3 ms·
As a kid, I heard they were called paddywagons because lots of the police were Irish immigrants which was borne out by all the Bugs Bunny cartoons I watched. N
by jbaber 2y ago
As a kid, I heard they were called paddywagons because lots of the police were Irish immigrants which was borne out by all the Bugs Bunny cartoons I watched. Not really derogatory.
OED says origin is uncertain. At this point, does "racist" just mean "involves group of people"?
- jbaber 2y agoI suddenly realize the idea isn't that "Irish wagon" is offensive, it's that that word's a slur for Irish people.
- hammyhavoc 2y agoYep. The key thing is contextual intent, but it's important to not memoryhole the origins of words that might otherwise be best left firmly in the past. Not like we're short of ways to describe things.
- Dylan16807 2y agoEven if it once was, I don't think it counts as a slur anymore.