It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor

Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by imgabe on Sunday January 12, 2025 @09:31PM (#42679431)

So, I'm white and I live in Hong Kong. Gwei Lo (or some variation) is a slur for white people in China that I think basically means "foreign devil" or something to that effect. There's a popular brand of craft beer sold here that is literally named "gwei lo" and you know what? I don't care. Nobody cares. It really doesn't matter. I don't feel the need to campaign for the beer company to change their name.

Even your username is a ~Yiddish~ (edit: Hebrew, thank you, ars) word Jewish people use for non-Jewish people (sometimes derogatory, maybe). There's no end to this rabbit hole.

Judge people by their intentions behind what they say, not some etymological trivia.

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by goy on Sunday January 12, 2025 @09:55PM (#42679594)

First, I'm aware of the origin of the term; but "guy" was taken so I made do. Second, you don't care, but ... I'm afraid to break the news to you but there are billions of other people on the planet today, including me. I care.

Personally, I don't like the term from my language not only because of the possible reception but also it doesn't feel right to use it.

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by BigJono on Sunday January 12, 2025 @10:30PM (#42679796)

Why does it not feel right if it's long lost it's negative connotation? It's completely arbitrary at this point.

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by jszymborski on Sunday January 12, 2025 @11:23PM (#42680053)

I can imagine that they are reminded of its original meaning, sapping any sort of desire to use the term. At least, that's how I feel about many of these "problematic" words.

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by throwawaymaths on Sunday January 12, 2025 @11:18PM (#42680031)

How do you feel about the fact that "ciao!" means "slave!" (almost no one who uses the word "ciao" realizes the connection)

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by Y_Y on Monday January 13, 2025 @03:35AM (#42681339)

I do! And I know that it's a contraction of a phrase meaning literally "I am your slave", but more equivalent to "I remain your humble servant".

Also I'd only use it to say goodbye, only Italians use it to say hello, and you have to feel superior to someone!

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by ars on Sunday January 12, 2025 @10:15PM (#42679706)

Goy is not a Yiddish word, it's a Hebrew word that means "nation", and is most commonly used to mean "a different nation than me". Like any word it can be used in a derogatory way or a neutral way.

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by imgabe on Sunday January 12, 2025 @10:22PM (#42679755)

Ah, my mistake. I am but an uninformed goy.

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Re:It's time to abandon the cargo cult metaphor by roca on Monday January 13, 2025 @12:35AM (#42680384)

FWIW "gweilo" literally means "ghost man".

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