The Nature of Names, Intent vs. Content

So it's Tuesday. Damn.

I wish I had a useful topic to expound upon. Really. Ahh, here goes: if you are one of the politically correct anal-retentives out there, I warn you - you really should just quit reading and go elsewhere. What follows will surely insult someone out there. This is a racially tense entry, and some of you are sure to get offended by my furtherance of study into language and music... :)

So, with that disclaimer taken care of, what follows is a list of all the worst racial (and social) slurs I could think of/recall. This might be offensive to some, but I am really doing this as research for a song (No, REALLY), which I hope will end up being humorous, of course. Point being, some people are so picky and negative and quick to judge. I'm not one of them, obviously. Just look at my nickname - wopanese - that, my friends, could be considered a derogatory term... sure. But really, what is a name but a mode of address? Isn't it really the INTENT of the word that is most important? Some of the insulting names people have come up with are really creative and inventive, while being very insulting. So the intent here is humor and I need your help for more.

If, however, you are offended by this list and the fact that I have put it out here for others to read, then, well, you really don't get it, do you? The power in the word is not the words themselves - you have to give the words power - laugh at them and they become comical misrepresentations. People call me "Wop" all the time (Wopanese being too long for simple conversation, really - c'mon, it's THREE whole syllables and people can barely remember names with TWO.) So, laziness aside, they just call me "Wop". A label is just a label - peel it off if you don't like it - or stand up and be proud.

So, the list: (And if you can think of any others, really, I'd appreciate some feedback on this):

Wop, guido, guinea, dago, kike, spic, slopehead/slope, frog, kraut, pullstart, pushstart, dothead, camel jockey, honkey, sand nigger, cracker, white trash, redskin, punjab, spoolie, spook, ghost, redneck, porck monkey, spearchucker, jigaboo, wetback, riceball, chink, yo-ho, manung, polock, gook, mick, jerry, junglebunny, darky, colored, SA, beaner, nigger, tarbaby, dork, geek, nerd, spaz, dweeb, pointdexter, fag, lesbo, muffdiver, cocksmoker, queer, homo, queen, red, commie, yellow horde, slant-eye, wigger, wannabe, nips, JAPS, jap, canuck, coonass, oreo, fudgepacker, bonesmuggler, fairy, polesmoker, limey, WASP, haoli, NewYorican, PR's, PI's, dyke, dyke-jumper, flip, women in comfortable shoes.


Oh, I have to say this, though - seems there a lot of people who want to use the word "nigger" so badly that they have to rationalize it somehow, saying something weak like, "well, I don't mind black people, it's them niggers I don't like. You know, there are white niggers too." No, there aren't. That's like calling a Honda a Nissan. There are no white niggers. No, the people referred to are properly called white trash or rednecks or better yet, ASSHOLES. If you want to classify out of hand, please do it properly. It's like the weakest excuse ever to use the word "nigger" and try to not come off sounding like an asshole. Of course, I'm pretty sure that many of these people also say, "Some of my best friends are black." (see next paragraph) Remember, it's the INTENT that makes the word insulting.

As for me? I'm a Wop-Slope half-breed, made in Japan, and imported to the mainland via a stopover in Hawaii of several years. In politically correct terms, I am Meditterasian. Yes, I have a tattoo on the bottom of my foot that says, "Made in Japan", just like all the other Japanese kids and Japanese toys... And to be quite honest, yes, one of my very best (and longest) friends is, in fact, black - I was the "MAN OF HONOR" in her wedding party. And she was lookin good, too, in that dress... damn. But I digress...

Standard example of how it is okay - you see young people calling each other "nigger" (generally pronounced "niggah") all the time and they don't seem to take offense. I call my white friends cracker-ass-crackers (thanks Chris Rock) all the time and it's okay. So what is the problem? I suppose it's because people often assume the worst of these words.

Maybe it's just me - I don't let these words bother me, I take pride in my heritage. And if you cannot laugh at yourself and at your heritage while taking some pride in both, then you, my friend, are the one with the issue, not me.
Laughter is the key to world peace.
Really. It breaks all ice and all barriers...

But I could be wrong. Like I said... it's happened a time or two before. (Okay, spelling aside)

So, feel free to send me others in comments. It is my intent to make it funny. Really. Make it anonymous if you like.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.