Pit. That being said, as soon as I handed out that warning I asked the rest of the staff if they felt I was overreacting, and I’ll listen to what they have to say. That’s all I’m going to say about that issue for now. > [@magellan01](#): > > I while it was “deliberate”, you _chose_ to “annoyed” by it. That’s not how that works, in my experience. > [@](#): > > Liberal blacks like to disparage black conservatives, even on the election trail. And black conservatives disparage black liberals. It’s almost always regrettable when people drag race into it, and when people say that being a particular race (or religion, and so on) means you have to vote one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/62 "2012-02-15T19:22:13Z")
Oreo. I was first introduced to this term by some of my buddies who happen to be of Negroid extraction. When I was in grad school, I was the token white guy in a group of five black men. Being color-blind has come in very handy for me over the years. Some of these guys have worked with me on projects for decades. But, to ‘Oreo’. Blanton and Marion and I were at a bar (naturally), and along came a guy all proper and dressed up with a pretty cafe-au-laut beauty. Marion immediately called the guy an Oreo. I was nonplussed. I asked him what he meant, and he replied, “You know chief (he always called me that for some reason) its a black man who is white inside.” I thought a moment and asked him, “Well what do you call a white man who is black inside?” He turned to me and said very quietly and very clearly, “An idiot, chief. An idiot.” I will never forget that. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/63 "2012-02-15T19:24:24Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > That said, Miller also has always struck me as being quite fair and thoughtful. > > However, I think people who are fair and thoughtful can make bad judgement calls and in the case of Bob’s oreo remark, I think he did. I agree. And people also have the opportunity, the _responsibility_, to correct their mistakes. I have no huge problems with either of the mods. But I think that **Marley’s** call against **Shodan** is an even more horrendous call. It seems that **Shodan** hit a nerve of truth and **Marley** couldn’t handle it. That’s some weak shit. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/64 "2012-02-15T19:28:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And black conservatives disparage black liberals. So, a black conservative poster can call a liberal black poster a shiftless nigger. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/65 "2012-02-15T19:33:49Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > So, a black conservative poster can call a liberal black poster a shiftless nigger. I’m glad I’m not reading whatever thread you’re reading. In this thread **Miller** was already quoted as saying that “nigger” gets treated as hate speech even in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/66 "2012-02-15T19:36:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m glad I’m not reading whatever thread you’re reading. In this thread **Miller** was already quoted as saying that “nigger” gets treated as hate speech even in the Pit. Way to miss the point. But let’s change it to “shiftless porch monkey”. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/67 "2012-02-15T19:37:47Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > So, a black conservative poster can call a liberal black poster a shiftless nigger. Interesting. I doubt that. Also, I don’t see the point of referring to black conservatives insulting black liberals or vice versa since we’re talking about a white liberal who used a racial slur to refer to a black conservative poster. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/68 "2012-02-15T19:38:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > To the extent you’re accusing liberals and the staff of racism and tossing out patronizing references to black people in an effort to be cute, then yes, it’s deliberately annoying and doesn’t contribute to the discussion. Your perception that it doesn’t add anything to the discussion seems to be a bit out of the mainstream. Everyone else seems to recognize what I was saying. > [@](#): > > Right or wrong, I prefer any discussions of moderation to be made on the merits instead of having them turn into political debates as one faction of posters or another claims everything is further evidence of bias against their cause. I think you would be hard put to class myself, **rachelellogram** , **zut** , **mhendo** , and **magellan01** , as all members of one faction. And ISTM that this - [QUOTE=mhendo] I get what you’re trying to say, but right or wrong, some people clearly believe that political factors frequently intrude into moderating decisions on this board. I don’t think it’s productive to simply shut down such concerns by claiming that they detract from the merits of the issue. For those people, they constitute a fundamental part of the merits of the issue. [/QUOTE] is right. Do you really want to rule the subject of moderator bias off the table? Because the trend of your behavior, at least in this thread, seems to be towards ruling that any mention of possible moderator bias adds nothing to the discussion and is simply an effort to annoy. Is that what you want? Any mention of a possible double standard is automatically ruled an instance of not arguing anything on its merits, and is being a jerk? Sounds to me like a great way of shutting down something that you don’t want to think about. And this stuff about how my post really didn’t strike home rings, frankly, a little hollow. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/69 "2012-02-15T19:49:25Z")
Can someone define what this discussion is actually about? Or can we at least agree on basic assumptions, among these being: (1) Hate speech is banned in the Pit. (2) Insults are not banned in the Pit, so long as they do not constitute hate speech or are among those insults specifically enumerated in “Restricted language in the Pit.” (3) Not all race-based insults are racist. (4) Not all racist insults are hate speech. (5) Thus, some race-based or racist insults might be allowed in the Pit, so long as they are not hate speech. (6) The administration does not exhaustively enumerate all instances of hate speech, but “nigger,” “kike,” and a few other words have been ruled as such. (7) Even among those terms that have been ruled as hate speech, no term is considered as reprehensible as “nigger.” (8) Any insult incorporating the term “nigger” is hate speech (9) The word “oreo” has been ruled as not hate speech. So, do we all accept these as given? If so, what is the question at hand? Is it that “oreo” should be considered hate speech? Is it that all hate speech should be considered to be as bad as “nigger”? Is it that all these decisions are reflective of political bias? Or something else? