Things Fundies Say On Facebook

[Cousin Ricky]

Well this is all hypothetical. Only time I've had it mentioned to me was when my Chinese friend incorrectly mentioned that the Chinese find Asian offensive and prefer Oriental, though I now believe it is meant to be the other way around :/

 

When I was growing up, Oriental was the proper and polite term. Now it’s a grave insult. I have no idea when or why the change occurred. Now we’re supposed to say “Asian,” a ridiculously imprecise term that also refers to Indians, Afghans, Saudis, and Armenians.

 

When I was contracted by the government we were told that people are whatever nationality they choose. If a white man identifies himself as Black/Caribbean, then so be it.

 

That’s true of many West Indians of mostly European descent. They do not identify as white.

 

It does show up the peculiarity of you yanks!

 

And be careful of that one! Within the USA, Yankee refers only to white people from the northeastern states. Call someone from the southeast a Yankee, and you will open fresh, 150 year old wounds. Black Americans, even those who live in the north, consider “Yankee” to be offensive. But not those of us outside the USA; even in the USA-owned Virgin Islands, a “Yankee” is anyone from the states. Black and southern Americans who move here will just have to get used to that, whether they like it or not. (Which brings up an interesting question: should we ever become a state, will we start calling ourselves Yankees? I wonder what indigenous Hawaiians say.)

[SquareOne]

 

 

It does show up the peculiarity of you yanks!

 

And be careful of that one! Within the USA, Yankee refers only to white people from the northeastern states. Call someone from the southeast a Yankee, and you will open fresh, 150 year old wounds. Black Americans, even those who live in the north, consider “Yankee” to be offensive. But not those of us outside the USA; even in the USA-owned Virgin Islands, a “Yankee” is anyone from the states. Black and southern Americans who move here will just have to get used to that, whether they like it or not. (Which brings up an interesting question: should we ever become a state, will we start calling ourselves Yankees? I wonder what indigenous Hawaiians say.)

 

Well, first I hope that you appreciate that I said that with irony.  (I'm sure you do!)  I do appreciate the warning though.

 

In the UK, 'yank' (never 'yankee') would be a fairly light-hearted pejorative term for any American.

 

Other than that, we'd probably use red-neck as a pejorative term for any southern American, but that's about it.

[WarriorPoet]

Ugh, this is a topic of much frustration, I never know how to refer to anyone.  When I was really young in school, learning about Martin Luther King, I thought the appropriate word to refer to african-americans was the spanish word for black.  Then when I got older, I found that term was offensive, and I was now supposed to say "black".  Fast forward a few more years, I found out that was now offensive and the proper term is african-american.

 

Another issue I've had is the word lesbian.  I know that it is a correct word to use, but to this day it feels like an offensive term when I use it.  I used to say "gay woman" but then I found out that that term is offensive to some lesbians, so I am stuck saying a word that feels to me like a pejorative instead of a term that feels better to me but can be offensive to the people it refers to.

 

I agree with Ravenstar, let's all be terrans.

[falemon]

@WarriorPoet, well I just call people by their names, or "yo" when I forget

[Cousin Ricky]

Ugh, this is a topic of much frustration, I never know how to refer to anyone.  When I was really young in school, learning about Martin Luther King, I thought the appropriate word to refer to african-americans was the spanish word for black.  Then when I got older, I found that term was offensive, and I was now supposed to say "black".  Fast forward a few more years, I found out that was now offensive and the proper term is african-american.

 

You think you’re frustrated? I am one of those Negroes who is required to be offended by the word “Negro,” yet I did not discover that I was supposed to be offended by the word “Negro” until a few years ago when I used the word “Negro” in another forum and was promptly censored. Boy was I surprised! Found out later that I was decades late to the show. How come nobody told me that I was being gravely offended by the word “Negro” all those decades? How am I supposed to keep up with other groups such as Orientals Asians when I can’t even keep my own group straight?

[falemon]

I think some people get caught up in semantics as well.

 

Like this one friend of mine who refuses to use the terms kids when referring to children, because a kid is a baby goat, and children are not baby goats!

[ContraBardus]

 

It does show up the peculiarity of you yanks!

