Quote:
Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
But hiding offensive words makes them more powerful, doesn't it? Our grandparents hating being called a wop, or dago, and feared hearing it on order of n-----. I've always been amused by those words; it no longer has power. In the end, its the harm the slur thrower can cause, be it physical or economic which is scary, not the slur.
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But isn't the harm really just the knowledge that the speaker has so much contempt for you that they use the offensive catchword du jure? The substantive meaning of wop is probably slight, but it's the knowing that the speaker picked out a word with the greatest potential to convey his contempt that counts. I doubt the hearing of the word is as strongly hurtful as knowing that you are contemptible in someone's eyes.
