Hold Down The Fort Now Offensive Phrase

[red states rule]

Once again more proof some libs spend every waking moment looking for something - anything - to get offended over




snip
Chief Diversity Officer John Robinson penned a column in the department's latest edition of "State Magazine (http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/195572.pdf)http://global.fncstatic.com/static/v/all/img/external-link.png" advising readers on some rather obscure Ps and Qs.

Robinson ticked off several common phrases and went on to explain why their roots are racially or culturally insensitive. The result was a list of no-nos that could easily result in some tongue-tied U.S. diplomats, particularly in an administration that swaps "war on terror" for "overseas contingency operation" and once shied away from using the word "terrorism."

For instance, Robinson warned, "hold down the fort" is a potentially insulting reference to American Indian stereotypes.

"How many times have you or a colleague asked if someone could 'hold down the fort?'" he wrote. "You were likely asking someone to watch the office while you go and do something else, but the phrase's historical connotation to some is negative and racially offensive."

He explained: "To 'hold down the fort' originally meant to watch and protect against the vicious Native American intruders. In the territories of the West, Army soldiers or settlers saw the 'fort' as their refuge from their perceived 'enemy,' the stereotypical 'savage' Native American tribes."

He singled out another phrase, "Going Dutch," as a "negative stereotype portraying the Dutch as cheap."

And "rule of thumb," he wrote, can according to women's activists refer "to an antiquated law, whereby the width of a husband's thumb was the legal size of a switch or rod allowed to beat his wife."

Further, he explained, "If her bruises were not larger than the width of his thumb, the husband could not be brought to court to answer for his behavior because he had not violated the 'rule of thumb.'"

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/30/state-department-hold-down-fort-other-common-phrases-could-be-offensive/#ixzz25DE9l8sN

[WiccanLiberal]

We seem to have become a society too easily offended. Most of the common idioms mentioned have become such common usage, we understand the intent of the phrase without delving into it's origins. If a phrase is really offensive, sometimes it is enough to merely educate the user. I will give you an example. Some years back, a friend of mine from Texas was at a weekend event with a lot of other friends and I. She had done some serious haggling with a dealer over some shopping and gotten a really great price for items grouped together. She displayed her loot and said she was quite proud of "jewing down' the dealer. I took her to the side and spoke to her. I don't believe this girl ever met a Jewish person in her small Texas town and didn't honestly intend a racial slur. She had always heard the phrase used as simply meaning able to obtain a bargain by haggling, not as a reference to the purported mercenary tendencies attributed to Jewish people. I told her it might be common usage in some places but in more urban areas where she might meet many more types of people, she might be better off not using it. She had never even thought of it as racist, but once she understood, she readily agreed with me that it was inappropriate. Perhaps we need to not jump too quickly to an assumption about a speaker. My friend did not intend to give offense but to celebrate her shopping acumen. She chose a familiar phrase that was common parlance in her small town without thinking of the meaning to others. BTW, the phrase 'hold down the fort' is an American variation of the British 'hold the fort'. It was in common usage other than in reference to Native Americans. Bottom line, my feeling is maybe we should try to appreciate that American English is a language continually evolving and that some common phrases originated in slang from a less considerate era. These phrases are commonplace and have since acquired more innocuous meaning. Correcting and eliminating every potentially offensive phrase is unnecessarily limiting to discourse. If you are personally bothered by something said, the best approach might be ask the person what they met and if you are still bothered, explain why. This approach opens communication and improves understanding. Stepping off my soapbox now. (BTW an idiom from the days when Hyde Park speakers would literally bring a soapbox to stand on so they could project over the crowd and be more easily heard.)

[Noir]

Good, 'hold down the fort' is on if those horrid Americanisms, and as such deeply offensive.

'Hold the fort' now there is a metaphor to say with pride!

[Anton Chigurh]

Obama's favorite, has said it at least a million times:

"Let me be clear."

BE clear! Nobody's stopping you!

[logroller]

I always thougt of "Indian giver" as deeply offensive. Hold down the fort, not so much.

[jimnyc]

Another term - "jerry rigged" or "jury rigged". Was often used to describe a crappy way of putting something together. For example, a crappy installed car radio with wires hanging out was called "jerry rigged". And I have no idea where it emanated from, but another popular way of stating it when I was growing up was "nig rigged". I didn't invent the phrase, so find the person who did and sue him! The latter seemed to be more popular when I was just a kid, heard the lovely adults using it all over the NJ area. I haven't heard it used often as I got older. But then I did move to NY where it has a better chance of getting you killed! :lol:

[jimnyc]

I always thougt of "Indian giver" as deeply offensive. Hold down the fort, not so much.

What about "Washington Redskins". I honestly never even gave it a thought growing up, and even then it never occurred to me as a slight, until an Indian filed lawsuit against the team and wanted them to change the name. It was listed as a "racial slur". It made its way to the SC who refused to even hear arguments. They said native Americans waited far too long to file suit against the trademark, which is what the lower courts had ruled as well.

[WiccanLiberal]

Funny how things change. When I was a kid, I went to the local elementary school. It was called the Indian Head School and there was a huge tile mosaic of a chief in a war bonnet on the floor of the lobby. It was quite beautiful and I loved it. I thought he was quite dignified and impressive. That school is long gone - torn down years ago. Currently no one would dream of naming a school Indian Head. I think that is a pity. I had always understood that the name reflected the history of the Native peoples being the first to live there and was a respectful way of acknowledging that. Took current PC logic to tell me otherwise.

[aboutime]

Obama's favorite, has said it at least a million times:

"Let me be clear."

BE clear! Nobody's stopping you!

We all know by now. Whenever Obama uses those words "Let me be clear." He's about to LIE again, or. He's about to tell another lie to cover up the first 1000 or more he fails to remember.

So I will say. "Let me be clear. Obama is a Liar. Clear Enough?"

[KarlMarx]

We all know by now. Whenever Obama uses those words "Let me be clear." He's about to LIE again, or. He's about to tell another lie to cover up the first 1000 or more he fails to remember.

So I will say. "Let me be clear. Obama is a Liar. Clear Enough?"


Obama being president is like having a three year old in charge of the nuclear arsenal.

[aboutime]

Obama being president is like having a three year old in charge of the nuclear arsenal.


Agreed. And that Three Year Old seems willing to give that arsenal to whoever votes for him to remain in power, long enough to further destroy America.

[Dilloduck]

Victims need abusers to continue the role. They are running out of abusers and are desperately seeking new avenues to scream "Woe is me". I don't know who is worse. The saviors or the victims.

[red states rule]

"blacklist" and "blackball" also have been attacked by over sensitive libs as racist terms

We have this and the holidays are right around the corner. Seems we will have 4 months of liberals whining about common terms and people trying to enjoy the holidays with other phrases that offend them

like Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving