Is "Jawa" a racial slur?

[Idioteque]

As an Arab American and Star Wars fanatic, I often refer to myself as a Jawa. People seem to find it funny.

Anywhoo, I was looking at Michelle Malkin's blog for some reason and she links to a neocon blog called The Jawa Report an obvious dig at Arabs.

While Jawa really doesn't sound as offensive as "towel head" or "sand monkey" or "sand nigger", it is still kind of funny to see how overt racism against Arabs is accepted on conservative blogs and forums.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. If it's a slur directed at a specific race...

then it would be a racial slur.

[tatertop]

3. But is it?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. According to your OP...

said neocon is using it as a "dig against arabs."

[Catch22Dem]

5. I think the OP is wondering if it was originally intended as such

I don't think that's what Lucas had in mind. Don't let them take over the word. If you wanna call yourself a Jawa, by all means feel free. This is the first racial reference I've ever seen to Jawas.

[Idioteque]

9. Cartman did it first on South Park...

When they went to Afghanistan, he was like "They are Jawas, you know, sand people." Of course it was funny because it was Cartman.

The point I made in my original post is that I think Jawa isn't offensiive by itself but when used by somebody who obviously has hostility towards Middle Easerners, it is no better than the freppers calling Arabs "animals" and Muslims "mooies" (which they do).

[Catch22Dem]

30. mooies?

haven't ever heard that one.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. "N*****" is a racial slur.

That said, in certain highly limited contexts "n*****" is not a racial slur, such as one african american using it as a vernacular term of affection towards another african american.

Did George Lucas intend it as a racial slur when he invented the Jawas? No, that's what the gungans were for.

[tatertop]

2. I have never come across that one, and I come across plenty

I don't know the answer.

[daveskilt]

6. Jara is offensive in hindi (mainly pohari dialect)

It is a caste loosely translated as dung eater somewhere below dogs and pigs

[Freedom_Aflaim]

7. I used to have a Moped called a JAWA

Heres a photo of a JAWA motorcycle

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/jawa_125_dakar_2005.php

So no, I don't think its racist.

[ladjf]

19. The name came from the names of the two men who founded

the motorcycle factory. One began with the letters Ja and the other Wa. I had always thought that it was probably some cool Czechoslovakian word. But, no.

[shadowknows69]

22. No way man. George Lucas made up that word first!!!

Don't make me take this lightsaber to your ass.....Sorry, geek attack.

[ladjf]

25. Hey, that was "Jaba the Hut", not "Jawa the Hut".

Hate to turn off you light wand.

[shadowknows69]

26. There were also Jawas

really.

[proud patriot]

8. Yes it is

go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs

[marmar]

12. Good grief there are a lot of ethnic slurs...

:cry:

[Igel]

13. It may be there, but that doesn't mean it's a slur.

It means somebody thinks it's a slur. To the extent a few listeners can define the intent of all those using the word, the article's accurate.

Some terms really do have commonly accepted derogatory meanings. Some of them are simply terms that often have derogatory meaning because the people using the terms use them that way in a given instance--yet at other times these same people, or others, use them in a neutral or jocular meaning. Who's right? Gee, it's language: the 'homogeneous community of speakers' is right, as Chomsky would put it, in the most seductive academic fallacy of the last 50 years. Straitjacketing language has been the bane of lexicographers for centuries now; lexicographers keep losing.

Grice, who came closer to how language is used, insisted that the 'cooperative principle' is most important in conversation. He was right.

[marmar]

11. Michelle Malkin is disgusting....

Promoting blogs that promote racism, including, I'm sure, plenty of anti-Southeast Asian racism. I think she has some self-hate issues.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

14. I think that site could get shut down for copyright infringement.

Lucas is a bit uptight about using images from his films.
That, and the owner of that site is a racist maggot. As is Malkin.

[Liberal Classic]

15. Only if

You're a wookie.

[Solo_in_MD]

16. No

Use in South Park does does not make in common in the vernacular.

Its also a brand of motorcycle.

It is an insult to compare a Harley to it. The Jawa is much better....

[walldude]

17. People are using Jawa as a racial slur?

They better lay off Star Wars before I go fucking Jedi on their ass...

[ladjf]

18. It's a brand of motorcycle made in Czechoslovakia, the

contraction of two men's names.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

20. I think it's pretty obvious.

Duh.

[goodhue]

21. yes

Although I was not aware it connoted arabs per se, but rather dark-skinned "others" more generally

[mykpart]

23. Some columnist remarked during the first Gulf War

that racial and ethnic slurs became politically correct when we were at war with the group in question. Terms like gooks, nips, krauts were acceptable during WWII, for instance, but not now. I wish I could remember who the columnist was. May have been George Will.

[mmonk]

24. So this is a real race of people? And I thought they were

fictional characters in a story.

[scipian]

27. Racial slur?

Not IMHO. Anything can be used as an insult and anything can unintentionally be taken as an insult. I wouldn't call Jawa racist any more than White or Indian.

[Stephist]

28. I don't know if Jawa is a racial slur

but the Jaw Report is nothing but a shit stain on the pants leg of humanity. They are the Malglalang's kind of folks that's for sure.

[TheWraith]

29. First I've heard of it.

Racial slur? Not that I know of. Of course, I never made a Jawa = Arab connection either. I never thought of Jawas as being anything other than those funny little guys with the glowing eyes.

[porphyrian]

31. Only if used on Arab little people. - n/t

[lovelaureng]

32. I've never heard it used as one. n/t