Slurs you weren't aware were slurs

[AG31]

I think you are seeing it too narrowly. By using a term, e.g. spastic, to describe somebody who isn't, demeans those whom it legitimately applies.

I just want to know if there's a short-hand to refer to that.

 

[AG31]

Context matters, but we've lost sight of that so you get cases like this:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news...emory-wrong-suspend-law-professor-who-used-it

I was going to Like this, but of course you can't like it. I just like that you posted it for us to see the absurd extremes people are going to.

 

[crookedletter]

I just want to know if there's a short-hand to refer to that.

I think it's just the evolution of language. Meanings shift with times and uses. Sometimes words soften, other times they take on new meaning that makes people uncomfortable. I'm not sure there's one word or phrase that encapsulates that specific type of shift.

 

[Britva415]

I think we agree that making fun of groups that we don't belong to, is not a good idea

who cares if trolls cry

 

[Britva415]

"You people" is a fight starter whether black says it whites or vise versa.

I can't remember who it was when I used the phrase "these people" in a post, as a neutral specifier for which people I was indicating, and someone sent it right off the rails because of my phrase choice. Assuming bad faith just because of their own reflexive reaction to what I guess was a trigger.

They weren't even one of those people I was indicating, and the group I was indicating wasn't even one which has ever been slurred.

 

[MrHereWriting]

Anything that can describe you can be used as a slur and there are people that will actually get offended by their own description.

 

[Writer61]

I just want to know if there's a short-hand to refer to that.

Wilful ignorance?

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I was going to Like this, but of course you can't like it. I just like that you posted it for us to see the absurd extremes people are going to.

It's unfortunate, and I suspect that more than a few of the people who were outraged and offended listen to music with the same language and don't bat an eye.

 

[MillieDynamite]

In the end words are words and we decide to make some mean more, more powerful, more important, or more triggering. I myself hate the word CUNT, especially if it is directed at or about a woman.

I can't remember who it was when I used the phrase "these people" in a post, as a neutral specifier for which people I was indicating, and someone sent it right off the rails because of my phrase choice. Assuming bad faith just because of their own reflexive reaction to what I guess was a trigger.

They weren't even one of those people I was indicating, and the group I was indicating wasn't even one which has ever been slurred.

 

[Writer61]

As a Brit, I am used to rude words being slang for body parts or functions. This is true in Dutch also, but are a substantial number which are related to illness/disease:

• Kanker (cancer) or Krijg de kanker (catch the cancer) and Kankerlijer (cancer sufferer)
• Pleurislijer (tuberculosis sufferer) is broadly equivalent to saying Motherfucker in English

Cholera, Pox, Polio, Typhus, and many other diseases crop up too.

 

[cw5523729]

I myself hate the word CUNT, especially if it is directed at or about a woman.

This seems to raise the question of how many men you know that it's been directed at.

 

[MillieDynamite]

None by me.

This seems to raise the question of how many men you know that it's been directed at.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I wonder which we'll see first. White people are the real victims, white people should be allowed to use the N word, or man vs bear.

You wouldn’t think Man vs Bear is even on the table, but it’s always lurking.

Drinks at the ready, comrades.

 

[AG31]

This seems to raise the question of how many men you know that it's been directed at.

It seems a pretty common slur against men in some kinds of novels I read. Maybe they're all British based? I read a lot of those.

 

[cw5523729]

It seems a pretty common slur against men in some kinds of novels I read. Maybe they're all British based? I read a lot of those.

That's very possible - now that you say that, I have heard a lot of British throw that word around like nothing. 'Twat' as well.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, I'm not sure about that Man vs Bear, but no white folks, sure as shit, shouldn't use the N word, at least around me, not good for their health. I haven't used my baton in a long time, but I'm always ready to open up a can and whoop ass.

I wonder which we'll see first. White people are the real victims, white people should be allowed to use the N word, or man vs bear.

You wouldn’t think Man vs Bear is even on the table, but it’s always lurking.

Drinks at the ready, comrades.

 

[cw5523729]

Well, I'm not sure about that Man vs Bear, but no white folks, sure as shit, shouldn't use the N word, at least around me, not good for their health. I haven't used my baton in a long time, but I'm always ready to open up a can and whoop ass.

I feel like in 2025 this is pretty universally accepted.

 

[YmaOHyd]

This seems to raise the question of how many men you know that it's been directed at.

Like, know personally? Several. Know in the general sense? Hundreds, probably? It is impossible to care about British and Irish sports, including football and rugby, without hearing it all. The. Time.

 

[THBGato]

Like, know personally? Several. Know in the general sense? Hundreds, probably? It is impossible to care about British and Irish sports, including football and rugby, without hearing it all. The. Time.

British sporting insults are in a league of their own.

 

[YmaOHyd]

British sporting insults are in a league of their own.

British public transit for big games is not always the best, and if there's a train delay it's often announced over the stadium PA. It's not uncommon for the winning team's supporters to sing something along the lines of three-nil and you can't go home to the losers.

There was also the time circa 2007, I want to say, when it was revealed that Chelsea and England defender Wayne Bridge's wife had had affairs with a few of Bridge's teammates, most notably John Terry. The stadiums that year had a field day singing Missus Bridge is going down / going down / going down / Missus Bridge is going down / on John Terry. Sometimes they'd go through the whole team.

A slightly horrible one is the "There's only one" chant. You love Steven Gerrard, so you sing "There's only one Steven Gerrard." After Andy Goram was diagnosed with schizophrenia, opposing fans sang "there's only two Andy Gorams." A variant here is the "he's one of our own" chant about favorite hometown players. Derby County fans reversed it after Jimmy Saville's convictions for paedophilia, singing Jimmy Saville / he's one of your own at Leeds supporters.

Olivier Giroud was a big, slightly plodding center-forward for Arsenal who played with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, two absolutely elite talents. Occasionally you'd hear people singing Alexis to the left of me / Mesut to the right / here I am / stuck in the middle Giroud to the tune of "Stuck in the Middle with You" by Stealer's Wheels.

And the last one -- Chelsea Football Club in London had kind of a mediocre past until being purchased by Russian war criminal Roman Abramovich, who pumped huge amounts of money into the team, helping them win everything. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Abramovich was sanctioned, putting Chelsea in a weird spot where they couldn't sell merchandise or single-game tickets. As a result, attendances were very light, as only season ticket holders and away supporters could attend. Arsenal fans at least, and presumably others, sang there's nobody here / there's nobody here / it's just like the old days / there's nobody here on their visits to the Bridge.

 

[Britva415]

This seems to raise the question of how many men you know that it's been directed at.

I took it more like "directed at a woman" vs indicating a woman's body part.

Like, you have a dick vs. you are a dick.

But yeah, it's routine friendly banter among lots of men in the Commonwealth, particularly Australia.

 

[crookedletter]

But yeah, it's routine friendly banter among lots of men in the Commonwealth, particularly Australia.

And a great way to get slapped in the US.

 

[TheRedChamber]

It seems a pretty common slur against men in some kinds of novels I read. Maybe they're all British based? I read a lot of those.

That's very possible - now that you say that, I have heard a lot of British throw that word around like nothing. 'Twat' as well.

Yes. My wife uses the word against her (male) boss constantly. I use it liberally but never against a woman.