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This may seem kind of stupid but I am kind of stupid, is there a list somewhere of phrases that are stupid or insensitive racially or gender biased? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I just got up from conversation with a couple of older black men, that I said "well I got to go back to work and start cracking the whip." And it occurred to me then that it was probably a really insensitive stupid thing to say.

Sadly, it hadn't occurred to me until it's already said.

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Those are the exact two examples for me as well! I thought I was alone in my idiocy!

Hell, "jewing someone down" was always a positive and admirable thing for me. Guess as a little kid I thought it was complementary to Jews and never thought about it again.

Not even going to say how long ago it was that I realized the reference to Gypsies. But it was a recent event, and I'm old.

How about "shyster"? I'm scared to ask...

[–] Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

“Gypsies” itself is also seen as a pejorative for the Romani.

Shyster has a reputation as being anti-semitic due to the assumption it is related to Shakespeare’s character Shylock. Historically it isnt, it refers to lawyers and the “shy” comes from German. It’s literally shitters.

Sort of like the word niggardly.

[–] Welt@lazysoci.al 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Interesting, so it's a Yiddish variant of Scheißer?

[–] Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 11 months ago

I don’t think Jews were involved at all, which is another part of what makes it odd that it’s sometimes offensive. There is a similar British slang word, and Germans also immigrated to New York where it is thought to have originated in the prisons.

[–] ivanafterall@kbin.social 1 points 11 months ago

How about “shyster”? I’m scared to ask…

It does have that certain feel about it.