[kmj]

Words like ‘denigrate’ and ‘niggardly’ sound really bad, because the ‘nig’ sound has such bad associations. But neither of these words are derived from racial slurs – ‘denigrate’ literally means to tarnish or blacken and has nothing to do with race. So don’t take too much offense.

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Name : kmj, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : New Orleans, State : LA, Country : United States, Occupation : graduate student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Ryan]

I get irritated when I hear ‘Paddy Wagon’, which is from an old derrogatory term for the Irish (paddy). I’m the only one that knows that, usually, and the only one irritated. I don’t know how you should handle it either, but I understand.

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Name : Ryan, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 29, City : Santa Barbara, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Grant Writer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Craig]

Language is history whether we like it or not. This particular word goes back to Latin, long before black/white racial connotations. Yes, one meaning is ‘to blacken’ but you show a good education in even knowing that. I think very many people would consider ‘de’ a prefix and think that the root meaning might be ‘to make less black’. Many dictionaries will simply define it as ‘to slander’ and that is the vast majority of the usage, both on the street and in the scholarly journals. If you take offense at the etymology of words then any language is full of slurs against everyone. Sinister and whitewash come immediately to mind. But it is so much better to sit down to a meal of blackened whitefish and not get tied up racial connotations that are more puns than meaning. PS I may be Caucasian but I know little to nothing about the Caucus mountains and certainly did not come from there.

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Name : Craig, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Somewhere in, State : MO, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Drew28684]

I don’t think that it is negative. Is calling a black a tar baby negative? People only consider words offensive when they are given negative connotations. Any word can be turned into a positive. For example, look at how the gay community changed the word ‘Queer’ into a positive.

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Name : Drew28684, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Minneapolis, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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