When I was a kid, everyone used the phrase Indian giver. We didn't even think about it. We weren't reprimanded by teachers, either. Admittedly, I went to grade school in Texas.
To me, it seems odd that the phrase even still exists. At this point in history, we should all know that it is ridiculous to say that American Indians reneged on their promise to give European settlers land that they had never agreed to give in the first place.While Indian giver might seem more obviously racist (you certainly wouldn't hear anyone using such a phrase in the office), there are plenty of other phrases that you might use every day that have racist/prejudice origins.For example, did you know that Hip hip hooray! used to be a Nazi war cry used to invade the Jewish ghettoes during the Holocaust?
Word meanings and connotations change all the time. Over time, word origins are forgotten, and words and phrases that were previously taboo or offensive no longer carry the same weight. Does that mean that they're no longer offensive? It depends on how you look at language. Certainly, not many people know hip hip hooray's horrifying usage.
did not know about hip hip hooray but i'm sure when it was introduced into American vernacular that the adults did and obviously did not stop it that is a questionable parental failure back in the day, just like "ring around the rosies" and the plague, what's up with those things turning into nursery rhymes?
However, I still thought you might like to know where these come from.
Gyp:
The word "gyp" now means "to cheat or swindle." It is essentially a condensing of the word "gypsies," who throughout history have been stereotyped as a group that cheats and swindles people. Before the contemporary definition of "gypsy," which is essentially just a "nomadic person," "gypsy" was a slur used to refer to the Eastern European Romanies.
Ghetto:
Using "ghetto" as an adjective to mean "low class" has obvious racist origins.Technically, the definition of "ghetto" (noun) is "a part of a city in which members of a particular group or race live usually in poor conditions." Whether intended or not, the user is essentially implying that minorities are low class.
Chinese whispers:
This phrase, meaning "inaccurately transmitted gossip" is more often used in the UKthan the U.S. It actually originated as "Russian scandal" or "Russian gossip," but was later changed for unclear reasons. It is supposed that the origin of this phrase has something to do with the Chinese language being difficult to understand and/or translate. Regardless, it's probably better the refer to poorly transmitted gossip as "a game of Telephone."
it's not so amazing how almost all these sayings that are originally the same and those that morphed in meaning seem to all have racial connotations. it seems to me those guys who left England to pursue freedom of religious persecution and happiness brought with them what they were running from and became those they were trying to flee, and it all culminated in today in America.
