Interesting. I had never heard that term. Upstate NY is full of poor rural white people, but we don't seem to have names.

Oh, and on the language usage thing- I no longer use gypped now that I know the origin (and how to spell it), but if I was, I don't know, writing from the point of view of Archie Bunker, I think it would be bad if I shied away from using the offensive term, as it is totally something he would say.

I used to be much more *on* the language debate train(although even I am having a hard time permanently removing "lame" and "retarded" from reasonably-frequent usage..."gypped" was easier not to use, ironically, since I know more crips than Romany.) Then I went to a disability site and got dinged for calling someone/something "crazy", something else "stupid" and something else "smart". All in one day. (apparently, that site views referring to someone's intellectual capacity at all as a sign of elitism. Which I find a bridge too fucking far, and a sign that maybe you can be too careful. But maybe I'm just vain about being smart?)

apparently, that site views referring to someone's intellectual capacity at all as a sign of elitism. Which I find a bridge too fucking far, and a sign that maybe you can be too careful. But maybe I'm just vain about being smart?

The Feminists With Disabilities site? I agree with you.

Yeah, erika, that was when my brain just exploded. Any comparative term at all could be argued to be oppressive.

I use words to mean things and if I think there's a chance the people who read my words might misunderstand, I try to use different words.

I have been called out on this board for trying to be funny and coming off as offensive and I make an effort to avoid making those kinds of jokes here now.

If I posted on Mark Reads I would be even more careful about my choice of words.

I don't post on Mark Reads specifically because I have to be too hyper aware of what I say. I kind of got mad at the whole situation when he was reading Mockingjay and made a point of criticizing Suzanne Collins anytime she used crazy. Hell, by the time Katniss or any other character got to the events of Mockingjay, I'm pretty sure they were all mentally unstable.

I'm not a fan of Hulu Plus. If I'm going to pay for a service, I don't want commercials.

I was just nodding along with this and then realized, hey, I pay a lot for my cable and those shows all show commercials too. I want to either get my cable bill down or get away from it but I know tv shows are not made for free so I'm still willing to hand over my monies for my entertainment and education.

sometimes perception trumps etymology

This is my feeling. And if I am using a word to imply negativity, I'd rather not be that person. I'll defend people's rights to say what they want up to the point they are inciting violence. Once you are past, "I didn't know" and move to, "I don't care" then I am often going to notice.

ALL WORDS ARE BAD.

No, all words mean things.

There was an episode of House where his patient was a teenage Roma boy, and House made a point of using "gypped" in his presence a few times just to get him annoyed.

Some people are just asses. They seem to enjoy it.

There was an episode of House where his patient was a teenage Roma boy, and House made a point of using "gypped" in his presence a few times just to get him annoyed.

IIRC, he only used the term once (loudly), near the end of the episode; he was deliberately provoking the boy's parents to distract them and let his team sneak into the boy's room to do... something I don't remember. That was back when his jerkish actions generally had some kind of purpose. (Not always a good purpose, granted.)

I've been thinking all day, and not come up with a workable alternative to "crazy" that isn't of similar derivation ("insane", "nuts", etc). Any suggestions for an alternative word for usages in sentences like, "I realized that the plan was _______ when the diagram included hippos with hummus."