Yesterday was the day our friends blessed their darling baby girl. Yesterday was also Pearl Harbor Day. The combination of these facts meant that we got to hear an elderly member of our friends' ward recount the day the "Japs" bombed Pearl Harbor over the pulpit. (What would testimony meeting be without those non-testimonies that are at least as common? Boring, that's what. Uplifting, but boring.)
Now, I realize that the choice of words describing the ethnicity of those December 7, 1941 bombers could have been worse--just ask Kristin what her grandpa called them--but it did make me and my friend Kip (also in attendance) wonder.
At what point does one stop updating one's vocabulary so as to avoid what are at best offensive terms and at worst flat-out racist ones? Is there a magic age (60? 70? 80?) at which you become immune from the gasps released by younger generations at their mention?
Judging by the terms Josh's grandpa calls our current president-elect, I think it's safe to say that whenever it happens, it's happened by age 82.
This is not to say that I'm calling these older generations racist in spirit (while understanding how living through World War II could negatively affect their perceptions of certain nationalities). Josh's grandpa, for instance, has a heart of gold. It's just that the terms "African American" and "black" have not made their way into his vocabulary.
And so, my fellow under-the-magic-age readers, what will be the term(s) that we will still be saying in our old age? Hazard a guess! There will be unforgettable prizes handed out to the winner on December 7, 2068. (And it has to be a term that isn't considered offensive/racist now. For instance, I believe there is a derogatory term that includes the word "sand" that some soldiers in Iraq currently use. That doesn't count.)
5 comments:
South Provoite
Hmmm.I am way to tired to think of something funny but this post makes me laugh! So true.
There have been many terms in my lifetime that have changed already and while "negro" or "oriental" aren't exactly overtly racist (see the contemporary examples of the United Negro College Fund and Oriental Trading Company), they are certainly strange to our ears. But the resurgence of "black" after "African American" was in use is a good example of how I think our culture is moving back away from the politically correct leading me to wonder if this will cease to be a problem by the time we are offensive old people.
Also, thought I should clarify that although my grandfather uses many cringe-worthy terms, he rarely if ever uses the "n" word. I think even he realizes that is beyond inappropriate. Not that the others he uses are much better, they are just slightly easier to stomach.
I don't know the exact history of "black" and "African American," but I think the point is not that we're moving away from PC terms (I hate the term "PC" anyway--this is more than about "correctness"). Rather, the point is that terms are indeed fluid. They become loaded with different connotations and may fall in and out of use, but that doesn't mean that we as a culture are going to stop caring about what various groups like to be called--which is what being "PC" really means anyway.
In other words, there is no saving us from being offensive.
I don't mean to say that I am against political correctness in any way, I just mean that what is considered offensive is narrowing again as minority groups begin to reclaim words that were formerly understood to be slurs across the board. We have homosexuals reclaiming the words "queer" and "fag" while African Americans are reclaiming the words "black" and even "nigga," taking the power away from these words and making the defining of offensive language less clear.
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