I don’t like it either. I think I’m used to “person of color” but I believe economy is critical to effective communication. All these extra words are cumbersome. I can see the arguments in favor as well, but it’s not clear-cut to me that this is inherently better or more respectful or consciousness-raising. Personally, I feel equal amounts of horror and righteous outrage when I hear “slave” vs. “enslaved person.” And as you suggest… it’s so damned othering.
If few people knew its origins, I wouldn’t have heard about it. I don’t exactly have my finger on the pulse of popular culture. This was roundly discussed on social media, probably a Buzzfeed list somewhere, so I would bet young people know a lot more about its origins than older people… hence it’s on the way out, and you won’t hear it come out of my mouth.
This is how I was intending it, but also thinking it could be misconstrued in a way I didn’t want it to be.
Since it was on my mind today, I’m at the local big box store and a guy was helping me, he needed to finish what he was working on at the other end of the aisle and while there, another person asked for his help. I’m thinking 'my guy has been ‘shanghaied’…and wondered about THAT, too.
Verb: force (someone) to join a ship lacking a full crew by drugging them or using other underhanded means:
“they specialized in drugging and robbing sailors, sometimes arranging for them to be shanghaied aboard tramp boats”
Likewise, the exclamation ‘Man, that’s LAAAAME!’ is something we’ve used for years, and now it’s fallen out of favor from being ableist.
So to amend the OP, the phrases could be racist, or ableist, or just unexpectedly offensive with the passing of time.
Native American stuff is interesting…here in Colorado, we’re renaming Squaw Mountain and when the reasoning was explained, I found I didn’t have a feeling one way or the other, so leave the debate to those who do.
At the same time, things like Washington Redskins are being changed, and I wonder about Indian Motorcycles, because man, it’s ICONIC, and not in any way negative. They’re AWESOME bikes with an AWESOME brand.
I was bitching to some 20-something coworkers about how my 59 year old knees made it impossible to sit Indian style. Boy, did they cringe. Now I know better.
I tend to hear it used as a general acronym for “people of color”; I know POC exists, but I never hear that, though occasionally read it.
Also, I think it’s “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color”, not “Black and Indigenous People of Color”. So covering all POC, but emphasizing two of the groups.
I’m perfectly happy taking instructions on what to call a group of people from that group of people. Indian is complex though, as some Native American groups like the term, and others don’t. The excellent advice given when not being sure how to refer to a person or group is “ask”.
As a grant writer for a progressive organization, I actually use this kind of language all the time - whatever kind of language my organization and/or the funders expect me to use. I would write Latinx in a grant for example, despite feeling pretty strongly that it’s a niche elite academic term that many actual Latinos take offense to and very few even use. So I have to know what the most progressive language is. And I am a progressive. But my personal feelings about specific expressions do not always reflect what I write.
I think it needs to be considered if the connotation is positive or not as to whether it would be taken as racist. Things like “Dutch apple pie” and “Dutch oven” are seen in a neutral or positive light, so they are not likely to offend. But “Going Dutch”, “Dutch Uncle”, and “Dutch courage” can have a negative connotation, which could possibly offend someone who is Dutch.
As an example, consider if these terms were in wide use:
Swiss time - Closely sticking to the appointed time. e.g. “This is an important plan. I need everyone to keep Swiss time so we get it all done”
Mexican time - Loosely paying attention to defined times, e.g. “Don’t wait for Bob. He’s on Mexican time and always late”
I would suspect that “Swiss time” would generally be fine but “Mexican time” would be frowned upon.
Surprisingly, I’ve never heard that one, but I am familiar with “Indian Standard Time” (as in South Asians) and that one I hear only from South Asians themselves. There’s also the more generic “island time” (not in reference to Indians, of course, but the general flexible nature of time in some island communities.)
Yeah, I was just making up country time terms to demonstrate the example that it would be viewed as racist if the connotation was negative, but generally be fine if the connotation was positive. The problem is not necessarily that a country name is part of the term. The problem is if the term is seen as negative, then someone from that country may be offended. If the term is positive, then people from that country aren’t likely to be offended.
I heard the most uncommon and unaccountable noise that can be imagined. It was, in fact, occasioned by the clattering of tin pattypans and a Dutch oven against the sides of the panniers.
The verb “shanghai” joined the lexicon with “crimping” and “sailor thieves” in the 1850s, possibly because Shanghai was a common destination of the ships with abducted crews.