"Anybody who starts a sentence with, ‘Not to sound racist, but…' is definitely a racist." – Anonymous PIC commenter.
Not to sound racist, but I am going to use a word I don't like, many times, in this blog. This really happened, and continues to confuse the crap out of me. The scene is: I'm in a coffee shop with my Korean teacher – who we'll call Jane, just for fun.
KC: And how do I say "American?"
JANE: Mee-Gook.
KC: Uh, come again? I don't think I understood you.
JANE: Mee-Gook.
KC: Again?
JANE: Mee-Gook.
KC: Uh, are you sure you should be using that word?
JANE: Mee-Gook?
KC: Judas Priest Jane! People are going to hear you!
JANE: Is bad word? Mee-Gook?
KC: Jane, there are a shitload of Koreans here. Are you trying to get me killed?
JANE: Huh?
KC: That word, what does it mean?
JANE: Mee-Gook? It mean, American person.
KC: Uh. Are you sure you're sure you should say that? This place is crowded.
JANE: American, Mee-Gook is not bad thing. We like American here. We like Mee-Gook in Korea.
KC: Ah, um, uh, fuck. Is there a different word for American?
JANE: Way-Gook mean "foreigner."
KC: There's THAT word again.
JANE: No. Way-Gook mean "foreigner" and Mee-Gook mean "American."
KC: I mean, I don't know if I'm allowed to say that word.
JANE: Is it hard for you to say? It rhyme with "duke."
KC: No, it's just that, in my country, that means a completely different thing.
JANE: Oh, what does it mean? Like, a bad word?
KC: Kind of.
JANE: Oh I like to learn bad words. What Gook mean?
KC: Um, Asian person.
JANE: Oh, what wrong with that?
KC: In my country, it's different. I would never, I mean, I'm not supposed to say that word. It's mean. You would punch me if I called you that.
JANE: Asian person is bad word in America?
KC: No. Uh. Ok, there's a word kind of like that word for Asians, but it's for black people. It starts with an "N" and rhymes with bigger.
JANE: Oh, I know! Ni-…
KC: No! Don't say that word! Ever! That is the worst word in the English language. Honestly. Wipe that word out of your vocabulary.
JANE: But I hear Africans saying all the time.
KC: It's really, really really really really complicated. I can't explain it. I don't use that word. You shouldn't either. Nobody should. Ever.
JANE: I thought you had many African friends.
KC: I do. Sort of. The only friend I have who's actually from Africa is a white dude, but yes. I know many African-Americans. But I wouldn't call them that word. I don't even say the "N" word when I'm alone and I accidentally drop stuff on my feet.
JANE: But Gook is a word. Han-Gook mean "Korean." Way-Gook mean "foreigner." Mee-Gook mean American. Is it bad to call somebody an Asian?
KC: No, It's, um. I've been trained for 30 years not to say that word.
JANE: But, you are. You are Mee-Gook.
KC: Uh. I guess so.
JANE: Just say. Mee-Gook is just a word.
KC: Fine. (Deep breath). Mee-Gook.
JANE: Yes. Mean. "American." Not so hard to say?
KC: Let's change the subject.
JANE: Okay. "Dom-bay" mean cigarette.
KC: Alright. That's important, because, you know, everybody in Korea smokes.
JANE: Yes. Mee-Gooks don't smoke. My friend say, Americans don't smoke because they are "gay-sekki."
KC: Okay, not to go against the literally beautiful culture you have. But, in America, it's not nice to say bad things about gay people.
JANE: Dog people?
KC: Huh?
JANE: Gay mean "dog." Gay-sekki mean "son of dog." Like American word, "Son of bitch."
KC: Ohhhhhhhhhhh. I thought you were saying something completely different.
JANE: Me-Gook gay-sekki mean, "American son of bitch."
KC: This language is so weird.
END
And there you go.
Are Americans way too worried about racism to see the context of things?
Are words just words until you put the meaning on them?
Who gets to say what words are bad and what's okay to say?
What do you think?