 

And be careful of that one! Within the USA, Yankee refers only to white people from the northeastern states. Call someone from the southeast a Yankee, and you will open fresh, 150 year old wounds. Black Americans, even those who live in the north, consider “Yankee” to be offensive. But not those of us outside the USA; even in the USA-owned Virgin Islands, a “Yankee” is anyone from the states. Black and southern Americans who move here will just have to get used to that, whether they like it or not. (Which brings up an interesting question: should we ever become a state, will we start calling ourselves Yankees? I wonder what indigenous Hawaiians say.)

 

 

Actually, even within the Northeast you've got to be careful of using the term 'Yankee' to identify someone. Trust me, you don't want to know what might happen if you call a Red Sox fan a 'Yankee' to their face. It's not pretty. It's best to just run if the incident leads to someone spilling their beer. You don't want any of that, trust me.

[Cousin Ricky]

I think some people get caught up in semantics as well.

 

Like this one friend of mine who refuses to use the terms kids when referring to children, because a kid is a baby goat, and children are not baby goats!

When I was a kid in St. Thomas, at least some kids objected to being called kids for this reason. But I see no sign of this today.

 

Actually, even within the Northeast you've got to be careful of using the term 'Yankee' to identify someone. Trust me, you don't want to know what might happen if you call a Red Sox fan a 'Yankee' to their face. It's not pretty. It's best to just run if the incident leads to someone spilling their beer. You don't want any of that, trust me.

 

I used to live in Boston, and I found that to be the case only in the context of sports.

 

P.S. I used to live in Gainesville, too. That’s where I learned that the War of Northern Aggression Civil War is not over yet. (And Gainesville is the liberal town in the region.) GO, GATORS!

[midniterider]

 

I'm personally not fond of the term 'African-American' and refuse to use it or any other 'country/continent of origin-American' label. The vast majority of the time someone is either African or Amercian, not both. People who have dual citizenship are the only time where that sort of grouping makes sense. Otherwise it's just PC bullshit that exists so people can be overly sensitive and cause problems by being offended by nothing. Getting offended by a racial slur is one thing, being a dick and trying to purposely turn a normal racial identifier with no offensive intent into an insult is just stupid and lame.

 

I tend to avoid the term African-American, because it’s 6 syllables longer than the perfectly serviceable term black, in addition to it rarely being the precise term for what I want to say. I find it baffling that intelligent people will use “African-American” and “white” in the same sentence and not see the double-standard. (The complaint that black has a negative connotation doesn’t work; these same people were chanting “Black is beautiful!” just a few years earlier.) However, I have not banned any hyphenated-American terms from my vocabulary. When the context lends itself to referring to Americans of a certain ethnic origin, I will use such a term.

 

Notice I said “ethnic,” not “racial.” African is not a synonym for black. Berbers and Hamites are Africans. (That second group has become a catch-all for “ethnic Africans who are not Negroid,” in light of modern discoveries that biblical genealogies do not reflect actual history. Of course, Negroid itself is suspect, now that we know that race is cultural and not biological.) A Boer who moves to the United States of America is an “African-American.” (That’ll make some PC heads explode.) If Nelson Mandela’s life meant anything, a Boer is as much a South African as a Thembu.

 

Thinking is hard work. Someone once mentioned to me about the “African-Americans” in Africa. Puzzled, I pointed out that there are very few African-Americans in Africa. It was then her turn to be puzzled. Time for a lesson in basic vocabulary. Someone once asked in Yahoo! Answers why it bothers people that Jesus was likely African-American. Yeah, a bunch of us (but not Megyn Kelly) corrected her.

 

FWIW, I am not offended by the terms African-American, Afro-American, atheist, black, colored, or Negro. I’m with George Carlin on this euphemism bullshit. (I do not speak for anyone else of my racial background or theological category.)

 

 

I suppose I could be called a European-American though I've never been to Europe. :-)

[midniterider]

 

I think some people get caught up in semantics as well.

 

Like this one friend of mine who refuses to use the terms kids when referring to children, because a kid is a baby goat, and children are not baby goats!

When I was a kid in St. Thomas, at least some kids objected to being called kids for this reason. But I see no sign of this today.

 

Actually, even within the Northeast you've got to be careful of using the term 'Yankee' to identify someone. Trust me, you don't want to know what might happen if you call a Red Sox fan a 'Yankee' to their face. It's not pretty. It's best to just run if the incident leads to someone spilling their beer. You don't want any of that, trust me.

