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Oh my God, every time I wincingly look back at the ongoing Cultural Appropriation bitchfight of doom, it gets worse. I'm not otherwise going to get involved, but here, I just couldn't help myself.
So, for those, like me, who hadn't seen or heard about Teresa Hayden's post wherein she expresses her anger over people badmouthing her husband (at least, that's what I assume she was doing from the descriptions - I haven't read any of the stuff involving him, either, but apparently he said things that offended people, refused to appologize when called on it, and then deleted his journal because people were yelling at him): Holy fuck, she calls fans of color and those who support them nithings.
In terms of offensiveness, as a former student of old English? Fuck, people, that's, well, not as horrible as the other n-word (which, please God, I hope no one's actually said), but it's pretty god-awful. Like, enough that I was reduced to staring at my computer screen in horror.
She has basically stated that all the people who disagree with her husband (including but not limited to, fans of color) are hateful, malicious, deformed, insane, sexually deviant, possibly cannablistic, sub-human or less-than human things. Because that's what that word means. It means monster. It means Not-a-Person. It means Grendal in Beowulf, the Ring-Wraiths in LotR, the in-bred, cannabalistic degenerate monsters in Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear."
That's what she's saying fans of color are. Maybe she doesn't really know what the word means and implies, but even if she just thinks it's an old spelling of "nothing" that would be offensive all on it's own.
And to think I used to respect her so much...
ETA: Apparently, there are differences between the Old Norse and Old English definitions, with the Norse one being a far worse insult and the Anglo-Saxon version being a little less on the digusting monster side and more on the outlaw side (see the discussion of several people with more expert knowledge than me in comments). Both versions are still insults, though.
So, for those, like me, who hadn't seen or heard about Teresa Hayden's post wherein she expresses her anger over people badmouthing her husband (at least, that's what I assume she was doing from the descriptions - I haven't read any of the stuff involving him, either, but apparently he said things that offended people, refused to appologize when called on it, and then deleted his journal because people were yelling at him): Holy fuck, she calls fans of color and those who support them nithings.
In terms of offensiveness, as a former student of old English? Fuck, people, that's, well, not as horrible as the other n-word (which, please God, I hope no one's actually said), but it's pretty god-awful. Like, enough that I was reduced to staring at my computer screen in horror.
She has basically stated that all the people who disagree with her husband (including but not limited to, fans of color) are hateful, malicious, deformed, insane, sexually deviant, possibly cannablistic, sub-human or less-than human things. Because that's what that word means. It means monster. It means Not-a-Person. It means Grendal in Beowulf, the Ring-Wraiths in LotR, the in-bred, cannabalistic degenerate monsters in Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear."
That's what she's saying fans of color are. Maybe she doesn't really know what the word means and implies, but even if she just thinks it's an old spelling of "nothing" that would be offensive all on it's own.
And to think I used to respect her so much...
ETA: Apparently, there are differences between the Old Norse and Old English definitions, with the Norse one being a far worse insult and the Anglo-Saxon version being a little less on the digusting monster side and more on the outlaw side (see the discussion of several people with more expert knowledge than me in comments). Both versions are still insults, though.
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Did she really think that bringing in slurs for underclasses from *other* languages would be helpful in any way?
I hadn't remembered just how awful it was until I looked it up more context just now, but just the suffix -ing ought to be enough to tell you it's an insult based on membership in a cultural (sub)group, which is just exactly on the nose for a privilege discussion.
And omg. 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!
(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.)
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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).