# Sacred Cow. Is the phrase offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 24, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272 "2007-03-24T01:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/41 "2017-01-29T16:01:10Z")
But I would resent the idea that I would have to watch everything I say lest some faction suddenly appear and say, “That offends us!” Speech should not be hog-tied like that. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/42 "2017-01-29T16:22:10Z")
If the question is “Is the phrase ‘sacred cow’ commonly considered offensive in general American society today?” the answer, I believe, is “No.” I’ve seen and heard it used too often, in contexts where there’s no indication that it might be considered questionable or controversial (it appeared in a crossword puzzle I just did). If the question is “Do Hindus (or any other group) consider the phrase offensive?” that’s up to them to answer. And if the answer is yes, and they do enough to educate the rest of us, then the answer to the first question may in time become “Yes” too. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that a word or phrase that used to be considered perfectly acceptable lost that status. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/43 "2017-01-29T16:28:41Z")
Fine with me. Let the allegedly “offended” entity speak up about it, rather than the self-appointed PC police. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/44 "2017-01-29T16:32:59Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > But I would resent the idea that I would have to watch everything I say lest some faction suddenly appear and say, “That offends us!” Speech should not be hog-tied like that. Yet you think everyone should hog tie themselves re JW lest they offend? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/45 "2017-01-29T16:46:13Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Yet you think everyone should hog tie themselves re JW lest they offend? :Sigh: Will you stick to the subject and not go off on tangents? Don’t put words in my mouth. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/46 "2017-02-02T19:32:49Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > :Sigh: Will you stick to the subject and not go off on tangents? Don’t put words in my mouth. :rolleyes: No one is putting words in your mouth. We are on topic. You said we don’t have to care about being offensive to PC people. Problem is, you also demand we be politically correct when dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is a contradiction. He’s just pointing it out. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/47 "2017-02-03T21:04:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The thing is, only Hindus should decide what’s offensive to Hindus, just as Blacks decide what’s offensive to Blacks, gays decide what’s offensive to gays, etc. Other people should just respect that. If any of those groups were homogenous, that rule would work just fine. In reality, what offends one in a group will not offend another. Even at the individual level, a phrase that offends in one situation will not offend in another. The reason people complain about “PC Language” is that in the majority of cases it is not a black and white issue (see, I likely just offended someone with that phrase ;)). In all seriousness, though, your statement could easily carry offense by indicating that all people of a race, religion or sexual preference think alike. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/48 "2017-02-03T22:09:53Z")
Bill Maher feels that this sort of thing is what caused democrats to lose the [election](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SepLz6BwKYQ). ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/49 "2017-02-03T22:21:25Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Your position appears to be that you should decide for others whether they are allowed to take offense at casual references to their religious beliefs outside the context of discussion of that religion. > > You don’t have to be religious or even respect religion at all to avoid being offensive to those who do hold certain strong beliefs. Are you a member of a religion that holds sacred cows to be sacred cows? If not, aren’t you deciding for others when, and where, they should take offense at a casual reference to their religious beliefs? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/50 "2017-02-03T23:30:41Z")
Lately I’ve been worried that it is offensive to say “she’s the \_\_\_\_ guru around here” and similar. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/51 "2017-02-04T00:03:49Z")
At what point is it decided that a word or phrase is offensive? If one person finds it offensive? Ten? One hundred? One thousand? And _who_ is it that determines if and when a word or phrase becomes offensive. Who are the word police? It seems to me that somebody somewhere is always going to be offended by something. Even ‘Tiny Houses’ have become offensive to some people, as well as tennis shoes. [https://theestablishment.co/the-troubling-trendiness-of-poverty-appropriation-4d3681406320#.t1aap4liz](https://theestablishment.co/the-troubling-trendiness-of-poverty-appropriation-4d3681406320#.t1aap4liz) [http://heatst.com/culture-wars/barneys-600-dirty-sneakers-slammed-as-poverty-appropriation/](http://heatst.com/culture-wars/barneys-600-dirty-sneakers-slammed-as-poverty-appropriation/) I think tiny houses are cool for some people, but that most people who want one are out of their minds. I think paying $585 for a beat up pair of tennis shoes is stupid, but who am I to tell somebody how to spend their money. However, I don’t think either of those things are meant to be offensive to anybody. They are stupid trends, new ways for somebody, somewhere to make a profit. I’m offended by the word _cisgender_. Is everybody going to stop using it because _I_ am offended by it? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/52 "2017-02-04T15:42:16Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > At what point is it decided that a word or phrase is offensive? > If one person finds it offensive? Ten? One hundred? One thousand? > > And _who_ is it that determines if and when a word or phrase becomes offensive. Who are the word police? > > It seems to me that somebody somewhere is always going to be offended by something. Even ‘Tiny Houses’ have become offensive to some people, as well as tennis shoes. > > [https://theestablishment.co/the-troubling-trendiness-of-poverty-appropriation-4d3681406320#.t1aap4liz](https://theestablishment.co/the-troubling-trendiness-of-poverty-appropriation-4d3681406320#.t1aap4liz) > > [http://heatst.com/culture-wars/barneys-600-dirty-sneakers-slammed-as-poverty-appropriation/](http://heatst.com/culture-wars/barneys-600-dirty-sneakers-slammed-as-poverty-appropriation/) > > I think tiny houses are cool for some people, but that most people who want one are out of their minds. I think paying $585 for a beat up pair of tennis shoes is stupid, but who am I to tell somebody how to spend their money. > However, I don’t think either of those things are meant to be offensive to anybody. They are stupid trends, new ways for somebody, somewhere to make a profit. > > I’m offended by the word _cisgender_. Is everybody going to stop using it because _I_ am offended by it? That depends. Do you have a high pressure P.R. firm on your side? ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272/53 "2017-02-04T22:26:53Z")
No, don’t have that kind of money. and wouldn’t bother anyway because then I’d just be adding to the nonsense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sacred-cow-is-the-phrase-offensive/397272.md?page=2)