 

I used to live in Boston, and I found that to be the case only in the context of sports.

 

P.S. I used to live in Gainesville, too. That’s where I learned that the War of Northern Aggression Civil War is not over yet. (And Gainesville is the liberal town in the region.) GO, GATORS!

 

 

I used to hear "The South will rise again!" from a Southerner I worked with. Whatever.

[Cousin Ricky]

I used to hear "The South will rise again!" from a Southerner I worked with. Whatever.

 

Well, they're going backwards. Obama is the first person since 1972 to win a presidential election without someone from the former Confederacy on the ticket.

[★ Citsonga ★]

Within the USA, Yankee refers only to white people from the northeastern states. Call someone from the southeast a Yankee, and you will open fresh, 150 year old wounds. Black Americans, even those who live in the north, consider “Yankee” to be offensive. But not those of us outside the USA; even in the USA-owned Virgin Islands, a “Yankee” is anyone from the states. Black and southern Americans who move here will just have to get used to that, whether they like it or not. (Which brings up an interesting question: should we ever become a state, will we start calling ourselves Yankees? I wonder what indigenous Hawaiians say.)

 

 

I've lived my whole life in the USA and I have *never* heard that "Yankee" refers specifically to whites and is offensive to African-Americans. That is completely alien to me. Out of curiosity, I just looked it up on dictionary.com, and their definition makes no such distinction either. Oh well, I don't use the term anyway, unless referring to the glam rock band Damn Yankees.

[★ Citsonga ★]

 

I'm personally not fond of the term 'African-American' and refuse to use it or any other 'country/continent of origin-American' label. The vast majority of the time someone is either African or Amercian, not both. People who have dual citizenship are the only time where that sort of grouping makes sense. Otherwise it's just PC bullshit that exists so people can be overly sensitive and cause problems by being offended by nothing. Getting offended by a racial slur is one thing, being a dick and trying to purposely turn a normal racial identifier with no offensive intent into an insult is just stupid and lame.

 

 

I do often use the term "African-American" in order to avoid offending anyone, but I also sometimes use the term "black" because I'm so used to it from when it wasn't considered offensive and the African-Americans I know around here still aren't offended by "black."

 

Anyway, I do agree with your sentiment here. Racism is downright pathetic and inexcusable, but false accusations of racism are just as bad. If someone makes a comment with no racist intent whatsoever, and someone else twists it into a racial slur just because he's a different race, which one really is the racist?

[SquareOne]

I think some people get caught up in semantics as well.

 

Like this one friend of mine who refuses to use the terms kids when referring to children, because a kid is a baby goat, and children are not baby goats!

 

Oh good lord.

 

[scitsofreaky]

Wow, now I am really glad I didn't post "!!1!!!!1White Pride!!!!11!!!1!" on facebook.

[falemon]

Wow, now I am really glad I didn't post "!!1!!!!1White Pride!!!!11!!!1!" on facebook.

But it's okay for me to post "!!1!!!!1White Pride!!!!11!!!1!" on facebook because I'm black

[Idontevenknow99]

Another one of these soapbox-y metaphorical speeches that never really make any logical sense:

 

 

 

 

"Those of you that have suffered from food poisoning within the last few days of this year, just look at it like this, you were being detoxed from the old garbage that the devil tried to pollute you with in 2013 so that God can make room for the brand new blessings in 2014. What the devil meant for evil, God is working it out for your good. IT'S ALL GOOD!"

 

I want to pull my hair out at this point!

 

Since when does food poisoning make for a good detoxing? Nothing good should come of food poisoning. It's food poisoning!!! Sometimes Christians use the most indisputable (not in a good way) analogies I have ever seen because there is no debating at this point.

[Ravenstar]

I don't think they understand the word 'poison'.

 

poi·son

ˈpoizən/

noun

 

1. 1.

   a substance that, when introduced into or absorbed by a living organism, causes death or injury, esp. one that kills by rapid action even in a small quantity.

   synonyms: toxin, toxicant, venom; More

    

    

[Idontevenknow99]

 

I don't think they understand the word 'poison'.

