That’s the question. Is the phrase “Sacred Cow”, defined as a treasured belief or process that should not be changed, offensive in any way, to any group.
I’m specifically thinking of Hinduism, but am open to any other possible groups who may be offended by the phrase.
The reason I ask, is that I routinely include the phrase as an agenda item in meetings regarding process change, i.e. is there anything we can’t change, no matter what?
Does anyone have any suggestions to replace this phrase?
Funny, whenever I used the term “Sacred Cow” in a presentation or meeting it’s to identify practices or things that we MUST change, not things we CAN’T change.
In other words, it stands for the irrational historical detritus that stands between us & success.
Being in the software biz we encounter a non-trivial number of South Asians, many of whom are at least ethnically Hindu, if not an active adherant. And no, I’ve never had anyone mention being offended by it.
I did see this phrase used once in a way that was clearly offensive, but the situation was a little different than what you are dealing with.
When George H. W. Bush was president, there was an article about how his wife (the mother of the current US President) was treated with kid gloves by the press. Supposedly she could say or do things that the President and other political figures couldn’t without igniting some controversy (although I can’t remember any specific examples right now of what they were talking about). The title of the article was “Sacred Cow”.
Anyway in that case they were obviously using “cow” as an epithet for an older woman who did not have movie-star looks. Quite offensive.
Wikipedia has an article about literal sacred cows.
The idiomatic meaning is that a “sacred cow” is something that is off limits or immune to attack or criticism, often for reasons of tradition or religion or custom.
Then, going back at least to the semi-famous Mark Twain quote that “Sacred cows make the best hamburger,” this leads to the second idiomatic meaning, of something that maybe should be questioned or attacked or criticized, in a “rebellion against established tradition can be good” sort of way.
I’ve never heard of the phrase being considered offensive.
I understand it to mean something that OUGHT to change, but you would meet great resistence if you tried.
The metaphor is the cows that are allowed to wander unhindered, possibly knocking over market stalls or doing other damage. Nobody is allowed to stop them doing this on religious grounds.
It’s about as offensive as calling a useless object a “white elephant.”
As a management consultant, I’m constantly running into sacred cows, either acknowledged, or not. I like to face them head on. There’s always a reason behind the sacred cow, and that’s what has to either change, or be acknowledged for successful change.
I just wanted to be sure the usage hadn’t transformed in some way.
I can assure you that some Hindus DO consider this phrase offensive. I’m surprised that the other posters are so confident that it is just fine - I’m assuming they’re all white Americans. I’m married to an Indian and he and his family find the phrase ridiculous and based on an ignorant misconception about their religion. They laugh about it but don’t like it much.
The first Presidential aircraft was a highly modified C-54 built in 1943. It was used by Franklin Roosevelt towards the end of his last term, and by Harry Truman for all of his time in office. And it was universally known by the name “Sacred Cow”. I understand it didn’t even have a pressurized cabin.
I don’t recall anybody at that time getting their panties all in a twist about the name.
BTW, the designation “Air Force One” didn’t come into used until sometime in 1953.
Perhaps anyone who might understand its offensive nature was not present? Or didn’t feel comfortable speaking up?
I, for one, find this usage of “panties all in a twist” to be rather offensive. It suggests that anyone who would have been offended would have been ridiculed or dismissed. That’s beside the sexist nature of the phrase.
The difficulty would be in finding a substitute that is not a long, awkward circumlocution like the PC crowd wants to foist on us these days. No other term fits.
I particularly like the book *Science Is a Sacred Cow * by Anthony Standen.
A wise precaution. I’ve stumbled myself in the past by using a phrase in all innocence only to find that it had without my knowledge become offensive to somebody somewhere.
Imagine a Catholic sitting in a room full of Hindu car designers. They are trying to figure out if they can turn the basic Tata car into a luxury model. One Hindu says, “that’s as impossible as turning a piece of bread into the actual body of Christ.”
Or an evangelical Protestant in a meeting with his IT peers, discussing a problem with some newly acquired software. One refers to the manual, and another chimes in, “believing what the manual says is like believing every word in the Christian Bible is literally true.”
Now do you see how the term “sacred cow” might offend some Hindus?
I was actually thinking of a similar issue–should Christians be offended if someone uses the phrase “that’s my/his cross to bear?” (And I’m implying that no, no they shouldn’t.)
Yes, I understand that is an issue that some people do not think should be questioned, examined, or changed.
