Yes! Let's use one of the three homophobic insults that's bad enough to give you the legal right to kill the user! That will calm things down!
I know. Just because it's an archaic term no one uses anymore doesn't mean it's any les insulting than just saying "monsters" or "worthless people" would have been. Plus, this is fandom. If you use an arcane piece of terminology, someone in your audience is going to know exactly what it means, probably in better detail than you do (I just know it's a horrible insult, but I bet there's someone out there on LJ who could write a whole essay on ancient Germanic and Nordic culture and linguistics if asked for a definition).
Who thought this debate would come around to the point where "Let Us Explain To Ya'll About Anglo-Saxon Culture" would actually be relevant. sigh.
Usually it's a digression on how Irish-Americans should count as an oppressed minority, or how X piece of Northern European cultural background means that [thing that offends people] isn't actually offensive (like, "the kelpie's human form is black because he's a kelpie, which anyone who knew celtic folklore would know, so there are totally No Racial Implications At All"). This time, historical context just makes it worse (as in the HP miscegenation wank).
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Date: 2009-01-29 07:52 am (UTC)I know. Just because it's an archaic term no one uses anymore doesn't mean it's any les insulting than just saying "monsters" or "worthless people" would have been. Plus, this is fandom. If you use an arcane piece of terminology, someone in your audience is going to know exactly what it means, probably in better detail than you do (I just know it's a horrible insult, but I bet there's someone out there on LJ who could write a whole essay on ancient Germanic and Nordic culture and linguistics if asked for a definition).
Who thought this debate would come around to the point where "Let Us Explain To Ya'll About Anglo-Saxon Culture" would actually be relevant. sigh.
Usually it's a digression on how Irish-Americans should count as an oppressed minority, or how X piece of Northern European cultural background means that [thing that offends people] isn't actually offensive (like, "the kelpie's human form is black because he's a kelpie, which anyone who knew celtic folklore would know, so there are totally No Racial Implications At All"). This time, historical context just makes it worse (as in the HP miscegenation wank).