 

poi·son

ˈpoizən/

noun

 

1. 1.

   a substance that, when introduced into or absorbed by a living organism, causes death or injury, esp. one that kills by rapid action even in a small quantity.

   synonyms: toxin, toxicant, venom; More

    

    

 

 

I know right? 

[midniterider]

But but but, what about Botox? :-)

[Lilith666]

 

 

 

I'm personally not fond of the term 'African-American' and refuse to use it or any other 'country/continent of origin-American' label. The vast majority of the time someone is either African or Amercian, not both. People who have dual citizenship are the only time where that sort of grouping makes sense. Otherwise it's just PC bullshit that exists so people can be overly sensitive and cause problems by being offended by nothing. Getting offended by a racial slur is one thing, being a dick and trying to purposely turn a normal racial identifier with no offensive intent into an insult is just stupid and lame.

 

I do often use the term "African-American" in order to avoid offending anyone, but I also sometimes use the term "black" because I'm so used to it from when it wasn't considered offensive and the African-Americans I know around here still aren't offended by "black."

 

Anyway, I do agree with your sentiment here. Racism is downright pathetic and inexcusable, but false accusations of racism are just as bad. If someone makes a comment with no racist intent whatsoever, and someone else twists it into a racial slur just because he's a different race, which one really is the racist?

Oh Christ. I hate that. One time in eighth grade I was in art class and asked for more black paper. Someone grabbed this opportunity to say I was racist. It turned into a big feud when a close friend joined in, started saying I hated blacks/Mexicans/all other non-whites. We haven't been friends since then--five or so years. Unfounded accusations of racism piss me the fuck off.

[★ Citsonga ★]

 

 

 

I'm personally not fond of the term 'African-American' and refuse to use it or any other 'country/continent of origin-American' label. The vast majority of the time someone is either African or Amercian, not both. People who have dual citizenship are the only time where that sort of grouping makes sense. Otherwise it's just PC bullshit that exists so people can be overly sensitive and cause problems by being offended by nothing. Getting offended by a racial slur is one thing, being a dick and trying to purposely turn a normal racial identifier with no offensive intent into an insult is just stupid and lame.

I do often use the term "African-American" in order to avoid offending anyone, but I also sometimes use the term "black" because I'm so used to it from when it wasn't considered offensive and the African-Americans I know around here still aren't offended by "black."

 

Anyway, I do agree with your sentiment here. Racism is downright pathetic and inexcusable, but false accusations of racism are just as bad. If someone makes a comment with no racist intent whatsoever, and someone else twists it into a racial slur just because he's a different race, which one really is the racist?

Oh Christ. I hate that. One time in eighth grade I was in art class and asked for more black paper. Someone grabbed this opportunity to say I was racist. It turned into a big feud when a close friend joined in, started saying I hated blacks/Mexicans/all other non-whites. We haven't been friends since then--five or so years. Unfounded accusations of racism piss me the fuck off.

 

 

What in the world did they expect you to call it other than "black paper"??? Sheesh! That's a great example.

[Lilith666]

 

 

 

I'm personally not fond of the term 'African-American' and refuse to use it or any other 'country/continent of origin-American' label. The vast majority of the time someone is either African or Amercian, not both. People who have dual citizenship are the only time where that sort of grouping makes sense. Otherwise it's just PC bullshit that exists so people can be overly sensitive and cause problems by being offended by nothing. Getting offended by a racial slur is one thing, being a dick and trying to purposely turn a normal racial identifier with no offensive intent into an insult is just stupid and lame.

I do often use the term "African-American" in order to avoid offending anyone, but I also sometimes use the term "black" because I'm so used to it from when it wasn't considered offensive and the African-Americans I know around here still aren't offended by "black."

 

Anyway, I do agree with your sentiment here. Racism is downright pathetic and inexcusable, but false accusations of racism are just as bad. If someone makes a comment with no racist intent whatsoever, and someone else twists it into a racial slur just because he's a different race, which one really is the racist?

Oh Christ. I hate that. One time in eighth grade I was in art class and asked for more black paper. Someone grabbed this opportunity to say I was racist. It turned into a big feud when a close friend joined in, started saying I hated blacks/Mexicans/all other non-whites. We haven't been friends since then--five or so years. Unfounded accusations of racism piss me the fuck off.

