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36 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
36 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Barbaric
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slug: barbaric
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flag:
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text: 'Neo-Colonial/Racist slur'
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level: 'avoid'
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defined: true
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speech: adjective
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reading:
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- text: "is the word barbarian a slur?"
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href: https://seetobehumanityearth.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/is-the-term-barbarian-a-slur/
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- text: "Barbarian wiki"
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href: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarian
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alt_words:
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- cruel
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- vicious
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- obscene
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- feral
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---
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something which is obscenely cruel; primitive; unsophisticated
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#### Issues
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Barbarian originates from the Greek word *bárbaros* meaning "babbler", to denote the "unintelligible sounds" (_"bar bar bar"_) made by foreign speakers.
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Similar words exist in many other languages, for the identical purpose labeling a "strange"/"foreign" person/culture.
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In modern day usage, you can notice this rhetoric being employed almost always for the purpose of demonizing "foreign" (more often than not from the global south) cultures - cultures that need to be civilized;
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cultures that need to be colonized to rescue them from themselves. A perfect lingual weapon for warmongers and racists alike. Equally repulsive sibling of "savage".
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#### Impact
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When you use words, that are in vogue primarily inside circles of bigots, with racist etymologies, it's a wilful act of violence, ignorance and an indication to the vilified and minoritised communities that their history of wounds and abuses are inconsequential to our words.
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#### Usage Tip
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Avoid words that have obscene etymologies. There is almost always a better alternative: an inclusive and a less hurtful one. |