Quote:
Originally Posted by Big_Bill
Well D-Ray,
One can say "DAMN", and another can say "DARN", and mean the same exact thing.
The word "CHINK" 1. [chingk] noun 1. a crack, cleft, or fissure: a chink in a wall. 2. a narrow opening: a chink between two buildings.
Or if you have a mind that takes you to a derogatory word, that refers to a race or nationality of people, You must be a Liberal, here's your card !
"CRACKER" Cracker (food), a type of biscuit, usually salted or savory edible.
Or if you have a mind that takes you to a derogatory word, that refers to a race or nationality of people. You must be a Liberal, here's your card !
Now, many words have been given several meanings, some good, some bad, some just the opposite and some not relating at all to the original word !
But no matter how you look at the word, it is just a word. And you must provide YOUR definition, from your knowledge and prejudices and understanding of the word.
Can ALL of you be that prejudicially minded ? Or is it that you just look to find a problem that may or may not even exist ?
lliB: just a word spelled backward !
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Is it permissible in your view to look at the context in which a word is used to determine the intent of the speaker? That is what I am trying to understand. From the context of your post, it did not appear that you were using the word to describe a crack or a fissure. Was it your intent to draw our attention to some structural anomaly or to the other use of the word?
Similarly, in a post criticizing the concern of some folks over the use of racially derogatory terms, you, with no other context, printed the word "Cracker." Were we to understand from your post that you were only referring to a baked product?
Part of our use of the language is to give words meaning according to the context in which they are used. This skill is particularly necessary when words can, as you have pointed out, have different meanings. Please explain, in the context of your posts, what meaning we should have drawn from your use of the particular words.
Regards,
D-Ray