Itinerant Air-Cooled

Lanval wrote:......."Last night I caught my roommate exacerbating! I couldn't believe it; right there in the living room!"......

Or masticating in the kitchen!

Bookwus wrote:

Lanval wrote:......."Last night I caught my roommate exacerbating! I couldn't believe it; right there in the living room!"......

Or masticating in the kitchen!

God I hate it when I get caught doing that. Especially late at night when I think everyone else is asleep.

Your epidermis is showing!

I was put-off by "niggardly" when I read it as well. I was appalled that Colin would use such a word. Geesh, you think you know a guy. Then I looked it up.

I already knew the history and the meaning of the word. But as we all know the english language changes as do the meaning of words. The word "niggardly" is extremely offensive to African-Americans like me. Basically Niggardly is like saying Ni**er rigged. Surely there is a better choice of words that could have been chosen. It might of been ok 950 years ago.

RZAR wrote:I already knew the history and the meaning of the word. But as we all know the english language changes as do the meaning of words. The word "niggardly" is extremely offensive to African-Americans like me. Basically Niggardly is like saying Ni**er rigged. Surely there is a better choice of words that could have been chosen. It might of been ok 950 years ago.

It's actually not like saying "ni**er rigged." It has no basis in racism, at all. It only sounds like it does. And since it means "begrudging" or "stingy," why would it be racially offensive? These are not concepts typically associated with the stereotypes. (Ni**er rigged, on the other hand, suggests laziness and ineptitude. Ideas that go right along with the false premise of black inferiority.)

The emotional reaction is understandable, though.


Cindy

RZAR,

Well, I learned a few years ago that "cracker" has a negative meaning too, but I don't think we've stricken it from the English language just yet.

I'm not sure that being a homophone is enough to justify tossing it out. Though to be fair, English does have a lot of words, so we probably wouldn't miss it. But the loss might well be lachrymal...

L.

RZAR wrote:I already knew the history and the meaning of the word. But as we all know the english language changes as do the meaning of words. The word "niggardly" is extremely offensive to African-Americans like me. Basically Niggardly is like saying Ni**er rigged.

Please accept my apologies if you were upset by my choice of words.

But I do not accept that African Americans are upset by the word "niggardly". You may speak for yourself of course, and I may apologize to you specifically for any misunderstanding, but you may not wax nonsensical about assumptions that the African American community is under some mass perception that "niggardly" has anything to do with rigging. I am, after all, the master of rigging, and I know my hill-billy hack when I see one. Stinginess and resistance-to-sharing have nothing to do with hill-billy hackery and bubble gum and baling wire. Period.

We cannot allow PC ignorance to rule the day. We cannot allow (what's the new word as applied to Michele Obama's vacation to Spain, "optics"?) misperceptions to muzzle the actual meanings of concise words. You may note as do I, that our exceptionally articulate and eloquent President is frequently misunderstood and pilloried for his vocabulary, and THAT is offensive to me!
Colin

Amskeptic wrote:

RZAR wrote:I already knew the history and the meaning of the word. But as we all know the english language changes as do the meaning of words. The word "niggardly" is extremely offensive to African-Americans like me. Basically Niggardly is like saying Ni**er rigged.

Please accept my apologies if you were upset by my choice of words.

But I do not accept that African Americans are upset by the word "niggardly". You may speak for yourself of course, and I may apologize to you specifically for any misunderstanding, but you may not wax nonsensical about assumptions that the African American community is under some mass perception that "niggardly" has anything to do with rigging. I am, after all, the master of rigging, and I know my hill-billy hack when I see one. Stinginess and resistance-to-sharing have nothing to do with hill-billy hackery and bubble gum and baling wire. Period.

We cannot allow PC ignorance to rule the day. We cannot allow (what's the new word as applied to Michele Obama's vacation to Spain, "optics"?) misperceptions to muzzle the actual meanings of concise words. You may note as do I, that our exceptionally articulate and eloquent President is frequently misunderstood and pilloried for his vocabulary, and THAT is offensive to me!
Colin

I know you meant nothing by that word. I frequently read your postings following you around the country helping others and your vocabulary is defiantly Webster status. I actually had converstions about this word in my Black Student Union when I was in high School and again in College when some politician (I think) stepped down for using that word around african americans in Washington DC. Trust me you would get some eye-brow raising if you were to use that word around Africans- Americans. Maybe not all but Im sure most do not like the word. Even though the meaning has nothing to do with N-rigged that what most people think it means. To me its an ugly word because the first time I heard it, it was used as a racial slur, basicly a nice way of saying N-rigged. Im not trying to tell you how to speak or what words you can or cannot use.