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Is this considered ok (p.c) to say?


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I was watching America's Got Talent and they had two Native American brothers who rap and dance on there.  They were talking with Howard Stern about how much money they made doing their act and Howard said, "That's a lot of wampum, isn't it."  No one seemed to take offense.  But isn't that sort of thing considered rude?  Sort of like saying "How" to someone instead of "Hi"?  (I do realize that it was Howard Stern saying this but was wondering in general.)

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When I read that, there were a few things that came across my mind. One is that Howard Stern is a shock-jock. He's paid to keep his filter off, to ruffle the feathers of your generally socially conservative population. The other thing is that from what I recall, Stern is an outspoken advocate of equality at every opportunity. I would think it more concerning if he laughed at the brothers for not getting service at a restaurant, for example, than to use a word that is not socially appropriate for the general population. Considering he used the word in context, it suggests he's not entirely ignorant about what he's doing.

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That is not a tricky one. Yes he was being deliberately, though playfully, rude with that question. But in a dumb and jocular way that is not something to get riled up about. He is making an outmoded and stereotypical cultural reference but not a cuttingly offensive one, like a Tonto joke. Like, I don't know, asking Liam Neeson if he finds pots o' gold at the end of a rainbow. Just dopey.

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