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View Full Version : USA Today warns against using 'culturally sensitive words' like aloha, hola, shalom



BoogyMan
01-15-2023, 11:09 PM
Another angry white liberal dipstick wants to tell me what I can and cannot say because......reasons.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/usa-today-warns-using-culturally-sensitive-words-aloha-hola-shalom
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2023/01/13/stop-saying-aloha-out-of-context/10990192002/


USA Today published an article Friday wondering, "Is it time to stop saying 'aloha' and other culturally sensitive words out of context?"

Written by David Oliver, an entertainment, lifestyle and wellness reporter who writes about diversity and inclusion, the article argues that the use of words like "aloha," "hola," and "shalom" could be harmful to people of other cultures.

"[J]ust because you can say something doesn't mean it's always appropriate," Oliver warned, writing, "If you're not Hawaiian and you say [aloha], it could come off as mockery."

"Of course, not all uses of language outside someone's culture are problematic," he conceded.

"Intention matters most. Dropping ‘hola’ or ‘shalom’ to someone you know who speaks Spanish or Hebrew, for example, isn't something to worry about. Actively don a fake, exaggerated accent and say those words? Therein lies the problem," he continued.

He wrote that saying "ni hao," a Mandarin greeting, to an Asian-American who is not Chinese "could be both othering and a microaggression."

"What we need is a critical consciousness in our public around language," Jeffrey McCune, director of the Frederick Douglass Institute of African & African-American Studies at the University of Rochester told Oliver. "Language is too critical to our culture, that we can't just casually use language in ways that might offend and/or even harm, do harm to certain groups of people."

McCune continued, "We have a responsibility to be somewhat judicious with our language, and to have care for what we do with language."

"It's the larger cultural considerations around the use of these words that matter most," Oliver wrote.

"Everyone needs context before speaking another culture's language besides their own," he concluded.

Gunny
01-16-2023, 10:29 AM
Another angry white liberal dipstick wants to tell me what I can and cannot say because......reasons.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/usa-today-warns-using-culturally-sensitive-words-aloha-hola-shalom
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2023/01/13/stop-saying-aloha-out-of-context/10990192002/Uniquely stupid, arbitrary, woke American bullshit.

My experience in the REAL World where real people exist and interact with on another: Most people of other countries that I have been in for whatever reasons are slightly amused, usually patient, and appreciate the fact that you are going against the stereotype of the arrogant American ass and putting forth the effort to speak their language in their country.

Contrary to the idiot author's opinion, it is when you make NO attempt to respect the fact you are in their country, their culture, and that they may or may not speak any language from YOUR country that they tend to be resentful.

With the usual exceptions to every rule, it is only here that any word that comes out of your mouth is offensive to someone. The intent of this moron and those like him is to completely restrict expression of thought for fear of offending someone.