<p>Or more specifically, the phrases "honest injun" and "injun speak". I was just curious, because I'd heard a while back that some politician got in trouble for using the term. It hadn't really occurred to me before that it would be offensive. I always thought of it as just something they say in cowboy movies, and a term for laconic monosyllables.</p>
<p>When is this term EVER used? Last time I remember was reading Tom Sawyer in 8th grade…</p>
<p>I just lol’d so hard at the thread title. When has this EVER been relevant lolll.</p>
<p>No one really says this anymore because it is an oldish word. I think it was once offensive but now has just fallen into obscurity.</p>
<p>hahaha i would laugh if i ever heard somebody called an injun!! LOL</p>
<p>of course, if you’re a politician, you probably don’t want to say it, same with negro, cracker, and chink… not bad words per se, but not politically correct either</p>
<p>Us Native Americans use it when we address each other, as a term of endearment, but when the term comes from some white person we don’t know, things just get uncomfortable quickly.</p>
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<p>this is funny, you have a subtle sense of humor that should not go unnoticed</p>
<p>This reminds of Injun Joe from Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I think someone already mentioned that, though.</p>
<p>There are only two situations where I would normally use the term:</p>
<p>1: When roleplaying a character from the 1800s.</p>
<p>2: In the phrase “injun speak” to describe a person saying things “Get wood. Make fire burn big. Water hot.”</p>
<p>I don’t use it to refer to a Native American, just as I don’t use the term ■■■■■■■■ to refer to a black person (or at all). But I was wondering if other people considered it offensive when used in the contexts above.</p>
<p>Actually, it WAS used recently by Michael Steele (leader of the GOP). There was backlash, as there damn well should have been. </p>
<p>It is a very derogatory term and I’m as much bothered by it as I am by the worlds ■■■■■■■■■ “Jewed”, “gypped”, etc that are used to put down ethnicities.</p>
<p>^ Do you know that up to now I’d never made the connection between “gypped” and gypsy? Thanks for shattering yet another word for me…</p>
<p>^ No problem. I do what I can.</p>
<p>
As LogicWarrior has already noted, this post deserves praise.</p>
<p>wow, i never knew people still thought “gypped” was racist… I guess I won’t use it from now on, although to my knowledge i’ve never actually used it before anyway</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t it be racist? Isn’t it racist when we use Jewed in place of “scammed” or the term nig-rigged? </p>
<p>I don’t think there’s a difference.</p>
<p>Well, I knew the origin but I thought it was a pretty old word and I had never heard of any kind of controversy about it.</p>
<p>Anyway, I get that it is considered so now.</p>
<p>^ Yeah… gypsies don’t get a lot of press when we talk about discriminated groups (hence why there is little controversy among the g</p>
<p>Well, the first time I heard “gypped” I thought it was some random word, and it was spelled “jipped.” I didn’t realize that it referred to “gypsy” until an episode of House. (I learn so much from House~)</p>
<p>^ I love House. </p>
<p>There was an episode where they talked about this?!</p>
<p>There was a Roma patient in one episode, and House wanted to **** off his parents (I don’t remember why) so he said “I’ve been gypped!” and they got mad.</p>