Time to confess: Have you ever used a racial slur in all seriousness?

[Speck Tater]

I did. In kindergarten, when I was really, really mad at another kid. That's been 57 years ago and I still remember it, and I still feel really bad about it.

[Captain Hilts]

1. I used 'gyp', and 'welsh' without knowing what I was saying. nt

[EOTE]

9. My GF does that all the time.

I tell her that it's an ethnic slur, but she seems to keep forgetting.

[dmallind]

10. OK I'll bite.

How is Welsh a racial slur? That's what people from Wales are properly called by English speakers (including the vast majority of the Welsh) and I can't say I've ever heard it applied as an insult to anyone else.

[Captain Hilts]

19. 'Welshing on a bet'. Cheating. nt

[dmallind]

27. Ah but that's ironically not a racial slur at all

The welshing was done by people who escaped TO Wales to avoid the harsh penalties for non-payment of debts in England in the past (until quite recently come to think of it). It doesn't make fun of the Welsh any more than criticizing draft dodgers escaping to Canada criticizes Canadians.

[Captain Hilts]

29. That's not how it's seen.

Don't let facts get in the way!

[dmallind]

35. Really? NOT being sarcastic here but by whom?

I grew up in England, worked in an area bordering Wales for a while, and know several Welsh people who never considered it an insult at all.

[curse of greyface]

39. The welsh can't speak English so they won't know they are being insulted.

I'm kinda being :sarcasm:

[dipsydoodle]

34. I'd wondered where that expression came from

Thanks.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Absolutely. And most times, I've been disgusted at myself for it.

Part of being human. Not a pretty part, and no reason to make it public instead of keeping it in one's head, but part of it nonetheless.

[monmouth]

3. I learned at an early age that certain words incurred the bar of soap. n/t

[OregonBlue]

18. Me too. unfortunately my family still uses ones like Indian giver (even though we are part Native

American and sometimes I do it too. Hard to break those habits we grew up with. My parents were from Texas and worked very hard to "cure" us of using the kind of hateful language they grew up around.

[lunatica]

33. I had to eat soap for calling someone stupid in the First Grade

So I never did that again. :puke:

Plus my parents would have done far worse to me if I had used racial slurs! :scared:

[monmouth]

38. OMG, using the N word or any other ethnic slur was seriously bad punishment.

We had a few Italian kids in our class and one of them got mad at the other and the "D" word was used. You could hear a pin drop. Big time trouble ensued I tell ya.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Sure. Many years ago.

Because others were doing it too. I learned. I wised up. I have never done it again. Besides, that is not how I was raised.

Racism is stupid in action. I do not aspire to stupid.

[rfranklin]

5. I did once in Africa in 1965 and I haven't forgotten it either...

I wish I had a time machine.

[TomInTib]

6. I have, countless times.

That's the culture in which I was raised.

[Breeze54]

16. Hi there, TomInTib !! I always love your honesty!

:hi:

:toast:

[TomInTib]

37. You know, Breeze

I thought black people really were "Niggers". I thought words like Nigra. Jig, SpearChunker, etc., were slurs.

Same thing with Hispanics, I thought they were "Spicks". Wetback, Beaner and TacoBender were slurs, to me.

Life can be curious.

Tom

[Dr Fate]

7. When I was little kid, all the time.

Kids can be little bastards- I was no exception.

[Rebubula]

28. Grandfather

I once said the N-word at dinner (was 6 or 7) while sitting next to my Grandfather.

Without really looking at me - he backhanded me.

Later - after we both apologized - he told me of when he was a Episcopal Minister in Covington, GA in the mid 60s. He was the first white minister to open his doors to the local black folk. He was harassed (followed by police;ticketed for nothing , klansmen would drive slowly by the house, social ostracizing etc) for a couple of years before everyone calmed down. He then went into great detail of how black folk were treated in that time and place. I was beside myself with shame for days.

He is my hero (still kicking at 95) and changed the way that I looked at my brethren.

[glowing]

8. Yep, when I was younger in middle and highschool.. and its probably still an accepted norm

that's gay .. or your gay.. Its not racial, but it is wrong.

[liberalmuse]

11. When I was 5.

Some kids taught me a stupid ditty on the playground. My black friends were there and told me it was a bad word, so I asked my mom when I got home what it meant, and she told me I was never to say that word again, because it wasn't nice and hurt people.

[Breeze54]

12. My neighbor used to call me a 'marshmallow' & I called her a 'chocolate bar' when in grade school

That was .... years ago. She is of Portugese and Italian decent and I'm Irish but we were the best of friends
all through high school. We are actually "blood sisters"! Remember doing that as kids? :P I've always hated it
when I heard people talking like that and will say something to them when they do, if I hear it. That type of
language should be discouraged and often.

