Forum > Non-Gaming Discussion > There is a (Chink) of sunlight peering between the clouds
There is a (Chink) of sunlight peering between the clouds
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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:32:45
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That was in the weather report I just saw and the word is used a lot. A chink in the armour, a chink of light. 

Why is Chink the only racist word commonly used in the English language? Can you think of other sensitive words that are used in this way?

What if someone started inserting the N-word into every day sentences? How is that unacceptable and yet chink is allowed to be used as a part of everyday language without anyone batting an eyebrow?

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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:40:21
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Unlike the word nigger, which has always had a derogatory, offensive meaning, I believe the word chink was only used in that fashion long after it was coined. That would be the reason why it's still in wide use.
Edited: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:40:59
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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:05:37
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What he said. But then there is the f-word meaning a collection of sticks that was long in use before the derogatory  use of that word directed at homosexuals.  And no-one uses it these days to mean bundle of sticks because it is too inflammatory (but then how often does a bundle of sticks come up in daily use?).

Hey you want to be racially offended? In the only gamespot.com podcast from E3 this year Kevin VanOrd said that aborigines where "just like cavemen".  Classy.

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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:59:14
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I guess it depends on how common the term on both spectrums.   "Cracker" and "sambo" can take on completely different meanings than saltines and martial arts.

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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:03:08
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Naggers

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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:05:03
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SteelAttack said:

Naggers

LOL That was such a great scene.

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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:42:36
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gamingeek said:

That was in the weather report I just saw and the word is used a lot. A chink in the armour, a chink of light.

Why is Chink the only racist word commonly used in the English language? Can you think of other sensitive words that are used in this way?

What if someone started inserting the N-word into every day sentences? How is that unacceptable and yet chink is allowed to be used as a part of everyday language without anyone batting an eyebrow?

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Go smoke a fag and calm down, man!

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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:45:39
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Yodariquo said:
I guess it depends on how common the term on both spectrums.   "Cracker" and "sambo" can take on completely different meanings than saltines and martial arts.

True.  I say cracker all the time and don't even think of it.  So there is the answer Geek.

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Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:54:21
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I don't know if it was Destructoid or Kotaku, but this was posted in one of their Reader Response sections, and I keep running across it in random other places too:



It seems to be TOTALLY acceptable. Bashing other races is a no-no, apparently, but bashing gay people, well THAT'S fine...

Hrm

I think when it comes to words like these, INTENTION is everything, and you can pretty much ALWAYS tell just HOW someone means it.
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Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:01:48
And retards.  It's okay to bash them too.  Like the moderator from GS who has a user name with "Spaz" in it (as in spastic).  It's okay for him to have that user name because it is also the name of a rock band.  So it's alright to have derogatory user names as long as you can find a band with that name (I'll let you come up with the hilarious band names).  

That was the final straw for me, the double standards on moderation.  Not to mention that GS staff use the word "retard" in their podcasts (which is accessible to the same 13 years olds mods were "protecting" in the forums from reading the same word).

Leo, I disagree with your intent argument.  If I'm mentally retarded and I hear or read people using the word retard when they want to describe anything that is stupid, I'm hurt whether the person who said it intended it or not.


Edited: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:03:40

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Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:39:27
I'm with Leo, I think its too much to be PC all the time. Sadly some of these words are part of normal slang and they get used in everyday life.
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Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:08:57
Hmmm... I don't think I am explaining myself very well.

There are times when words such as "chink" are used in derogatory ways and times when they are used as in regular speech, such as a "chink in the armor." You can pretty much tell the way in which a person intends to use them.

I NEVER condone the use of the words in a derogatory way.

Due to the (mis)use of common words as slang sometimes, you just have to take context into consideration to know what the speaker intends.

People use the word "fag" for cigarettes in certain places of the world. I do not believe anyone on Xbox Live is asking anyone else for a cigarette...

As for words like "retard"... Well, there's intention and there's just plain ignorance. I don't know what offends me more: People who intend to use it as an insult, or people who are just blind and dumb to what they are actually saying...

Dunno. Subjects like this make my brain hurt.
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Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:23:27
Retard/retarded also has multiple meanings... *head explodes*

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Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:08:21

aspro said:
What he said. But then there is the f-word meaning a collection of sticks that was long in use before the derogatory  use of that word directed at homosexuals.  And no-one uses it these days to mean bundle of sticks because it is too inflammatory (but then how often does a bundle of sticks come up in daily use?).

Hey you want to be racially offended? In the only gamespot.com podcast from E3 this year Kevin VanOrd said that aborigines where "just like cavemen".  Classy.

Here fags or (a) fag is used to describe cigarettes i.e "You having a fag?"

phantom_leo said:
I don't know if it was Destructoid or Kotaku, but this was posted in one of their Reader Response sections, and I keep running across it in random other places too:



It seems to be TOTALLY acceptable. Bashing other races is a no-no, apparently, but bashing gay people, well THAT'S fine...

Hrm

I think when it comes to words like these, INTENTION is everything, and you can pretty much ALWAYS tell just HOW someone means it.

Faggots are a type of scottish meatball here.

faggots.jpg

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Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:41:54
Scottish meatball is actually a pretty good way to describe that guy.

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