Azzi wrote: Why would this be offensive to Native Americans? Isn't it derrogeratory to the white treaties that were broken? They gave them lands and took them back? Just a painful reminder?
Another off color saying from NY was to "JAP" out of something. To bail out of something. I doubt this refers to the Japanese. Is it jewish american princess? A long island girl reference?
Indian giver doesn't refer to whites and our constant fucking over though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_giver
My understanding of it was twofold, one that Native Americans (depending on tribe) had different cultural concepts, so there was miscommunication. When such agreements broke down, "Indians" were blamed.
It's also the source of 'gyp', to be 'gypped' or cheated of value. Again, Roma have different concepts of ownership and what can and cannot be owned. Additionally in many countries when Roma were ill treated and cheated (the bands would often caravan into an area and perform labor, repairs, etc. and the townspeople would often pay them little or cheat them because what could they do?) the 'gypsies' or Roma as most prefer to be called would simply steal to make up the difference. What they would steal though was rarely money or goods, but livestock...food.
Anyway it's ironic that the groups that did the fucking over labeled the behavior onto the groups that they fucked.
As far as JAP goes, it was used as a slur in WWII. It's an abbreviation for Japanese, but was often used nastily so that the term itself became a slur. NIP is also an abbreviation for Nippon (I think it's spelled that way) which was that Japanese word for their country. Again, used so nastily that the abbv. itself became a slur.
JAP as Jewish American Princess is also considered a slur...though most people I know who use it do not use it that way, nor do I know people who take it as a slur from those people. Same with WASP. /shrug But I'm sure there are people who use it nastily.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_princess
Just one more thing, 'gyp' is commonly used on the east coast, or at least I've heard it there *a lot* (along with nasty slurs about tinkers or Irish travelers heh). 'Indian giver' was a term I heard in the south. I'm sure neither is exclusive to either region...but it's where I heard it used so commonly people would have been taken aback had you called attention to it being offensive.
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Though thankfully that shit has gotten a lot better in my lifetime like most of you probably wouldn't believe. I can't imagine how women the generation before mine and beyond dealt with that shit which had to be much, much worse.