[Native]

13. No

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Yep, I used Gabacho ONCE... in my defense

did not know it was a racial slur

Oh and explanation is in order, this is the way Americans (no matter what color of skin) are called in the border towns of Mexico

I was a young Medic, who didn't get much of the local lingo YET.

Once I realized what it was... I never, ever used it again... though I might use it in fiction which is local to the area... the same way at times racial slurs are used in fiction in the US.

[curse of greyface]

41. It is? ... I had no idea. NT

[angrycarpenter]

15. I was raised in north Alabama

Some of the things that I said and thought as a kid and young teen almost makes me sick. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it.

[Breeze54]

22. You are forgiven, imho, angrycarpenter... you are now enlightened and all grown up.

We, as children, do not know any better. :hug:

We mimic what we see and hear as children.

Fret not !

[XOKCowboy]

36. Amen brother...

Rural Oklahoma upbringing here. Then I started smoking pot, became a "hippy" and flaming liberal thanks to Nixon and the Vietnam War. Plus my dad was one of those people who didn't fit the rural southern stereotype. His only prejudice was against the "Japs" thanks to WW2.

[amdezurik]

17. not since 1st grade

but i told that story on another blog site and was called a liar and worse...

[Dissent Is Patriotic]

20. NEVER. I never have...I struggle to understand how other

people use such language.

My parents are Sicilian. I am first generation. Sicilians have a nasty reputation for all sorts of things. One thing about my parents, they always taught me that slurs were disgusting and the last resort of desperate people. I heard my share of disgusting comments from people and believe me, my 56 year-old dad, who came here at 16 and still has a very heavy accent, still hears them.

My dad once said the "n" word when I was a child of about eight. I remember this like it was yesterday. He stopped what he was doing and said the following to me "I just said a horrible word...you should never say it. You should never feel it. You should know that you should never call people names, you should never group people together. You should not judge people. I am disappointed in myself, but I would be more disappointed if I didn't think you learned that what daddy said was wrong."


I know it's not eloquent, or even something linguistically memorable, but it stuck with me.

[Catherine Vincent]

21. Yes and I didn't like it. nt

[guitar man]

yes

I was a real bigoted, racist little shitass when I was young. I took a look in the mirror one day when I was 22 and decided I was going to change that. That was 23 years ago and I still often refer to myself as a "recovering racist" just to remind myself to never go back there.

[Submariner]

23. All the kids did it in the 50s/60s

So I picked it up against Hispanics and African Americans to blend in with my peer group (neighborhood friends including classmates in my catholic parochial school).

When I went in the Navy and had to live and work with all races, the racial slurs ended followed by self embarrassment that I was ever part of that clique.

I could not be more sorry to them now for that brainless crap. My sincerest apologies.

[backwoodsbob]

24. no

my mother would have mashed my mouth in when I was home and by the time I moved out I understood why it is wrong because of her.

[droidamus2]

25. Similar

I had a similar experience when I was about the same age. There weren't many black people in my town and when one black kid started hanging around our local park some of my friends (5 or 6 years old) started yelling racial slurs at him. I didn't know what those words meant and just thought they were other words for negro (ok really dumb but hey I was only 5 years old). So I saw him later and said 'Hey what are you doing *****' and he started to cry and got mad. I was trying to be friendly and didn't understand so I went home and asked our black housekeeper what I had done wrong and she explained to me what the word meant and that I was never to use it again and I haven't. Like you that was 49 years ago and I still feel bad about it.

[mudesi]

26. All the time, but not in seriousness (nm)

[Dark]

30. Yep. I was having a bad day, very pissed off at everything while driving, someone

cut me off who was African American, and I blurted it out without thinking.

I was horrified and glad I was alone in the car.

Haven't used it since.

[datasuspect]

31. i grew up in a tightly knit blue collar neighborhood in chicago

that was separated from the west side by a series of viaducts.

yes, that's how we were raised. was it wrong? definitely. as a child, i knew no better.

[AlinPA]

32. Is "WASP" a racial slur?

[curse of greyface]

42. I was going to ask about White Trash. I still use that one I admit. nt

[Disturbed]

43. Never have done so & never will.

I grew up in diverse neighborhoods & my parents never used demeaning terms for anyone. I was taught to judge others by their character, not their ethnic, religious or gender attributes.

[meow2u3]

40. I shouted out this playground rhyme when I was a kid

Ishka, bishka, binda
The guinea washed the winda
The window got broke
the guinea got soaked
Ishka, bishka, binda

The big mistake was--I said that in front of my Grandpa, and he was Italian and hated the word "guinea"! I didn't know what a guinea was, but that didn't stop him from cursing me out in Italian (I didn't know what he said). Needless to say, both he and my mom kicked my butt but good. I never said that again.