On 8/8/07, Bob Shell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I have French friends who call themselves "froggies" when they call > me, and some German friends who laughingly call themselves "krauts". > I think it's OK when they do it, and when it's done with a smile. I > don't use those appellations when talking to them, though. >
An oppressed group (or one that perceives itself as oppressed) will often "take ownership" of offensive or bigoted language. It's a way of defusing it, or throwing back in the face of the oppressor. Some African Americans may choose to call themselves or others "niggers", but I don't think that it's advisable for a white person such as myself to use such language (except towards someone that I'm extremely intimate with. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
