What do you think of (unitentional) bigoted irony? or Ironic bigotry?

[lips]

Such as a recent post in the Byrd thread that states the Hilary Clinton, of all people is out to save 'mankind'. Now, I'm not saying that she isn't out to save, or at least make life better for everyone, but using this word to talk about humans and given Hilary's lean towards some brands of feminism and gender equality, shouldn't more attention be paid towards word choices?

Or does one have to officially be affiliated with a group that advocates racism for him/her to be a bigot?

Where's the free speech gonna hide?

[Richard Steele]

1. M'kay.

:popcorn:

[NMMNG]

4. Can you spare some?

:hi:

[Richard Steele]

11. Sure- grab some sofa and get comfy!

:popcorn: :popcorn:

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

2. Oh puhleeze !!!!!!

Mankind is a perfectly acceptable word.

[MedleyMisty]

5. It's not perfectly acceptable

What's wrong with using human species instead? Or humankind? The "man" part leaves out half of the species.

However, in the context that the OP mentions, I don't think it's worth getting worked up about.

[Xipe Totec]

7. human still has the evil "man" as part of the word

XXybe we should just drop the letters "m", "a", and "n" froX the XlphXbeth?

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

9. Both of your suggestions have "man" in them. Give it a rest.

[Sparkly]

3. Did someone take issue with the word "mankind?" nt

[Quantess]

6. ...

[Irreverend IX]

8. Dear language police, please kill yourselves for the betterment of mankind. nt

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

10. Great post ! n/t

[noamnety]

12. The APA style guide

has this to say:

Reducing Bias
Seek to write a paper without bias regarding gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, age, and disability. If you are not sure if you have made a biased statement, pause for a moment and ask yourself how you would feel if you were a member of the group being discussed and you heard that statement made? If you would feel excluded or offended in some way, you need to rewrite. Some common biases and hints for avoiding them follow:

*Bias: Using "man," "mankind," "he," or "his" to refer to all human beings.

Suggestion: Use more accurate terms such as "people," "person," "individual," or "men and women." Eliminate the need for "he" through rephrasing.

Inappropriate: When a person thinks negative thoughts, he may feel depressed.

Appropriate: When thinking negative thoughts, a person may feel depressed.

OR... When people think negative thoughts, they may feel depressed.

--------------------------
I know it's dreaming to expect DUers to understand WHY that's in the APA style guide. Critical thinking isn't always high on our list - especially when ridiculing people is so much easier and more immediately satisfying.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it makes a person a bigot to use that sort of speech, because we all have speech patterns that come naturally to us from being raised with those phrases. But it might be leaning toward bigotry to make a conscious decision to continue to use biased language once it has been pointed out. There's a difference between unexamined things we inherit from our culture in ignorance, and bigoted things we examine - and then deliberately continue to embrace.