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/70 "2012-02-15T19:50:36Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Everyone else seems to recognize what I was saying. I also recognized what you were saying. That’s what the warning was for. I don’t think addressing the issue in that way (loads of sarcasm and patronizing racial remarks as ironic “jokes”) does anything to clarify the rules or how we approach them, but it does take the thread off topic. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/71 "2012-02-15T20:01:34Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And this stuff about how my post really didn’t strike home rings, frankly, a little hollow. Understatement of the year. Wouldn’t be too surprised if it gets you another warning. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/72 "2012-02-15T20:05:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I also recognized what you were saying. That’s what the warning was for. I don’t think addressing the issue in that way (loads of sarcasm and patronizing racial remarks as ironic “jokes”) does anything to clarify the rules or how we approach them, but it does take the thread off topic. Nobody seems to have been drawn off-topic by my post. As mentioned, everyone else seems pretty clear that it was a commentary on the subject of the OP, and understood how it related to that OP. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/73 "2012-02-15T20:20:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Can someone define what this discussion is actually about? > > Or can we at least agree on basic assumptions, among these being: > > (1) Hate speech is banned in the Pit. > (2) Insults are not banned in the Pit, so long as they do not constitute hate speech or are among those insults specifically enumerated in “Restricted language in the Pit.” > (3) Not all race-based insults are racist. > (4) Not all racist insults are hate speech. > (5) Thus, some race-based or racist insults might be allowed in the Pit, so long as they are not hate speech. > (6) The administration does not exhaustively enumerate all instances of hate speech, but “nigger,” “kike,” and a few other words have been ruled as such. > (7) Even among those terms that have been ruled as hate speech, no term is considered as reprehensible as “nigger.” > (8) Any insult incorporating the term “nigger” is hate speech > (9) The word “oreo” has been ruled as not hate speech. > > So, do we all accept these as given? > > If so, what is the question at hand? > > Is it that “oreo” should be considered hate speech? > > Is it that all hate speech should be considered to be as bad as “nigger”? > > Is it that all these decisions are reflective of political bias? > > Or something else? Well, I asked Miller to explain his reasoning behind allowing white posters to refer to black posters as “oreos” and also whether that allowed for the use of the term Uncle Tom, House Negro and House Nigger. I’d also like to know if it’s within the rules to refer to white posters one doesn’t like as peckerwood, cracker, or redneck. Hopefully he’ll explain his reasoning, but for now I’d guess he’s at work or having a life outside the internet while the rest of us are bored at work or bored at home. > [@](#): > > 1. Any insult incorporating the term “nigger” is hate speech There has been no such ruling that I can see. Anyway, are you saying that you think that Malcolm X engaged in hate speech against other blacks and that blacks who classified Clarence Thomas and Colin Powell as “house niggers” including one of the professors at my school who helped craft the school policies on hate speech are engaging in hate speech? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/74 "2012-02-15T20:28:36Z")
[Submitted without further comment.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=634799) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/75 "2012-02-15T20:29:12Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’d also like to know if it’s within the rules to refer to white posters one doesn’t like as peckerwood, cracker, or redneck. I reported a post in the pit once where the poster was using “cracker” against white people and I asked if it was ok. The mod that responded said the mods talked it over and they feel it’s not as powerful or on the same level as “nigger” so they were not going to issue any warnings. So it seems like we can call blacks oreos and whites crackers in the pit. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/76 "2012-02-15T20:42:28Z")
But “injun” will get you a warning? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/77 "2012-02-15T20:42:30Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I reported a post in the pit once where the poster was using “cracker” against white people and I asked if it was ok. The mod that responded said the mods talked it over and they feel it’s not as powerful or on the same level as “nigger” so they were not going to issue any warnings. > > So it seems like we can call blacks oreos and whites crackers in the pit. Were they referring to another poster as “a cracker” in a way that was meant to be insulting? I’ll certainly say there’s a vast difference between referring to people outside the pit versus insults directed at other posters. For example, leaving race out of it, if I referred to Newt Gingrich as “a motherfucker” in the pit I wouldn’t get warned, but I’m pretty sure I’d get warned if I called another poster “a motherfucker” even in the pit. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/78 "2012-02-15T20:44:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [Submitted without further comment.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=634799) Perhaps you could comment, so people could know what relevance you think that thread has. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/79 "2012-02-15T20:44:12Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > But “injun” will get you a warning? How is the term not a racial slur? Also, it’s a pretty archaic term and I’d have a hard time believing anyone who used it didn’t have some fairly extreme hostility towards Indians. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901/80 "2012-02-15T20:55:45Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I took it as snark that seemed calculated to annoy because it accused a bunch of people of being racist and spoke patronizingly of black people. And that’s how I moderated it. It was a bit of parody or satire targeting the liberal plantation. “Liberal plantation” is a term many conservatives use to describe the manner in which Democrats and liberals regard blacks as “ours,” and become extremely abusive to those blacks, such as Thomas Sowell or Herman Cain, who reject liberal/left ideology, as well as to a political strategy of keeping as many blacks as possible dependent on the government so as to harvest their votes. (Whether or not the strategy actually exists is beyond the scope of this post.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-acceptable-racial-slurs-by-political-leaning/612901.md?page=5)