Okay, so I wrote this sometime ago and never posted it. But today, for whatever stupid reason, I’ve suddenly got your attention so I’m going to ask for your help.
We need a couple of words. Please post what you know.
This is a practical application of the diversity principle: you know stuff I don’t. And the next person reading will have a totally different life experience and knows stuff we both don’t know.
So what’s the need?
It’s simple.
WE NEED A NOMINAL (ie NOUN) PHRASE (OR POSSIBLY A VERB PHRASE) FOR THE ACT OF DEFINING ONE’S OWN RACIST WORDS AS BEING NON-RACIST.
Mr. GOP announces, “And I’m not a racist!”
It’s been going on a long time.
Fundamental logic flaw: the speaker of racist argot gets to define the rules? Um, no, I think not.
And part 2:
WE NEED A NOMINAL (NOUN) PHRASE (OR POSSIBLY A VERB PHRASE) FOR THE ACT OR EVENT OF SAYING IT IS RUDE TO POINT OUT RACISM.
Caveat: I’m an old white guy.
For that reason, I’m sure that there is a well established series of words for this. I KNOW I’m missing something here, but please politely enlighten me. Something from Feminist theory, or from Africana studies, or from Twitter speak or a pop music song, or something from Sales or Sociology or Psychology or Prostitution or Party Making or TVTropes.com or Epistemology or Logic or Law Enforcement or Linguistics or Auto Mechanics or Memes...
Or anywhere on the rich quilt of human experience. Hey, there are probably different views of the same problem from LOTS of fields. And we need as many of them as possible available to us!
And I don’t know them. Neither do you.
1. Don’t assume that someone else posting an answer solves this problem. We need different words for different situations, for different levels of discourse, for different grammatical constructions and different communication contexts. Frankly, we need different phrases for different people’s viewpoints. We need choices for how to express this! Post YOUR term even if others have posted before. Post to indicate which phrase you use. Please post, even if a hundred people have already posted and have announced “THE” correct term.
2. And... please do NOT anoint “the” correct term. For all the reasons in 1.
3. WE DON’T NEED ADJECTIVES. This isn’t a George F. Will opinion column, with buckets of adjectives dumped on the unsuspecting reader in place of reason. We need nouns and verbs.
4. Don’t bother insulting my knowledge level, nor that of others who post. Go preen yourself elsewhere please.
5. English evolves. We invent. Feel free to get inventive! If you cannot think of a proper term, make up a proper term! Or make up a humorous one. Please, please, please….
6. Yeah, courtesy levels can vary too. It’s okay to post something that is, ahem, “rude”. (Hopefully not to the old white guy.)
Please post first and then read the comments of others AFTER, so your answer will be YOUR answer !
Please post ! (Politely)