Racial slurs and derogatory terms

Use this forum to discuss the March 2022 Book of the month, "My Enemy in Vietnam" by Billy Springer
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María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
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Re: Racial slurs and derogatory terms

Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

Kayla Archer wrote: 17 May 2022, 12:34 I understand this is an extremely sensitive subject right now. Something we need to remember is the context: when was the story taking place, where was it taking place, and what language would have been used during that time?
If you study the Bible, you need to consider the same ideas about context. Some thing written there can come off very offensively, but the context needs to be considered: Who is being addressed? What's the atmosphere of the culture? etc.
I hate that authors do a great deal of research to make their pieces well written to have to worry and dodge vocabulary in order to not offend someone accidentally. I absolutely do not condone slavery or the words associated with it; I'm simply stating that events happened and are true, and if an author is trying to keep that setting true in his writing, he needs to use the correct vocabulary. That doesn't make him a racist or judgmental.
I'm not saying he's racist. Not at all. Not even judgemental. Nor do I mean to imply that slavery didn't happen and racism, sadly, is still an everyday occurrence. What I mean is that by being harmed by a group of people one can become unsensitized to the fact that there are other vulnerable groups who could feel offended by our words.
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Post by Wy_Bertram »

This is one of those issues where the rules aren't explicitly defined. The discriminatory racial connotations of certain words vary based on the word itself, and it's history, so I do not believe the term the OP speaks of, has the same negative connotation as, perhaps, the N-word. However, I believe context also plays an important role, as if the writers intention is to offend, then it is, of course, offensive.
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Post by ZhanLu »

The "n" word has a tragic history behind it, while "redneck" does not. It is more towards the social climate and not offensive in my viewpoint. But, I am not sure how the political correctness and racial discrimination connect. As far as I am aware, there was no political meaning behind to any racial slur in the past.
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Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

Wy_Bertram wrote: 18 May 2022, 12:33 This is one of those issues where the rules aren't explicitly defined. The discriminatory racial connotations of certain words vary based on the word itself, and it's history, so I do not believe the term the OP speaks of, has the same negative connotation as, perhaps, the N-word. However, I believe context also plays an important role, as if the writers intention is to offend, then it is, of course, offensive.
I don't think his intention was to offend. And, of course, the violence implied in both words isn't comparable. I just think that while complaining, and rightfully so, of the harm that words can do, he wasn't simultaneously being aware of the implications of his own language. But I don't think there's an intentional harmful implication behind it.
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Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

gusulansect wrote: 18 May 2022, 18:53 The "n" word has a tragic history behind it, while "redneck" does not. It is more towards the social climate and not offensive in my viewpoint. But, I am not sure how the political correctness and racial discrimination connect. As far as I am aware, there was no political meaning behind to any racial slur in the past.
I completely understand the level of harm is not the same. But I also don't think politics, especially current politics, have necessarily something to do with the harm a word can do.
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Post by Ochieng Stephen Owino »

Racial slurs and derogatory terms usually have a nasty effect on people's lives. However, the term redneck has never been used to oppress a certain group of people like the N-word has. Hence I think it is total dependent on the social climate of the time.
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Post by Ebi Robert »

Well "redneck" seems to be relative from perspective given. But the N word is clear to its racial content. Nevertheless, some may also see it somewhat relative. But the use of the N-word clearly demonstrate a major theme of the book.
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Post by Sandradozie1995 »

Those terms, were very hurtful and derogatory. The quality of a person shouldn't be measured by his/her skin colour.
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Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

Sandradozie1995 wrote: 22 May 2022, 03:34 Those terms, were very hurtful and derogatory. The quality of a person shouldn't be measured by his/her skin colour.
I couldn't agree more. It's absurd that people think that the amount of melanin on our skin means something about our character.
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Post by Ibunyi »

I believe the impact of racial slurs and derogatory terms affect people differently. However, I wouldn't dislike 5he author for using what he thought was correct in the setting of the book
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Post by Kavita Shah »

The 'n' word is more eye-catching racial slur while rednecks won't cause a lot of waves for different readers. It is also incongruent with authors complaint of racial slurs. The use of derogatory 'n' word and rednecks is due to the social climate at that time.
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Post by Ada Chris »

I believe that the use of the term "redneck" is acceptable, especially considering the period the events in the book were set when political correctness was not an issue. What is derogatory or not is highly based on context and can be subjective as well.
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Post by Waliyat_24 »

The term dates back to the olden days when politics are not balanced. I feel the use of the term now will be understood in term of the society, one’s upbringing, you know, and level of understanding. If a person grows up hearing this term every time in a bad way, definitely, that makes it derogatory.
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Post by Peace10 »

To me, I just feel we need an updated version of some derogatory words and a lot of us need to know them, to avoid misunderstanding. This is on the part of the hearer, and to the person saying it, study the person who is talking to we'll, some people still come from where these words probably have a bad meaning. That way, we will know when to use those derogatory terms and when not.
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Post by Agatha Bushguy »

I think his using that slur was to show what was commonplace in those times. It still is though.
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