"You sexist/racist/libera l/elitist bastard"

When the word "darkie" was common, that was the word for someone whose skin was darker than that of the person referring to them. My grandparents would have referred to "darkies" but they didn't use it as condemnation - just as a label to differentiate them.

It was because "darkies" were in some places considered inferior (eg. in places where they were usually slaves doing very menial work) that the word was disliked and replaced by others. But the underlying attitude to them remained, so the new word became tainted with the contempt, so it was itself replaced.

If someone doesn't refer to "?????" very often, then they don't know that the word they are accustomed to has acquired the connotations of the one that it replaced.

The usual answer to that reason for the previous name being used is that "They ought to keep up!". But there are thousands (tens of thousands? millions?) of ethnic or other groups in the world. The acceptable terms can change over a very short time.

I repeat what I said above - if the attitude to "different" people could change, it wouldn't matter what word was used for them, "following the spirit of the law, not the letter."

Just proves that Mark Twain is a better read than the Spectator

as I understand it there were historically 5 continents (land masses) in the world exemplified by the 5 rings on the Olympic flag although there are now suggestions that there are 6 or 7
there are
Africa, Europe, Asia, America - ( perhaps should be subdivided into North and South as they are almost separate land masses), Australasia

why would anyone object to using the term Asian or African to describe the origin of a person just because politics/wars have seen fit to divide the continent into countries in the distant or not so distant past.

I do agree that if the attitudes of those who do not see everyone as 'human' just like them are not changed 'PC' zealots will make them wary of using certain words and breed further resentment. Many will pay lip service to the 'right words' without the 'right attitude'

I read them both and totally agree with both.

Have a listen to Hunter on Radio 4 on Saturday (@18m00).

There was a lullaby my mother used to sing to us as babies, which I in turn sang to my two. It started with the words "Go to sleep my little pickaninny". It was only some years later that I learnt that the word 'pickaninny' was considered pejorative. It is thought to derive from the Portuguese pequenino, which itself is an affectionate form of pequeno, meaning little. So pequenino would mean 'little one', 'little darling' or something like that.
Unfortunately the pidgin word form of 'pickaninny' only ever refers to a child of black origin, so it was bound to become frowned upon. My younger grandson used to love me singing it to him to get him off to sleep - he was far too young to be offended by it .

My mum used to sing to me - "I've a little black dolly named Topsy". It was a very sweet song.

I don't think we need worry too much about it.

My granny used to call all black children 'pickaninnies' but in a very fond way.

I had a pickaninny doll as well as my golly. Loved them both

I was never sure about my golly. He scared me. Loved my little black dolly though.

I absolutely agree with your post Elegran

I've been soundly berated on here for using now-outdated terminology although I was unaware of the change.

My parents would use the words like your grandparents but never, ever intending offence.

Thank you for putting it so eloquently

Great read, However after three days watching an active 14 month old I will need to read it through, three (maybe more) times to be able to absorb it without 'wheels on the bus' and more lyrics interrupting my thought process.

There is also a kind of retrospective condemnation at work on words - when people currently use certain words, they are being abusive, therefore people in past eras who used the same words all the time must have been terrible racists.

(I've posted this before but) in Old English the word "salig" meant holy, saintly, blest by God. People of very low mental ability were considered to be under God's special protection, as they were not very good at looking out for themselves, so were blest. So the word later came to have its modern meaning - "silly" Thus, if you went back far enough, you might hear people talking of the salig saints. No, they were not implying that it was silly to be a saint, but that it was holy.