Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
The English language grew harder to learn, speak and understand this weekend. ESPN editor Anthony Federico was fired for penning a headline about New York Knicks’ phenom Jeremy Lin (who is American) having a high rate of turnovers, noting that his lack of ball control may be a “chink in his armor.”
As if US - Chinese relations weren’t strained enough, Rep. Judy Chu (D, Calif.) claimed the use of what she called “the C word” (apparently now taking its righteously indignant place among initialized words along side the N word) was a racist slur.
The etymology of the phrase “chink in the armor” goes back to The Middle Ages when men fought in suits of armor. One would look for a chink, as in a hole (chink actually means hole), in the armor of the opponent and attack that weak point, hoping to break through his protection to deliver a kill shot. This action is the same as today’s boxing pugilists who “work the cut” when one develops over an opponent's eye. All of it has absolutely nothing to do with race. Finding a “chink in the armor” of an opponent is a common sports euphemism used by Federico a hundred times in the past, by his own account. Not one Asian congresswoman ever complained about it.
Certainly the word “chink” was later bastardized (my apologies to the children of unmarried couples) into a slur referencing the shape of Asian eyes. That, of course, still has nothing to do with the medieval concept of attacking an opponent’s weak point.
Unfortunately, in today’s America, actual instances of racism are so rare that false allegations of racism are the new racism. We are left with bizarre new English language rules with perplexing vagaries on usage: May I use “chink in the armor” when referring to the weakness in the game of non-Asian basketball players, or has the very meaning of a non-racist phrase been so consumed by the slurred meaning of one of its words that we must never again speak, even with historical accuracy, of the practice developed by the men in armor?
First Amendment be damned – political correctness is forming a list of words we can’t say. Sometimes, the new rules hold that certain people can say words, but others cannot.
Controversy recently surrounded the word “niggardly.” It is a word of Nordic etymology that means a small sum, having nothing to do with race. The N-word* is a slur of Latin etymology (Latin for the color black is niger) that has nothing to do with sums. They aren’t even homonyms as they are spelled differently (note the “er” vs the “ar” difference). At best, they share an inexact phonetic sound, making the two words about as related as Jeremy Lin and Loretta Lynn.
Back in 1999, David Howard was a white aid to black DC mayor Anthony Williams. Howard referred to that year’s budget as “niggardly,” noting of course its size, not its color. Swift came the allegations of racism and Howard tendered his resignation and the Mayor accepted it. What happened next confounds those of us trying to navigate the new language rules. Howard is gay. The gay community lobbied for his reinstatement, and the Mayor offered to re-hire him. I’m not sure if that means gays can’t be racist, blacks can’t fire gays, niggardly is not the N-word for thee but is for me, or something else.
‘Owned” words are now becoming fashionable. For instance, black people are claiming dominion over he N-word.* Recently on “The View,” Sherry Shepard took the position that it is OK for black actress Whoopi Goldberg to pronounce the N-word* in full but not OK for white host Barbara Walters to do it. According to this new English language rule we must not judge one’s speech on the content of their word characters but on the color of their skin.
The owned word rule really took shape when white radio and TV personality Don Imus was fired by MSNBC for joking that the Rutgers girls basketball team, in comparison to their opponents, looked like “nappy headed hos.” The use of the word “ho” in particular was seen as a horrible affront to black women. The issue was so important that NJ Governor Jon Corzine was critically injured in a high-speed car accident as he raced to get to a meeting between Imus and a black pastor to fashion Imus’ public apology.
The same year Imus was fired, the song that won the Oscar was “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp.” While lamenting the difficulties of mastering prostitutes, the song, now enshrined in pop culture with such beautiful music as "Over the Rainbow," also referred to black women as “bitches” “niggas” and “hos.” Not one college basketball team complained about it.
Jesse Jackson not too long ago used the N-word* (referring to black people while criticizing President Obama) without a public backlash large enough for him to be fired from whatever it is he does. Jesse apparently owns the N-word* to white exclusion as well.
One very dangerous form of politically correct wordsmithing pits scientists against comedians.
Modern pop culture has a certain affinity for insults, ranging from America’s love for Don Rickles to MTV’s insult contest show “Yo Momma.”
Compare Rahm Emanuel’s use of the word “retarded” to describe Democrats which, according to Sarah Palin, is not OK because he meant it as an insult, and Rush Limbaugh’s use of the word “retarded” to describe Democrats, which Sarah finds OK because he used it as satire.
Let’s look at a definition from The American Heritage Medical Dictionary for context:
mental retardation – Subnormal intellectual development or functioning that is the result of congenital causes, brain injury, or disease and is characterized by any of various deficiencies, ranging from impaired learning ability to social and vocational inadequacy.
