The fact that you got down voted and he has 12 up votes (currently) has really kind of changed how I see the hacker news community. Socially I always knew i didn't "fit in" with the people on this site but the one thing that connected us all was learning about technology and a love for sharing what we learn. Because of that I thought that there was enough general respect amongst us all not to use a word like "niggle" or "niggardly" and certainly not to defend it's use. I know you all wont agree with me but lets be honest for a minute; I am a black male and if you were in a conversation with me face to face you would not use that term because if you did we would have a problem.
Yeah, same sort of amazement here that people are upset at me for pointing out the controversy (and that you're getting down-voted as well). I am a brown male who grew up in Jamaica, Queens and then New Jersey and saw a lot of interesting mixtures of culture growing up. It was mostly good but I realize that I've seen more racism up close than most of my friends.
I honestly don't blame them though -- they are right by the books and I understand this stance if you've never seen or experienced the words used in that way.
Though the definition has nothing to do with race, but once you know racists have associated the two, what I don't get is why would you get upset at the person that tells you and shows you that racists are doing this?
Check out the dude below -- he's all worked up and offended that I pointed out that people are doing this. And he's offended at me for saying it's troubling and wise to steer clear of that mess. At least he agrees that they are morons.
And yeah this is definitely a bit disturbing. I don't think it's outlandish at all to avoid certain language once racists start using it to hurt people. If he's fine using word that we've experienced racists use to describe African American babies, that's his call. I don't understand why anyone would be offended or flabbergasted that the word itself has some controversy around it. It's not like there aren't other words to use.
* Check out the dude below -- he says he's actually offended that I pointed this out*
You're right. Being offended by words is absurd. Doubly-so when they are not even uttered with an offensive meaning. This may be too subtle, so I'll clarify: I was taking the piss out of your position.
No, no need to clarify your position. I understood it the first time, though I wish you'd go back and read what I wrote such that you could at least understand mine. I said that I find the word "troubling" b/c of how racists are using the term & that many newspapers and magazines are avoiding it for the same reason. I didn't write the wiki page or create the controversy, I just pointed it out to you and said I'd avoid it altogether. Apparently that offended you.
I see your argument though and I'm somewhat sympathetic to it. It reminds me of a recent south park where they talked about another word with a lot of controversy around it as it's recent usage is different from it's dictionary definition. I'm all for people using the words they want to use, but I don't think I've done anything wrong by pointing out that ignorant people are mis-using the words to hurt people. And I'm perfectly willing to accept that there are different opinions on this. I think what you don't get is the subtle difference between something troubling me enough for me to find it wise to avoid it and me being offended by it.
Avoiding "niggardly" is far from a sign of respect. I'm taking a precaution against a listener flying off the handle in ignorance, so it's actually a critique of their education and emotional stability as I perceive them. And it never would have occurred to me that we now have the same problem with "niggle" until reading this.
