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I assume you think it's a good thing that we don't use phrases like "[black person] in the woodpile" or "[black person] toes" or "[black person] rigged" anymore. Maybe you agree we shouldn't use names for the Romani or Jewish people as idiom for being cheated. I am certain that there is some phrase or term you wouldn't use that my grandfather would have considered harmless, or his grandfather, etc.

I don't like arbitrary language policing, either. I think there was a much stronger case for eliminating "master"/"slave" than "master branch", for instance, and if people were to argue for eliminating "mastery" as well I'd consider that ridiculous. It's fine if you don't consider this particular argument persuasive, but if it's a step toward Ingsoc we've all already been sprinting in that direction for centuries.


> Maybe you agree we shouldn't use names for the Romani or Jewish people as idiom for being cheated

All good and admirable, but

when I meet someone from the States and say I'm Italian, it usually ends up like this

https://www.alessandravita.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12...

or this

https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uplo...

or with a combo

https://preview.redd.it/italian-stereotypes-starter-pack-v0-...

It's not the words or the metaphors, it's the people!

If someone wants to use words against someone else, they'll find a way, no matter what.

Policing words is fascist, if anything, police people bad behaviour, actually, police how your society works and start investigating why you you masterfully created, nourished and spread to the World so many cultural stereotypes about everyone who is not you and doesn't want to be like you! They talk to us about you, it's not the words you use, but *how* you use them.

Try to understand that thinking "you person of color -> you bad" it's not any better than thinking "you [n word] -> you bad".

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