“Illegal Alien” I hate that people assume that because I am Asian-American that I must be some FOB and maybe I don’t speak English or read English well or that I am an illegal alien (not true to all of the above!)….I will be reading the NYT on the train and some older guy will make some condescending remark about how well I can read the paper (hello! I have been reading it since I was 10!)…and then I have to politely tell him what I do for a living (and that he shouldn’t make dumb assumptions of people)…Another time… Read more »
When I lived on the South Side of Chicago I was regularly demonized for being white. The train ride home inevitably involved no fewer than two people calling me a racist (for the crime of trying to read a book on the train, while standing, how racially insensitive of me). I was also usually called ignorant and told I “didn’t understand” what it was like to live in my own neighborhood, by people who had never met me before, and had no possible way of knowing what I did or did not understand. I am sorry that you have to… Read more »
The difference is that people making assumptions about you because of your outward appearance isn’t reflective of or contributing to the continued disenfranchisement of your social group based on that appearance.
Yeah, I’ve heard this argument before, and frankly it doesn’t hold water.
The present population on the South Side of Chicago did not actually live through the 1800s, and therefore has no reason to be angry over it. They might be angry about injustices done to them today, but feigning anger over the past is as worthless as it is transparent.
I have what I have today because my Irish ancestors were willing to overlook systematic disenfranchisement and let bygones be bygones. It’s time for others to learn how to do the same.
Lame is something I’d never really considered before. I’ve always associated the literal meaning of “lame” with a horse, and not people at all, to be honest. I’d never say that someone in a wheelchair is “lame,” for example. So I never really considered calling something that I thought was uncool, “lame” as a reference to people who can’t walk.
I’d love to know what any of the less able-bodied readers here at GMP think about the word “lame.”
Dick/Dickhead: Associates jerkish behavior with male genitals. Creates the illusion that being a jerk is inherently male or that the reason some is performing jerkish behavior is because they are male.
I’m not trying to be mean or anything but what does that have to do with it? It’s a direct swipe at penis owners (a subset of people like any other) by way of attributing jerkish behavior to a single part of their body rather than the way that person is acting. The same argument could be made about “pussy” and cowardice.
“Illegal Alien” I hate that people assume that because I am Asian-American that I must be some FOB and maybe I don’t speak English or read English well or that I am an illegal alien (not true to all of the above!)….I will be reading the NYT on the train and some older guy will make some condescending remark about how well I can read the paper (hello! I have been reading it since I was 10!)…and then I have to politely tell him what I do for a living (and that he shouldn’t make dumb assumptions of people)…Another time… Read more »
When I lived on the South Side of Chicago I was regularly demonized for being white. The train ride home inevitably involved no fewer than two people calling me a racist (for the crime of trying to read a book on the train, while standing, how racially insensitive of me). I was also usually called ignorant and told I “didn’t understand” what it was like to live in my own neighborhood, by people who had never met me before, and had no possible way of knowing what I did or did not understand. I am sorry that you have to… Read more »
The difference is that people making assumptions about you because of your outward appearance isn’t reflective of or contributing to the continued disenfranchisement of your social group based on that appearance.
Yeah, I’ve heard this argument before, and frankly it doesn’t hold water.
The present population on the South Side of Chicago did not actually live through the 1800s, and therefore has no reason to be angry over it. They might be angry about injustices done to them today, but feigning anger over the past is as worthless as it is transparent.
I have what I have today because my Irish ancestors were willing to overlook systematic disenfranchisement and let bygones be bygones. It’s time for others to learn how to do the same.
Lame is something I’d never really considered before. I’ve always associated the literal meaning of “lame” with a horse, and not people at all, to be honest. I’d never say that someone in a wheelchair is “lame,” for example. So I never really considered calling something that I thought was uncool, “lame” as a reference to people who can’t walk.
I’d love to know what any of the less able-bodied readers here at GMP think about the word “lame.”
Dick/Dickhead: Associates jerkish behavior with male genitals. Creates the illusion that being a jerk is inherently male or that the reason some is performing jerkish behavior is because they are male.
Well, they didn’t include any anatomy on their list, to be fair.
I’m not trying to be mean or anything but what does that have to do with it? It’s a direct swipe at penis owners (a subset of people like any other) by way of attributing jerkish behavior to a single part of their body rather than the way that person is acting. The same argument could be made about “pussy” and cowardice.