Re:Australia’s beloved kangaroos are now controversial pests
by Yetanfou on Wednesday January 23, 2019 @10:53AM
(#18979238)
The problem is that the 'racist' label is so poisonous in our (western-European, north-American) culture that it is being used to silence others, no matter whether they actually are racist or not. It does not take much to be called 'racist', sometimes drinking a glass of milk is enough [1,2].
[1] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/milk-white-supremacy-ra...
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/white-supremacists-sci...
However, I think it's generally the case that when people use the term "racist", they mean "derogatory based on the origin of the person", and not necessarily their race. Language is flexible and people use terms in common usage which is does not adhere to prescriptive definitions. I have to admit being quite pedantic myself, but have come to accept looser definitions of words as I get older. As long as I understand what the person is intending to say, I try not to worry about what they actually said. This has helped me communicate with people greatly. YMMV.