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Any actual Samaritans out there? How do you feel about that language?
by hughw 6y ago
Any actual Samaritans out there? How do you feel about that language?
- t-writescode 6y agoIt’s a reference to the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s not some racist jab.
- dingaling 6y agoNeither are most other terms, but that counts for little.
- hughw 6y agoI well understand that. My question is whether modern day residents of, or emigrants from, Samaria feel comfortable with the Bad Samaritan characterization. If it were a large demographic in the U.S., there might be a reaction. Then the question becomes, how large a population do you need before you have to speak carefully about a group.
- Spivak 6y agoYeah, I feel like it’s really weird to have such dissonance about this on HN. Like can you imagine if the phrase was something like Good Chinaman? There would be an uproar. To me this is like learning that word for getting scammed is just a dig at the Romani.
- ohyeshedid 6y agoTo some folks out there, those weigh the same.
- CobrastanJorji 6y agoI had no idea Samaritans were an extant group of people, but Wikipedia tells me that there are around 1,000 people who self-identify as Samaritan, mostly around Mount Gerizim and Tel Aviv. Fascinating.
- teawrecks 6y agoNo doubt they all frequent this forum