Thursday, July 23, 2009

idiot...!

OK, i spent the day today watching a marathon of the fashion show on bravo. I was enjoying myself and also trying to find an apartment to live in in new york until i got to the last episode of the marathon.  Then i was repeatedly assaulted by the stupidity of james-paul.  I don't know if this is becoming a trend, but recently i have heard several different people use the word indigenous as if it were a politically correct way of labeling people of the third world.  Now, used in the correct way, i guess it could mean that. If you were to say people indigenous to the third world, or people indigenous to any impoverished country or region of the world.  But, james-paul used it by saying he was inspired by 'indigenous people' wearing modern clothing.  And he said the phrase 'indigenous people' over and over.  

I have always understood the definition of indigenous to mean native to.  So saying indigenous people means nothing if you don't say where they are indigenous to. It does not mean they are tribal. It does not mean they are primitive. It does not even mean they are from somewhere else. It just means they are native to someplace.  They could be native to sweden and have the best quality of life in the world and all of the modern amenities.

This really started to get me frustrated and came to symbolize all of the ignorance of the middle class the more james-paul said it.  So i decided that i was going to rant about it and should probably make sure that i was correct about the word before i said anything about it. So i looked at two different online dictionaries and i was right.  In conclusion, james-paul is an idiot and so is everyone else like him.  Beware of committing my newest pet peeve or i will deem you an idiot as well.

2 comments:

  1. I hate that!!! BTW, saying "natives" is just as bad, if not worse because it's been around longer to have a more tainted connotation. When someone says "native," the first thing that pops into my head is some loincloth wearing, spear toting man chanting around a fire. Very stereotypical. The first thing that pops into my head when someone calls a person "indigenous," is a broader, more politically correct image of cultural heritage in a give place.

    It just shows the evolution of the English language in reguards to PC rhetoric. Native technically means the same thing as indigenous. It's just a fresher word.

    The goal: sound nicer while delivering the same insult.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BRET! how come it took me so long to find your blog? i'm lame! and how come you only have 2 posts? you're lame! i guess this is why we love each other.

    ReplyDelete