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[Vector]

There's a reason why I said that "Traveler" is the broadly accepted term of respect for nomadic peoples.  It's not connected to any one ethnic group, it never has been, and it has absolutely zero negative connotations or even additional stereotypes attached.

And yes, this argument is incredibly stupid, and I'd really appreciate it if Max White didn't make arguing with him a zero sum game.  We had this argument about the word "gay" before--remember that, Max?  You and I went at it for hours.  It'd be nice if you extrapolated from that instance and, at the very least, said "Well, I'll think about it," rather than "Let's argue until every fiber and iota of my being is convinced that you are right."

[Tellemurius]

You know i wonder if a global debt pardon will ever happen. No one owes shit to anyone on a exact moment. Far-fetch? yes. Incredibly stupid? yes. Could it work? maybe.

The problem is that you would have to do so without anyone knowing about it beforehand. Otherwise, they'd max out their debt in a heartbeat.
Or if you made it known that it was going to happen, but were vague about exactly when, no one would lend ANY money and you'd have a massive credit crunch like we saw in the US in 2008-09.

The obvious solution is to turn the upcoming Olympic Games into some kind of debt resolution mechanism. Every time your country beats another country in a particular sport, you negate 5% of your national debt to that country.

America! I have the solution to our debt crisis! 

Holy shit that can work,
Save the country by waving that big dick far in the air!

[Max White]

There's a reason why I said that "Traveler" is the broadly accepted term of respect for nomadic peoples.  It's not connected to any one ethnic group, it never has been, and it has absolutely zero negative connotations or even additional stereotypes attached.

And yes, this argument is incredibly stupid, and I'd really appreciate it if Max White didn't make arguing with him a zero sum game.  We had this argument about the word "gay" before--remember that, Max?  You and I went at it for hours.  It'd be nice if you extrapolated from that instance and, at the very least, said "Well, I'll think about it," rather than "Let's argue until every fiber and iota of my being is convinced that you are right."

Yea that was also fun. Can't remember how that one finished... Would read last two posts, but 6:30 am, time for sleep, maybe? If not a shower and breakfast...

[Frumple]

There's a reason why I said that "Traveler" is the broadly accepted term of respect for nomadic peoples.  It's not connected to any one ethnic group, it never has been, and it has absolutely zero negative connotations or even additional stereotypes attached.

Yeah, that's why I'd mentioned general use -- I've never actually seen "Traveler" used as a group identifier before (while having ran into that entire sundry list of synonyms, yeah). Maybe/hopefully it's picking up in usage and can stay fairly clean for a while.

Doesn't have much zing to it, though

[Rose]

Man, I just love it when people get offended on behalf of other people.

[DJ]

It really gets my blood boiling when people use the word "lame" to describe things in a negative light. It's highly offensive to people with certain physical disabilities which I don't actually have

[Vector]

Man, I just love it when people get offended on behalf of other people.

Man, I just love it when people say shit about me and everyone else stands by, giving tacit agreement.

[DJ]

Fight yer own battles.

[Rose]

Yeah, it's a touchy subject either way.

What I get from all this is not to use the word gypsy in Europe, even if it's got a different meaning elsewhere. (much like the term mexican in southern US)

[Vector]

Fight yer own battles.

My battle is the fight for human decency, for human flourishing.  This is my battle.

What I get from all this is not to use the word gypsy in Europe, even if it's got a different meaning elsewhere. (much like the term mexican in southern US)

And yeah, I think a lot of this is really about consideration for people in a global context, not about local usages--though with the current level of immigration, it seems like it's probably best practice to follow global standards as possible.

For an example of my own part of this, I'm currently working to stop saying "kaffir lime."

[RedKing]

Be nice, folks. We're all awesome here, and language is a messy thing.

For an example of my own part of this, I'm currently working to stop saying "kaffir lime."

...seriously?  I mean, I know what kaffir means, but is that really a problem?

Next, we'll stop saying Devil's advocate because it implies you're in league with Satan. I'm not fond of sterilizing language.

[DJ]

My battle is the fight for human decency, for human flourishing.  This is my battle.

That's a bit pretentious, don't you think?

[G-Flex]

And yeah, I think a lot of this is really about consideration for people in a global context, not about local usages--though with the current level of immigration, it seems like it's probably best practice to follow global standards as possible.

Thing is, I'm not even from Europe, yet I and other people from the US (both on and off this thread) are well-aware of the word's association with the ethnic group, and I, at least, am familiar with active stereotyping and prejudice toward them in the US, even if it doesn't come up very often. So I'd say this is the kind of thing that doesn't even rely on the concept of "global context" quite as much as one might think, although it's certainly still relevant.

My battle is the fight for human decency, for human flourishing.  This is my battle.

That's a bit pretentious, don't you think?

Maybe, but it's also commendable. Stereotyping and prejudice often don't occur directly in front of the targets of such behavior, and it's important to make it clear that such behavior isn't okay. If someone is saying terrible, misogynistic things to me, for example, I'm not just going to let it slide because I'm not a woman; I'd rather let him know that even other men can think it's not okay. Just to give an example. This is even more true when the targets of the behavior aren't really in a position to say anything as a result of being in some way underprivileged.

[Rose]

Personally, I'm torn between not causing offence, which is undeniably right, and making words not offensive, which is also a good thing.

And this is the first time I've heard the word "kaffir lime". Round here they just  call em lebu.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Motion: Lock the thread for a day before this brings Toady down here and he locks it forever. This is getting way, way too heated.