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Could be worse. They aren't giving Stossel the keys to the city are they?

They're giving Glen Beck the keys to Mt. Vernon, which is a stone's throw from here- after he called Obama a racist who hates white culture. gonk

*pokes Nuri*
Were you still going to make that thread about privilege?

I never did quite get that whole 'giving someone the key to' bit.

"Feel free to come again and do take your time robbing all of us, then! Why, you've got a key! It's practically legal then!"

Also; a mountain?

Hanging out with my friends today, one of them was describing a costume another friend of theirs has; he used the g~ word. I asked him to not use that word as it was a racial slur, akin to the n~, k~, W~, s~, and b~ words (racially charged). I offered the words Roma and Romani for substitution.

He pulled out his phone to "verify" with Wikipedia or the Oxford Dictionary. He then proceeded to read it to me, especially where it said that it referred to a band of roaming peoples, the Roma. He read the origins, how it was initially created as the people were incorrectly assumed to be from Egypt.

I reiterated it's relation to other racially charged words, of which are not accepted in polite, courteous or informed conversations.

Another friend in the area said that some of the other words I had mentioned were perfectly appropriate, apologizing to our Hispanic/Mexican American friend, the only non-white person in attendance, in the process. It looked at if she were justifying their use of other more commonly known racial slurs.

I reminded her that while yes, there are some people who can claim descent from the race/ethnicity that some of those terms are meant to denounce, and yet will still continue to use them (example; n~ word in a good number of rap songs from Black/African American artists, b~ word from Hispanic/Mexican American comedians), it is not appropriate to use it in every day conversation, particularly when those same people might not have called themselves whichever term springs up.

The initial friend then said that if I didn't want to hear it I should just not listen to him when he would say it, and that just because I say please when I ask someone something doesn't mean they are going to do it.

I couldn't even go into the typical stereotypes associated with the g~ word, the typical usage in Europe (my own experience even to draw on, let alone from the book Bury Me Standing), or even how the word "gypped" is drawn from the g~ word and the meaning of that word; I was simply so stunned that he would be that inconsiderate of my feelings, particularly as we have been friends for a little over a year and I don't consider myself easily offended.

I think I'm more shocked than angry, however distressed none the less.

Did you point out that the G~ word and it's etymology are almost identical to what happened with the word "******"?
There are literary figures who used the word in their book titles, I believe Samuel Clemens has a book with the word in the title?
After all, it just means black person.
stare

Eat regular meals. If you aren't diabetic or prone to low blood sugars, that's best. It's best for everyone -- make sure it's balanced, carbs, protein and fat!

When you get a low blood sugar, I usually feed my husband juice to get it up quickly, then have something more long lasting after the immediate threat is over.