The Word 'SQUAW' Has Been Banned!

1984 is it only, when the word is afterwards deleted in films, songs, books. 1984 is it not, if the word was classified as a bad word. That has something to do with language ethics. Ethics is used to determine what is good and what is bad for coexistence and togetherness. If the bad guy in a movie uses a bad word, it's OK. That's part of creative freedom. So this use of bad or "banned" words is perfectly legitimate. What is not legitimate is when it is used in real life and a person is addressed with it, as well as an identity is foreign-assigned to a person with it. If you want to be bad to other people, use bad words and live with the consequences. It's not forbidden, it just has consequences.

 

Will the town of: Manasquan, New Jersey need a new name?

 

Interesting. Several thoughts:

1. Apparently, she's 35th Generation New Mexican
2. Apparently, she's Catholic
3. Many places across the world, previously colonised, have renamed their various places to their name pre-colonisation eg Calcutta, India and Bombay India.
4. What is the opinion of the indigenous people's? Do they support the change or is their history being diluted/overwritten?

I think it's important to distinguish between a person's ethnicity and their present day background (for the want of a better term).
Just because someone comes from an community, generations ago, that doesn't mean they speak for or represent the people who are still in that community.

Isn't the white-washing/dilution/overwriting, of people's history and heritage also derogatory?
Have the people been given the choice or is it being dictated to them?

 

Banning words will not obviate the hate in the hearts of humans that feel it necessary to do such.

 

If the banning of some musical songs (is there another kind) in the UK back in the 80s is anything to measure from; banning increase the adverse. In UK, Frankie goes to Holywood (or Hollywood) was banned (RELAX), and sales went stratospheric.
Psychological response, methinks.

 

"Squaw", itself, has no meaning in Native American languages. It is a morpheme (unit) of longer Algonquian words, extracted and coined by English-speaking whites to designate Native American women. That's its historical context. Of course, there are other indigenous language families besides Algonquian. We Chickasaws call a woman "ihoo" ; Our Choctaw neighbors say ohoyo. Anyhow, "squaw" does have a demeaning quality. How big a deal we want to make of it is another story. Political correctness can be annoying. But while it's true hate can't be eliminated with regulations, deliberate use of insulting language (as by Karens in supermarkets or parking lots), is a threat to civil order, and IMHO should be met with strong disapproval.

In Woodward, here in Oklahoma, there is a hill commonly referred to as (N-word) Hill --only the real offensive word is used. That's what everybody called it, cuz an African-American once lived there and he was the only one in town and the only one anyone had ever seen. Locals still use the term in private, although usually in a hushed tone with some embarrassment. Only in America!