Political correctness, words we can't use
 

‘Todd and Don Show’ to return, officials say
By Juan Castillo | Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 04:35 PM
Yanked off the air in July after co-host Don Pryor repeatedly uttered an ethnic slur, “The Todd and Don Show” will return to KLBJ-AM on Dec. 7, according to a statement released jointly by the station’s management and local Hispanic leaders who met earlier today.
The station’s management could not immediately be reached for comment.
Spokesman Paul Saldaña said Emmis Austin Radio, the station’s parent company, announced its decision during a meeting with the Hispanic leaders earlier today. According to Saldaña, Emmis said the show will return to the air “with a transformed perspective on community history, expectations and cultural sensitivity.”
Saldaña said Emmis also announced a plan for mandatory diversity training for all on-air personalities, producers and station management at all six of its Austin radio stations.
He said Emmis assured the leaders that “efforts to better serve the entire Austin community would be ongoing.”
Pryor, the son of longtime radio personality Cactus Pryor, repeatedly used a slur to describe illegal immigrants, triggering complaints from listeners and from leaders of Hispanic groups.
Emmis Austin canceled the show July 20 under an agreement with local members of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association, which canceled plans to boycott Emmis Austin’s six local stations and their advertisers.
Scott Gillmore, Emmis Austin Radio vice president and market manager, said then that the decision was made after the station’s ownership and management heard complaints from hundreds of listeners and after it consulted with Hispanic leaders and community members.
Pryor and Todd Jeffries each received two-week suspensions without pay. “The Todd and Don Show” had been on the air about nine months before it was canceled.
Pryor used the word “wetback” during a discussion on the July 14 show about labels for people who are in the country illegally. The use of the slur “wetback” has a long history in the United States, particularly in Texas, and many Mexican Americans consider it hurtful and offensive.
While the use of the slur outraged many local Hispanics, the suspensions and removal of the show also generated complaints from listeners who criticized them as too harsh and as an overreaction to public pressure and political correctness.
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/conte...return_hi.html

I'm out of fashion. I think people should use the term. A pejorative is appropriate for someone who engages in improper or unlawful behavior. I realize this is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of the perspective of folks who get upset when you call someone an illegal immigrant because a person can't be illegal.

I think wetback has utility and connotes a particular type of disdain for people in the country unlawfully. Further, it does not fall into the same objectional category as nigger, spic or ginny because one has no control over his skin color or nationality, however, being an illegal alien is something that requires affirmative steps to accomplish. You're not born into illegal alien status with no control over it.

While that may be true in its' lawful sense, there is some legitmacy to claims made by children who were brought here illegally when they were babies or very young kids. They had little or no control. I'm not advocating for their right to stay mind you, but they fall into a category that is a little difficult to have disdain for. Well, until they start taking up with La Raza and such. And speaking of that, is there a name other than illegal alien for those who arrived here illegally by means other than their own willing participation?

Oh Rimo, you didn't have a parent from New York as I did. My mother knew every name for everybody. New Yorkers would use those names quite often years ago, or at least they used to before political correctness. We here in the west used those terms or names only when we were referring to someone in a derogatory terms, but in New York, at least years ago, those terms were used when someone was just referring to someone, kind of like we would say ‘Hay you guys’ but addressing a group of your friends who might all be women or women and men. Guys, was just referring to people not exactly males. It was just a name tag, as all those ethnic name tags were years ago in New York, but are now considered ethnic slurs. That's political correctness.

I caught someone about a month ago making a joke about Polish people, and he was Hispanic. I pointed out to him that I was part Polish and that political correctness wouldn't allow me to make the same disparaging remarks about Hispanics, but it seems completely acceptable to do it about Polish people. I also noted to him that I was not offended by what he had said, but just pointing out the double standard.

When I saw this, I thought "what's a ginny?" Did you mean "guinea", as in Italian? And how did we get to the point where the term "wetback" has become has politically incorrect as n****er? (notice how politically correct I was, using the asterisks?) Like you said, DA, if it refers to someone's actions rather than an accident of birth, I don't see why it should be taboo.

A little opinion here,

I think words in the categories as mentioned above take on a different meaning when used to offend as opposed to reference. So it matters a little on why someone is using them. Unfortunately we have lawmakers and others wanting to eliminate their' use entirely, even as reference, and that appears a bit of an infringement on the first amendment to me. Not that I condone, support, or use some of these terms and words; I never cared at all for some of them. But I do care a lot for the first amendment.

I agree 100%. In no way does the term "wetback" denote any kind of racial stereotyping. It refers precisely to an illegal activity and all of its implications. The children of wetbacks are not wetbacks, they are "anchor babies", another entirely appropriate pejorative.

The victims here are not the people who fit the terms, but the people who use the words to show their entirely justified contempt.

I hate to bring this argument up with you again, Twoller, but although we agree on the first point, the children of illegals are not responsible for their actions and don't deserve to be labelled with a pejorative term. However I don't really think "anchor babies" is all that bad.