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I would ask the same question. Is there evidence that somehow the majority has forgotten the original meaning but the minority hasn't? Do you have any evidence
by mmmpetrichor 6y ago
I would ask the same question. Is there evidence that somehow the majority has forgotten the original meaning but the minority hasn't? Do you have any evidence of that? I'm sure if you study this type of thing as a hobby you could probably score a lot of points in arguments. But is that the best way to go about making real changes?
- empath75 6y agoSo multiple people have claimed that “no one“ knows what it means and the original meaning was forgotten and multiple people in this thread knew the original meaning and the the origin is listed in the dictionary etymology and Wikipedia page. It’s not a deep dark secret. I grew up in the south, I know the history and the racial connotation for it was always there for me. That it’s not there for you or that you never thought about it before doesn’t mean that nobody did or that everyone here is making it up.
- mmmpetrichor 6y agoSocial media blurs the lines and it makes it hard for anyone to understand reality versus fiction. It was probably the same when mass communication took off in the first place, but it's happening again. Any particular change in language like this seems like a small thing, but it's very hard for me to tell if those changes are actually being driven by an oppressed community who thinks such changes are important, or if they're coming from meaningless social media echo chambers. Latino versus Latinx is another example I struggle with. Should we modify an entire language due to some perceived sexism? Who is actually perceiving this sexism and is it the real voice of the community?