Southern Ontario checking in. We did that too. ‘Gyped’ and ‘indian giver’ were also things.
Although, I had an indigenous friend one summer who quickly became popular because he was very funny. He used to use slurs against all of the white kids all of the time. It was the most effective anti racist tactic I’ve ever witnessed. None of us were comfortable using a lot of the slurs that were baked into our culture, unless it was with our friend and a smile.
To my shame, I also did ‘Gyped’ and ‘Indian giver.’ Now I don’t even use such words in a way that isn’t intended to be disparaging. I say ‘Roma’ and ‘indigenous American’ (or Canadian in your country’s case).
Welcome to Indiana in the 80s and 90s.
Southern Ontario checking in. We did that too. ‘Gyped’ and ‘indian giver’ were also things.
Although, I had an indigenous friend one summer who quickly became popular because he was very funny. He used to use slurs against all of the white kids all of the time. It was the most effective anti racist tactic I’ve ever witnessed. None of us were comfortable using a lot of the slurs that were baked into our culture, unless it was with our friend and a smile.
To my shame, I also did ‘Gyped’ and ‘Indian giver.’ Now I don’t even use such words in a way that isn’t intended to be disparaging. I say ‘Roma’ and ‘indigenous American’ (or Canadian in your country’s case).
Exactly. All we can do is try to improve.