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Correct language

lyledunn
I was taking a group of building service engineers through the 18th. We were discussing the use of Appendix 5. One chap was very exercised about the BA3 category which is described as utilization-capability-handicapped. He claims the latter word was exorcised from common parlance years ago and would be offensive to many. I am not that politically correct but maybe he has a valid argument,.
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    Legh Richardson:

    There is a saying 'to the pure all things are pure'




    Thank you, I like that very much and shall remember it.


    Titus I.15.


    The following verse showeth that they had badgers 2,000 years ago:


    They profess that they know BS 7671; but in works they deny it, being abominable and non-compliant, and unto every good work reprobate. ?

  • 0
    Don't yer just love satire.


    XXX Rated clip

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vJUxXpMrRQ


    Z.
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    Legh Richardson:


    There is a saying 'to the pure all things are pure'



     

     

    and the converse, which is the problem nowadays.
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    I come from an age where gay meant happy, nothing more nothing less. Nowadays some folk are refered to as gay and some of them are are happy and some not.

    like the spade meanings get corrupted.


    I call a spade a spade and never even dreamt of that saying in any other context.


    Some folk just look to find something as offensive .


    Madam chairman becomes chairwoman or simply chair. Complete and utter madness.

    We are all Men (Mankind, human) just some are that little bit extra special in that they are also wo - men.

    Political correctness is a sick joke
  • 0

    ebee:


    I call a spade a spade and never even dreamt of that saying in any other context.


    Some folk just look to find something as offensive .




    ebee,

    I sympathise, but the problem is that as context changes, what is originally an innocent comment can take on different meanings. The phrase 'call a spade a spade' originates in ancient Greek (Plutarch) though was a result of translation into English in 1540. It therefore predates the perjorative sense of 'spade' by nearly 4 1/2 Centuries. I, and others of my generation, may still use the phrase, but nowadays I am sensitive about who may be present when/if I say it. If I say it I am referring to a garden implement, but this does not stop others from misconstruing the intent. Workplace harassment (and harassment elsewhere) is not about intent but rather about the perception of the harassed individual.

    If you want a good example of how context can change the sense of a phrase, in 2010 the Deepwater Horizon, operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, had a major failure which resulted in probably the largest oil spill in the history of oil exploration. Back in the 1990's the same company. BP, had run advertising campaigns in the US with the slogan "BP - bringing oil to America's shores!"  This is not an advertising campaign they are likely to run nowadays as the context has changed.

    Alasdair

  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Personally speaking, I treat people with my manners and not theirs - and if that leads to a perceived offence, then it's not intentional. If it was, they would be in no doubt about it.


    However, I'm a white middle-aged heterosexual male - so basically, everything is now my fault anyway.


    Such is life, I guess


    OMS


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    It is a shame that the OP statement has given an opportunity for some to state - and then re-affirm- a derogatory racist statement. I am sure the OP did not intend this to happen.


    Only Sparkingchip has challenged this and it is to his credit. Understandably his reply is worded in a "neutral" stance, likely mindful that those  shouting loudest and claiming some sort of right or mitigation in repeating a derogatory slur will feel further emboldened .


    Maybe this is a sign of the times.


    It is a further shame that others have added validation indirectly by not calling this out for what it is.


    It has been and still is, American racist slang from 1920s, adopted by the like minded in UK in 1950s. It is not a "word" it is "the phrase" and its context. Unless you are over 100 years old it only has ONE context.


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    The moderators must be watching to see how iffy this discussion gets.


    I started reading a discussion about the use of appropriate language and read a saying that I heard a guy say that resulted in him being laid out flat on the floor with a single punch.


    I don’t want it to be considered that I’m doing anything other than pointing out that you need to choose your words carefully so that your intentions are not misunderstood.


    Andy
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    Sparkingchip:

    The moderators must be watching to see how iffy this discussion gets.



    5b5e0a214449985b1b849ef4f0b44c46-huge-watching-you.gif

  • 0
    Mmmm.


    Any word can be used as a derogatory term-. That does not mean it cannot be used for it's original meaning.


    They call Trump orange. Do we need to choose another word for the fruit and the colour?  What if they start calling him a "right kumquat"?


    I personally, being (so-called) white, do not think that 'black' - with its connotations of black arts, blackguard etc. - sounds particularly polite or respectful but that is the word acceptable at the moment by the people concerned. It could change for no valid reason - apart from the fact that they are not actually black, are they? Just as I am not .actually white.


    As for the difference between 'people of colour' and 'coloured people' - well there is no difference is there? - yet one is considered acceptable and one is offensive. Go figure.

    There is no logic to these decisions and I often wonder if it is the people involved who make the decisions or is it someone else who thinks they should be offended.


    Aren't spades the highest rated of the suits?

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