The word ?Arab? has been removed from the online edition of Roget?s Thesaurus after Arab-American groups complained synonyms for the word included ?slimeball,? ?welfare bum,? and ?holy terror.?

 

Barbara Ann Kipfer, editor of the third edition of Roget?s 21st Century Thesaurus, told AP the term was included in the online version because it?s part of ?street arab,? an 18th-century term she said had appeared in other thesauruses that refers to a homeless child who has been abandoned and roams through the streets.

She begins an explanation of why a search of ?Arab? had yielded the results it did. But wait! She?s veering away from a politically correct answer. Stop the explanation! Back on track!

?It shouldn?t be there,? she said. ?It looks like it?s on the same level of everything else, that it?s acceptable. But it?s not. We?re simply going to take it out. The last thing you want with a thesaurus is to offend anyone. You never want to offend.?

Ah, that?s more like it. We don?t want to ?offend? anyone. :plain

Well it is an ethnic slur from a different age so I don't see why it shouldn't be deleted.

 

Though, I don't get how "holy terror" is a synonym for a street urchin, transient, or homeless person.

The word ?Arab? has been removed from the online edition of Roget?s Thesaurus after Arab-American groups complained synonyms for the word included ?slimeball,? ?welfare bum,? and ?holy terror.?

 

Barbara Ann Kipfer, editor of the third edition of Roget?s 21st Century Thesaurus, told AP the term was included in the online version because it?s part of ?street arab,? an 18th-century term she said had appeared in other thesauruses that refers to a homeless child who has been abandoned and roams through the streets.

She begins an explanation of why a search of ?Arab? had yielded the results it did. But wait! She?s veering away from a politically correct answer. Stop the explanation! Back on track!

?It shouldn?t be there,? she said. ?It looks like it?s on the same level of everything else, that it?s acceptable. But it?s not. We?re simply going to take it out. The last thing you want with a thesaurus is to offend anyone. You never want to offend.?

Ah, that?s more like it. We don?t want to ?offend? anyone. :plain

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I'm sure your life will never be the same.

 

What are more acceptbale forms of Arab?

Thats actually funny come to think of it.

I agree people get offended too easily. The US is becoming so pc correct it is sickening.

Yes people get offended too easily but equating Arab with "slimeball" and "holy terror" crosses the line. There's a difference between being politically correct and just being correct. Sadly, too many have no clue there's a difference.

The word ?Arab? has been removed from the online edition of Roget?s Thesaurus after Arab-American groups complained synonyms for the word included ?slimeball,? ?welfare bum,? and ?holy terror.?

 

Barbara Ann Kipfer, editor of the third edition of Roget?s 21st Century Thesaurus, told AP the term was included in the online version because it?s part of ?street arab,? an 18th-century term she said had appeared in other thesauruses that refers to a homeless child who has been abandoned and roams through the streets.

She begins an explanation of why a search of ?Arab? had yielded the results it did. But wait! She?s veering away from a politically correct answer. Stop the explanation! Back on track!

?It shouldn?t be there,? she said. ?It looks like it?s on the same level of everything else, that it?s acceptable. But it?s not. We?re simply going to take it out. The last thing you want with a thesaurus is to offend anyone. You never want to offend.?

Ah, that?s more like it. We don?t want to ?offend? anyone. :plain

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I'm really tired of this whole politically correct era that is sweeping over us and everyone's fear of offending other people. Our freedom of speech is turning into freedom from speech. Freedom of religion is turning into freedom from religion. It's like nobody is allowed to believe in anything anymore because it might offend someone else.

 

It's like how the NCAA made a rule now that native american mascots cannot make an appearance in the tournament this year because it offends some native americans. What about the native americans that are proud to be represented by major universities? Maybe we should change the name of all the states named after N.A. tribes. Get real.

 

EDIT: On another note, I don't like to offend individuals or groups of people in a blatantly offensive way (such as insults). I just think that some people or groups of people are offended by unoffensive things.

EDIT: On another note, I don't like to offend individuals or groups of people in a blatantly offensive way (such as insults). I just think that some people or groups of people are offended by unoffensive things.

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Just to gain some clarification on your position, do you believe that a synonym for Arab being "slimeball", "welfare bum", and "holy terror" is: (a) blatantly offensive, or (b) unoffensive?

EDIT:? On another note, I don't like to offend individuals or groups of people in a blatantly offensive way (such as insults).? I just think that some people or groups of people are offended by unoffensive things.

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Just to gain some clarification on your position, do you believe that a synonym for Arab being "slimeball", "welfare bum", and "holy terror" is: (a) blatantly offensive, or (b) unoffensive?

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(a) Yeah, definitely. My post was off topic a little. I was just referring to the part about everyone being really politically correct.

Ive actually still heard people in some parts of the US refer to those people who go aorund town selling food out of a cart as "Arabbers", "Arabs", or "A-rabs" And by the way most of these guys arent middle eastern