There is a cycle that repeats itself in the world of insults, having to do with adopting scientific medical terms and using them as insults. The weird rules that apply to “socially acceptable” insults eventually catches up to the medical dictionary usurpers and the PC police try to shut them down. Some insults, it seems, are just too insulting.
But the usurpers have traditionally won the battle, and the medical terms are removed from the medical books, to live out eternity in the land of misfit words.
For instance, the words idiot, imbecile and moron all started out as medical terminology, not insults. So much a part of the acceptable lexicon were they that the constitutions of Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and New Mexico were written to say an “idiot” can’t vote. New Jersey’s constitution says you can’t vote if you are an “idiot” (before Chris Christie was elected it appeared this provision of the New Jersey Constitution was being fully ignored).
Some words, like midget, are still in medical dictionaries, but with a disclaimer against usage as it is now a pejorative term.
Odd as it seems, America allows the purveyors of insults to trump the purveyors of science in deciding which words are acceptable. Imagine a doctor telling parents of a child, “I’m sorry, your son is an imbecile, idiot and retarded moron, destined to live out his life on public assistance or as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.”
The doctor would have used nothing but scientific terms, but all would agree his bedside manner is atrocious and his civility beneath that of a treating physician. The medical terms are now insults. Don Rickles wins.
It makes you wonder what the world would come to if insult comics were to decide to wreck havoc on our language and eternally chase doctors around the thesaurus.
What if, and this is scary so sit down, but just what if insult comics began abusing the word “challenged?” For instance, “How do you become an American president? Be the most challenged man from Kenya!”
Where, or to what word, will the doctors run next?
Will any of us be left to speak if words that are not racist are used as proof that we are racists?
* Note that I use "N-word" without spelling out the word. I once wrote for a newspaper where spelling out the word was allowable so long as it was being used as an historical reference or to note its usage, so long as it was not written out in insult. I don't know Ricochet's policy on this. Perhaps the editorial board can clarify. For those of you that say it is quite cowardly to force the editors into that sticky wicket and not go there myself, I say, "You're right."
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Comments:
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Since right underneath the Headline was a sub-header that read:
Jeremy Lin's 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak Snapping Loss to Hornets...
I differ with you on this point. This does not smell of racism. It smells of metaphor.
Stuart you seem to suggest that we the people are not smart enough to allow two thoughts in our heads at the same time - that "chink in the armor" is a metaphor for a weakness, and "chink" can be an ethnic slur.
On that we differ too.
Edited on February 21, 2012 at 7:06pmMay '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
When I worked for Wang Laboratories in the early 80's there was a story (what they now call "urban legend") going around about a company marketer who came up with the slogan "Wang- the chink in IBM's armor!" The story went on to assert his prompt dismissal.
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
If it was a pun, then what's the armor? The team's defense?
Certainly the phrase "chink in his armor" doesn't make sense as a pun unless he's wearing armor. Is a basketball uniform armor these days?
Anyhow how did they find out it was meant deliberately? ...
Excellent points. The expression is meant as a vulnerability in a defense, not as an offensive shortcoming.
As to intent, the editor probably wasn't so obtuse as to explicitly state any malign motivations. That would be left to common sense, and the best judgment of his employer.
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
The Logo
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
If it was a pun, then what's the armor? The team's defense?
Certainly the phrase "chink in his armor" doesn't make sense as a pun unless he's wearing armor. Is a basketball uniform armor these days?
Anyhow how did they find out it was meant deliberately? ...
Excellent points. The expression is meant as a vulnerability in a defense, not as an offensive shortcoming.
The more you have to parse, the greater the likelihood that you are trying to find an insult where there is none.
So if I find out a batter in baseball just can't hit a curve ball, am I disqualified from saying I've found a chink in his armor because batting is offense not defense?
Edited on February 21, 2012 at 7:14pmJun '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Tommy De Seno:
Some words, like midget, are still in medical dictionaries, but with a disclaimer against usage as it is now a pejorative term.
I am incrediblyoffended that "midget" is considered a pejorative term. Calling "midget" a pejorative is an insult to me and my kind, and I demandthat the insults stop! · 2 hours ago
If you'll just change your name, everything will be OK. How about "Significantly-Lower-Than-the-Median-Height Faded Rattlesnake" ? [If median is the wrong term, please substitute "mean" or other more accurate term].
Update: You could also use "Vertically-Challenged Faded Rattlesnake." [If, however, rattlesnakes measure based on horizontal length, you may have to use "Horizontally-Challenged Faded Rattlesnake."]
Update to Update: Oh, heck, just use your normal name and we'll try to say the word "midget" in a non-threatening manner.
