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merlinart
United Kingdom
149 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2022 : 13:09:26
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MG Short Arse...an alternative perhaps...as a "short arse" just 1.65m and was once told when I bought my first suit..."sir is a little short in the leg"..I have no objection to driving an MG Short Arse! |
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merlinart
United Kingdom
149 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2022 : 13:11:20
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quote: Originally posted by Teifion
Fubar..
Teifion
add FUBB and SNAFU too! |
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merlinart
United Kingdom
149 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2022 : 13:12:55
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quote: Originally posted by merlinart
MG Short Arse...an alternative perhaps...as a "short arse" just 1.65m and was once told when I bought my first suit..."sir is a little short in the leg"..I have no objection to driving an MG Short Arse!
Of course, the MG SA was a bit of a misnomer. |
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Ktype
United Kingdom
350 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2022 : 18:27:26
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There is now - as there always has been - evolving views concerning acceptable use of language. Lots of formerly acceptable usage is not any more. We have accepted that new Jaguars no longer share a name with Hitler's elite. There are lots terms we know we would not use describing a member of the club from the Carribean.
If people with the intrinsic condition of dwarfism say midget is an offensive term for a consumer product it is hard for those with an extrinsic status - owning or liking a car that was called a Midget 90 years ago - to say the product name is inoffensive.
This is a change to a product name - not to our cars. It is still OK to talk about an historical term - say an SS100 for an old Jaguar. We may not like the change but the reasons for it are good and it is the hallmark of good society that the majority defer to the minority when it matters to the minority more than it does to the majority. We should accept this with the grace becoming a group who are kind and considerate of each other in so many ways. Doing so makes change much easier to take. Resisting it can make us less happy for no good in return.
Paul
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Westbury
United Kingdom
2133 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2022 : 19:09:35
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Paul. No one would condone insults to any group of people but many are finding something to complain about for political reasons only. I refer you to my earlier post. Chris |
Edited by - Westbury on 18/01/2022 19:15:23 |
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Ktype
United Kingdom
350 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2022 : 20:42:56
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Chris
If no one would condone insults to any group of people - and people found that term insulting - I dont see why we are on page two here.
Erin Pritchard wrote:
Dr Erin Pritchard
13 Jan It seems that there are a lot of average sized men getting upset about the removal of the word midget from a packet of sweets. I didn't realise they were so sensitive. Here's a good statement on why midget is offensive https://lpaonline.org/the-m-word
That article - 2015 so not a flash in the pan - says:
The word “midget” was never coined as the official term to identify people with dwarfism, but was created as a label used to refer to people of short stature who were on public display for curiosity and sport. Today, the word “midget” is considered a derogatory slur. The dwarfism community has voiced that they prefer to be referred to as dwarfs, little people, people of short stature or having dwarfism, or simply, and most preferably, by their given name.
You have found politics in this I cannot see.
I don't want us all to have a continuing debate. I did want to let everyone see what lay behind this change - and to have the other point of view. Many of us will have had a nickname we did not like. This is about having a term you do not like and cannot escape. THe names of one of the cars we like has unfortunate context - no more or less is at stake for us than that.
Paul
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Keith Durston
United Kingdom
724 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2022 : 21:41:16
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Paul, Thank you for pointing us in the direction of the LPA which certainly helps me understand this complex better. I have however read the article that you refer to and it clearly states that the request and effort from the LPA is to stop the use of the word "midget" in relation to those people who have dwarfism. There is no context that I can see where they are objecting to the word midget used as it was originally intended. I hope that I have lived my life being courteous and polite to other people not wishing to cause any offense but I really cannot see any reason why perfectly good words with clear meaning should be changed or denied usage. Keith |
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merlinart
United Kingdom
149 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2022 : 10:58:33
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quote: Originally posted by Keith Durston
Paul, Thank you for pointing us in the direction of the LPA which certainly helps me understand this complex better. I have however read the article that you refer to and it clearly states that the request and effort from the LPA is to stop the use of the word "midget" in relation to those people who have dwarfism. There is no context that I can see where they are objecting to the word midget used as it was originally intended. I hope that I have lived my life being courteous and polite to other people not wishing to cause any offense but I really cannot see any reason why perfectly good words with clear meaning should be changed or denied usage. Keith
Hear hear.
It is absurd, that irrespective or whether a minority feel, or or induced to feel offence at certain useage of words, that with a potential hand swipe, history is re-written. We give in far to easily, or are encouraged to do so. There are many "dwarf" comedians who make great light of their height/smallness, in fact "sending themselves up", ie making money out of their circumstances, and why not.My wife (retired teacher) tells me that Warwick Davies (a dwarf) came to her school to give a talk, he is just over 1m tall, and was/is one of the funniest men she has ever met! |
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PeterL
United Kingdom
1748 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2022 : 12:15:24
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I recall a skip in the Jungle in Calais in what now look like the "good old days". it had written on it in big white painted letters "the answer is LOVE". and we have our lovely Dutch girl Catheljene (sorry about spelling) exhorting us to be kind.
I met a bishop on top of Zomba Mountain. He was retired and I asked him why he had not returned to live in the USA. He replied thoughtfully, the people there are cruel. I fear we are here now.
I need therapy... a trip out in the MG! |
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Nick Feakes
USA
3494 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2022 : 13:03:27
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I think this thread has run its course. Nick
Webmaster |
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