tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post8916207711700018096..comments2024-01-04T04:31:00.481-05:00Comments on Mixed Race America: Mutated Meanings -- Can Racial Slurs Ever Stop Hating?Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13261371053113519712noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-76328992169908795542012-02-13T07:52:50.247-05:002012-02-13T07:52:50.247-05:00Grace,
I agree with you--the origins are so clearl...Grace,<br />I agree with you--the origins are so clearly meant to demean Asian immigrants. I think the issue is that the students who are using this phrase aren't aware of its origins and its application is a bit fuzzier--that it's other Asians, sometimes recent immigrants, using this term on themselves (similar to African Americans using the n-word as an in-group word)--so coupled with the fact that Asian Americans aren't generally part of a larger discourse in this country, it all boils down to a lot of ignorant application. It's frustrating.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13261371053113519712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-73448466916368504042012-02-13T02:10:38.151-05:002012-02-13T02:10:38.151-05:00I'm surprised that FOB has made into the OED. ...I'm surprised that FOB has made into the OED. But I have to think that's a somewhat good thing, if only in that it acknowledges Asian slang as part of the English language. I don't think the term is racially neutral, it very clearly was derogatory in its inception. I sort of wish those students would say they are using the term in a "take it back" way, rather than thinking it is simply words. *sigh*Grace Hwang Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855253752861530460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-12479964584284443812012-02-08T09:56:34.524-05:002012-02-08T09:56:34.524-05:00skim666 & mixed/Other,
Thanks for your commen...skim666 & mixed/Other,<br /><br />Thanks for your comments. Teaching definitely keeps me in touch with youth culture--I mean, I would never have guessed that either "FOB" or "Nigga" had entered into my students' vocabulary deracinated--although I'd say with the latter that this was controversial, even in the context of my class.<br /><br />But the FOB discussion was illuminating--over half the class had no idea that the phrase had a negative and hateful connotation.<br /><br />The optimist in me would like to think that it's possible for this word to lose its pejorative meaning, but the pragmatist/academic in me just doesn't think that will ever be possible.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13261371053113519712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-31309580117857199942012-02-03T13:54:09.516-05:002012-02-03T13:54:09.516-05:00I really appreciate this post, for it's sentim...I really appreciate this post, for it's sentiment, neutrality, and education. This is a slur I have yet to hear, and I am saddened that we are still coming up with new ones.<br /><br />I personally haven't found that any slur is "deraciated." Whether it be nigger, fob, wet-back, or any others; whether they are used in "civil" conversation or rap songs; if they are used to define or describe a person, they are ever inappropriate.<br /><br />In truth, a word can lose its harmful power when people lose their fear of it, but it's still, in my opinion, disgusting.Mixed/Otherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01181174620409271498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-69222687841717012932012-02-03T13:33:32.709-05:002012-02-03T13:33:32.709-05:00i think it always depends on an ongoing combinatio...i think it always depends on an ongoing combination of history, context, intent, reception/"interpretive community", etc. at this moment in history, in my opinion, there's no way to use "FOB" without referring to its racialization/Othering connotation (including ironic uses). i think students' thinking of it as non-racial is just part of the overall discourse of post-racial doodoo.skim666https://www.blogger.com/profile/13472451635703677359noreply@blogger.com