Edited on February 21, 2012 at 7:19pmMar '11
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Tommy De Seno
The Logo
The more you have to parse, the greater the liklihood that you are trying to find an insult where there is none.
So if I find out a batter in baseball just can't hit a curve ball, am I disqualified from saying I've found a chink in his armor because batting is offense not defense? · 0 minutes ago
Clearly, there's a chink in A-Rod's armor and hole in Ichiro's swing.
But c'mon now... Avoiding racism really isn't all that complicated. Just think racist thoughts and then don't say that thing.
Mar '11
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
tabula rasa
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Tommy De Seno:
Some words, like midget, are still in medical dictionaries, but with a disclaimer against usage as it is now a pejorative term.
I am incrediblyoffended that "midget" is considered a pejorative term. Calling "midget" a pejorative is an insult to me and my kind, and I demandthat the insults stop! · 2 hours ago
If you'll just change your name, everything will be OK. How about "Significantly-Lower-Than-the-Median-Height Faded Rattlesnake" ? [If median is the wrong term, please substitute "mean" or other more accurate term].
Update: You could also use "Vertically-Challenged Faded Rattlesnake." [If, however, rattlesnakes measure based on horizontal length, you may have to use "Horizontally-Challenged Faded Rattlesnake."]
Update to Update: Oh, heck, just use your normal name and we'll try to say the word "midget" in a non-threatening manner. · 6 minutes ago
Edited 1 minute ago
Why don't we just segregate ourselves into different neighborhoods and say things like "I actually have a rattlesnake friend and he says it's ok to say midget."
Jun '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
All of this raises a question. Most groups at one time had a less than nice name assigned to them: e.g., wop, mick, yid, jap, gook, spic, etc. etc. As a Mormon, I know that calling us "Mormons" 160 years ago was a very negative term: we solved the problem by embracing it.
I'm 60 now, and remember hearing all these 40-50 years ago, but most of them seem to have almost completely gone away. I never hear the infamous "N-word" used anymore except by blacks referring to themselves.
I'm also out in flownover territory. Do these epithets still live on out on the East coast (or elsewhere in the country)?
Edited on February 21, 2012 at 7:29pmJul '11
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
I know it's later in this thread but I'm going to relay some basketball stories. I used to play a bunch and in the inner city I always heard black guys using the infamous N word all the time. I played on a team in college with 3 Asians and the called me round eye. I played for a month on an Indian reservation and they had unique names for themselves and me as well(since I was the only white guy). I also played on a mostly Hispanic team once and they would make greencard jokes.
The only people that care about names are east coast liberal loony types.
I promise you all that Lin could give a darn about anything other than playing hard and hopefully winning.
Aug '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Well bugger me senseless ! I thought that having a fag in public was illegal. And why would you threaten an entire geographic cultural segment with that slope slur ? And that crack about short people ? Lifts indeed !
PC is marxist and oppressive.
Edited on February 21, 2012 at 7:43pmRe: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Tommy De Seno
The more you have to parse, the greater the likelihood that you are trying to find an insult where there is none.
So if I find out a batter in baseball just can't hit a curve ball, am I disqualified from saying I've found a chink in his armor because batting is offense not defense? · 3 minutes ago
Edited 1 minute ago
Perhaps, Tommy, there's an element of defending a batter's box just as there is of defending the ball. Defensive necessity in the course of carrying out an offense.
Maybe.
In this Logo's assessment, it seems like a strained justification for using the metaphor, and makes it more likely that Federico was trying to find a way to use this particular expression.
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
The Logo
Tommy De Seno
The more you have to parse, the greater the likelihood that you are trying to find an insult where there is none.
So if I find out a batter in baseball just can't hit a curve ball, am I disqualified from saying I've found a chink in his armor because batting is offense not defense? · 3 minutes ago
Perhaps, Tommy, there's an element of defending a batter's box just as there is of defending the ball. Defensive necessity in the course of carrying out an offense.
Maybe.
In this Logo's assessment, it seems like a strained justification for using the metaphor, and makes it more likely that Federico was trying to find a way to use this particular expression.
Racism being such a serious allegation, don't you owe something more to Federico in pressing the point?
Wouldn't you wish to present some evidence of racsim in his past to make the "leap of intention" from 9 turnovers being a chink in Lin's armor to calling Lin a chink?
Dec '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Tommy De Seno
Since right underneath the Headline was a sub-header that read:
Jeremy Lin's 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak Snapping Loss to Hornets...
I differ with you on this point. This does not smell of racism. It smells of metaphor.
