Accused of racism on door

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The very notion of PC language is a way of informing speakers that "this word" or "that word" is intended to hurt, therefore it shouldn't be used. There are some very obvious racial slurs that everyone in this day and age knows are wrong. However, years ago, people had to be explicitly taught that these words were offensive. The expectation is that with the language adjustment, people will absorb the consideration that goes behind choosing kinder words. (aka cultural sensitivity)
I don't see sensitivity as "vulnerability" in this context. I see it as being considerate of peoples' feelings.
Yes, I agree that some PC lingo leads to social bullying of a different kind. Yes, I think it's a way of glossing over social problems. But that's just indicative of the abuse of language and the abuse of social hierarchy, imo.

This case is a case of someone being flamboyantly stupid and cowardly. This to me isn't about PC language but about someone not connecting a picture with its name.

"intended to hurt" --> Intended by whom? Intentions do not exist in a vacuum. The existence of an intention implies the existence of someone with those intentions.

So when you say "the notion is...to inform a speaker that "this word" or "that word" is intended to hurt"....whose intentions do you mean?

If you mean "the intentions of others", then the aforementioned informing is being given out of context, given that the informer is informing someone of the intentions of others, and so this description may not apply to the speaker's intentions.

If you mean "the intentions of the person being informed" then you're speaking of informing someone of their own intentions, which is absurd.

This thread reminded me of the annual Coon Carnival festival held in Cape Town South Africa, that changed its name recently because foreign tourists were offended by the name, even though it's a different thing in South Africa. It's kind of sad that they kowtowed to that but I guess they sold out in the name of tourism dollars. And the true irony is, the tourists that likely were the cause of this change were probably from the "land of free speech!"

It doesn't look like a racist carnival to me. Kaapse Klopse

KingdomOfRats, I'm just going to say it. Your landlord and the tenant who complained suck. If you don't want to get in trouble with the landlord maybe you should put some tape over the word coon and write "African englishman" on the tape. Then you will have a caption that reads "Maine African Englishman Cat." The PC change would make the complainer look silly.

Intended to hurt, means certain words are used systematically to hurt others. If I use the word, "Mick", for example, that means I have a particular mindset about Irish people and how I feel about them. Or it can mean that I've been taught indiscriminately that Irish people can be called Micks, reduced to a stereotype and place in society. Even using that word without consciously realizing its meaning validates its power, when used in a certain context.

There's a scene in Little Town on the Prairie where there is a "minstrel show" given by the townsmen in blackface. The characters in the scene continually refer to the "darkies", including one child. We can surmise that the young character didn't mean to hurt anyone. But we also know that "darkies" in the context of a "minstrel show" in the mid 1880's is a demeaning stereotype, meant to depict African-Americans a particular way (vulgar, ugly, dumb).

YIKES! MICKey rooney should have changed his name! Do you think the irish have ANY chance to get people to stop saying MICK? What of the polish, an pollock? The germans? Italians? I doubt it.

a word alone can not be racist, Sweetie. that would mean you couldn't even educate someone about the historical connotations of things, because the act itself would be racist-- just by using the word. words are words, Sweetie. words describe things that exist, Sweetie, and by erasing words, you have not actually removed any racisim or any non-racisim as the case may be.

and, Sweetie, if people are not allowed to say (or display) something, it's very easy to make a f**k -you or a n***** out of almost anything, SWEETIE.

not all causes have an effect, and not all Affects have cause.

The word 'b***h,' when applied to a woman, is offensive. When appllied to a dog, it is not. Although I am a feminist, it would be counter-productive at best for me to be offended and advocate for the removal of 'b***h' from the English language. Likewise, 'coon' has a legitimate purpose when applied to animals with big, fluffy tails.

It is impossible not to be reminded of the offensive use of 'b***h' whenever I hear it applied, even inoffensively, but that is in part because these days I hear it more in the context of an assault than I do in the context of dog breeding - and this, with a co-worker who breeds dogs. 'Coon' may be the same, but if anything I think that the word should be reclaimed for its legitimate use; otherwise, we'll have to find a new word for fluffy-tailed animals.

Geez--- this is the dumbest thing I have heard besides the thing about Santa not being allowed to say "ho ho ho"----------------
It is a breed of cat. That is the name of the cat breed. It is not some made-up name meant to be offensive. This is ridiculous.
Now that I think of it, there is a breed of dog called the Blue-tick coon hound ( a hunting dog originally bred to hunt raccoon). Would this also be offensive? How about the West Highland White Terrier, since the color "white" might be used to imply that the dog actually supports Nazism or the white power movement? Geez!
Maybe you need to print out some articles and stuff on the Maine coon and distribute them to persons unfamiliar with cat breeds--- if they still choose to be ignorant, then it's not your fault that they refuse knowledge and continue to choose to be offended over silly crap.

The word "door" on this thread's title is offensive to me. They used to make blacks be doormen and dress up in suits that were just like organ grinder monkey suits at hotels.

The Kingdom part of your username also offends me because it implies imperialism.

The Rats part of your username does not offend me but I recommend that you change it because it might be offensive to someone with rats for pets who might think that it is derogatory to rodents.

And GoatOnFire is an inoffensive username ?

Oh for heaven's sake... seriously? Don't cover it up, just put a big sign above it that says "Maine Coon is a type of cat, moron!".

Wow, once again I am bowled over by the sheer ignorance of typical human beings.

I think one of my cats is part Maine Coon; they are beautiful cats.

Don't even get me started on pluto.

I think more than half of you should change your offensive usernames because I say so.