On 03/14/16 21:48, Derek Martin wrote: > On Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 01:33:09PM +0000, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) wrote: >> "Cotton pickin" is a racist term. > > No, it isn't. > > http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cotton-picking.html >
The existence of cotton picking jobs doesn't imply that English speakers *must* have used "cotton-pickin" as an adjective beforehand (begging the question, why must they?), but even if it wasn't racist before the slave plantations, it is in today's context. Still, it says: "'cotton-picking' originated in the southern states of the USA, where it is usually pronounced cotton-pickin'", so there is little need to editorialize (erase) its origins. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