Stuart you seem to suggest that we the people are not smart enough to allow two thoughts in our heads at the same time - that "chink in the armor" is a metaphor for a weakness, and "chink" can be an ethnic slur.
On that we differ too.
"Chink in the armor" is a perfectly apt metaphor for an exploitable weakness in a defense. ESPN writers use it all the time.
But it is precisely BECAUSE we can hold two ideas in our minds at the same time that puns have value in wordplay: "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."
At around the same time the ESPN blogger posted his headline, an ESPN anchor live and on air used the metaphor "chink in the armor" talking about Lin. But that was in the context of a live broadcast, where he didn't have the luxury of editing his words before hitting "post."
May '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
The problem here is that verbal cliches used in conversation are mindless and written headlines are premeditated.
That's why the editor was fired and Max Bretos only took a 30-day suspension.
Very early in my career I learned that there are things you can say but not write.
Dec '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Tommy De Seno
The Logo
In this Logo's assessment, it seems like a strained justification for using the metaphor, and makes it more likely that Federico was trying to find a way to use this particular expression.
Racism being such a serious allegation, don't you owe something more to Federico in pressing the point?
Wouldn't you wish to present some evidence of racsim in his past to make the "leap of intention" from 9 turnovers being a chink in Lin's armor to calling Lin a chink?
Perhaps he was merely fired for gross stupidity in exposing his employer to the perception that it tolerates racism.
Rush Limbaugh was fired from ESPN for offering an opinion on whether the NFL and the sportswriting community supported a particular Black quarterback because of his race. Limbaugh may well have been factually right, and he didn't use anything that resembled a racial epithet. But the network fired him because they didn't want the controversy over his assertion to morph into an accusation that they tolerated racism.
If they're going to fire Limbaugh over a completely bogus PC issue like that, should they retain a very sloppy writer?
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Excellent points.
"The Achilles' heel of the Greek government is finances."
Racist? Am I asserting that all Greeks are on wobbly footing since the time of Achilles?
The point I make, is a question of intention. Once you concede intention governs, one must give a bit more on the issue of intention to concince me.
Raise you hand if you really think Federico was calling Lin a chink. I suspect no hands are raised. What possible reason would he have to do so?
With 9 turnovers in one game, I give you a reason to say Lin has a chink in his game armor.
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
EJHill: The problem here is that verbal cliches used in conversation are mindless and written headlines are premeditated.
That's why the editor was fired and Max Bretos only took a 30-day suspension.
Very early in my career I learned that there are things you can say but not write. · 9 minutes ago
Hopefully you missed how many spelling and grammar errors I made when I first posted this piece. I thought of the post when I woke up and rushed it out before my morning commute. An editor and I spent the rest of the morning cleaning it up after it was posted.
Sometimes blogging is a fast paced as live commenting.
Apr '11
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Since EJHill edited his post to remove the autocorretitizationing of "genteel" into "gentile", my post pointing out (humorously, I hope) that discrepancy no longer makes sense. Since I can't seem to delete my original post, this will have to do.
In Gentile Gentility,
Awksedperl
Edited on February 28, 2012 at 5:10amRe: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
Stuart Creque
Racism being such a serious allegation, don't you owe something more to Federico in pressing the point?
Wouldn't you wish to present some evidence of racsim in his past to make the "leap of intention" from 9 turnovers being a chink in Lin's armor to calling Lin a chink?
Perhaps he was merely fired for gross stupidity in exposing his employer to the perception that it tolerates racism.
Rush Limbaugh was fired from ESPN for offering an opinion on whether the NFL and the sportswriting community supported a particular Black quarterback because of his race. Limbaugh may well have been factually right, and he didn't use anything that resembled a racial epithet. But the network fired him because they didn't want the controversy over his assertion to morph into an accusation that they tolerated racism.
If they're going to fire Limbaugh over a completely bogus PC issue like that, should they retain a very sloppy writer?
Fire neither.
Dec '10
Re: Armor Chinks, Niggardly Sums and Retarded Growth…Political Correctness Controls The Dictionary
EJHill: The problem here is that verbal cliches used in conversation are mindless and written headlines are premeditated.
That's why the editor was fired and Max Bretos only took a 30-day suspension.
Very early in my career I learned that there are things you can say but not write. · 8 minutes ago
I agree.
If ESPN was wrong to fire Federico for writing that headline, doesn't that mean they should not have taken that headline down from their website? If the words couldn't possibly be taken to be offensive, wouldn't the proper course for ESPN to tell everybody to lighten up and knock off the PC garbage? Or did ESPN do the right thing in recognizing that an employee, whether from malice or incompetence, posted content on its website that could be interpreted as racially offensive, and pulled the content because of the harm it might do to the network's reputation and business?