Monday, June 18, 2007

Racism?

It not always easy to tell when language becomes insulting or downright racist. I’ve popped the question in the comments section at the link (a post at the excellent Fusion View) after a commenter referred to Scottish people as speaking like "Jock or Braveheart".

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Rob, you raised a good point about this issue on my blog Fusion View and I've added to the discussion in the comment thread there. I don't condone racism in any of its forms and I hope the debate you've raised is a healthy way to get rid of some misconceptions and to encourage some cross-cultural learning/ understanding.

Rob said...

Yes, it was probably just a flippant comment, and I was ready to let it go, but then I decided to challenge it.

I'd say "Jock" is almost always used in a disparaging, or even contemptuous sense. Except when it's someone's name, of course.

Rob said...

Well, it's a relief that no one has started flinging insults around, and no flaming has begun. Not yet anyway. But I am trying to make my points clearly without beating around the bush.