 

 

What in the world did they expect you to call it other than "black paper"??? Sheesh! That's a great example.

 

 

Well, this so-called "friend" said later that I always used to say racist things, though when I asked her for examples, she couldn't think of any. It makes sense to think that  she had been talking behind my back about my "racism" to this other girl, who picked that moment to bring it out in the open. Race warriors can go screw themselves. That kind of thinking ruins relationships.

[◊ crazyguy123 ◊]

 

 

 

 

I'm personally not fond of the term 'African-American' and refuse to use it or any other 'country/continent of origin-American' label. The vast majority of the time someone is either African or Amercian, not both. People who have dual citizenship are the only time where that sort of grouping makes sense. Otherwise it's just PC bullshit that exists so people can be overly sensitive and cause problems by being offended by nothing. Getting offended by a racial slur is one thing, being a dick and trying to purposely turn a normal racial identifier with no offensive intent into an insult is just stupid and lame.

I do often use the term "African-American" in order to avoid offending anyone, but I also sometimes use the term "black" because I'm so used to it from when it wasn't considered offensive and the African-Americans I know around here still aren't offended by "black."

 

Anyway, I do agree with your sentiment here. Racism is downright pathetic and inexcusable, but false accusations of racism are just as bad. If someone makes a comment with no racist intent whatsoever, and someone else twists it into a racial slur just because he's a different race, which one really is the racist?

Oh Christ. I hate that. One time in eighth grade I was in art class and asked for more black paper. Someone grabbed this opportunity to say I was racist. It turned into a big feud when a close friend joined in, started saying I hated blacks/Mexicans/all other non-whites. We haven't been friends since then--five or so years. Unfounded accusations of racism piss me the fuck off.

 

 

What in the world did they expect you to call it other than "black paper"??? Sheesh! That's a great example.

 

 

Well, this so-called "friend" said later that I always used to say racist things, though when I asked her for examples, she couldn't think of any. It makes sense to think that  she had been talking behind my back about my "racism" to this other girl, who picked that moment to bring it out in the open. Race warriors can go screw themselves. That kind of thinking ruins relationships.

 

 

But the way they accused you of racism for using "black" to describe the color of some paper was so stupid that I almost think they had to have been joking around. The fact that they were serious makes me think they must have had some screws coming loose upstairs, if you know what I mean.

[Lilith666]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm personally not fond of the term 'African-American' and refuse to use it or any other 'country/continent of origin-American' label. The vast majority of the time someone is either African or Amercian, not both. People who have dual citizenship are the only time where that sort of grouping makes sense. Otherwise it's just PC bullshit that exists so people can be overly sensitive and cause problems by being offended by nothing. Getting offended by a racial slur is one thing, being a dick and trying to purposely turn a normal racial identifier with no offensive intent into an insult is just stupid and lame.

I do often use the term "African-American" in order to avoid offending anyone, but I also sometimes use the term "black" because I'm so used to it from when it wasn't considered offensive and the African-Americans I know around here still aren't offended by "black."

 

Anyway, I do agree with your sentiment here. Racism is downright pathetic and inexcusable, but false accusations of racism are just as bad. If someone makes a comment with no racist intent whatsoever, and someone else twists it into a racial slur just because he's a different race, which one really is the racist?

Oh Christ. I hate that. One time in eighth grade I was in art class and asked for more black paper. Someone grabbed this opportunity to say I was racist. It turned into a big feud when a close friend joined in, started saying I hated blacks/Mexicans/all other non-whites. We haven't been friends since then--five or so years. Unfounded accusations of racism piss me the fuck off.

What in the world did they expect you to call it other than "black paper"??? Sheesh! That's a great example.

Well, this so-called "friend" said later that I always used to say racist things, though when I asked her for examples, she couldn't think of any. It makes sense to think that she had been talking behind my back about my "racism" to this other girl, who picked that moment to bring it out in the open. Race warriors can go screw themselves. That kind of thinking ruins relationships.

But the way they accused you of racism for using "black" to describe the color of some paper was so stupid that I almost think they had to have been joking around. The fact that they were serious makes me think they must have had some screws coming loose upstairs, if you know what I mean.

I think they were grasping at straws to try to embarrass me. Not crazy--just desperate.