Posted on 12/04/2007 9:55:46 AM PST by Flavious_Maximus
WHAT'S IN A NAME? ferrous (fer' es) adj. 1. of, containing or derived from iron; 2. Chem. designating or of divalent iron, or compounds containing it. pork chop: A racist term referring to Puerto Rican people; also slang referring to Portuguese people. It is not offensive to call someone of Portuguese descent a pork chop because it is considered humorous and endearing. When Guillermo Lopez picked up his newspaper Sunday morning, he froze at the sight of a prominent headline, alongside a photo of a fuzzy, human-sized pig. There, in bright red ink, was the name of the IronPigs new mascot: PorkChop. The word brought back uncomfortable memories of Lopez's time working at Bethlehem Steel, where he said racism was overt. ''If someone wanted to talk to me in a derogatory way, they'd call me 'pork chop','' said Lopez, whose family came from Puerto Rico to the Lehigh Valley in the 1940s to work at Bethlehem Steel.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...
They should have named the pig mascot Mohammed.
Ferrous? As a resident of Pittsburgh that offends me. I demand they change it.
The “Iron Workers Union” should be the next to be offended ...
Ferrous Bueller?
First time I have ever heard the term “pork chop” refering to anything other than a slice of pig.
Must add it to my list of offensive terms....
Good that’s ironed out.
Ferrous sounds gay.
Along with the Friday after Thanksgiving term Black Friday shall henceforth be called African American Friday.
It’s funny, but I forgot that was a cut on Puerto Ricans.
It's also the name of a hill in Korea.
I believe it was named “Lambchop”.
I’m the ‘Iron Man’ and I’m going to sue.
From Seinfeld:
The Maid
INT. MONK’S RESTAURANT - DAY
George and Jerry sit at their usual booth.
GEORGE: Well, Jerry, I been thinkin’. I’ve gotten as far as I can go with George Costanza.
JERRY: Is this the suicide talk or the nickname talk?
GEORGE: The nickname. George. What is that? It’s nothing. It’s got no snap, no zip. I need a nickname that makes people light up.
JERRY: You mean like...Liza!
GEORGE: But I was thinking...T-bone.
JERRY: But there’s no “t” in your name. What about G-bone?
GEORGE: There’s no G-bone.
JERRY: There’s a g-spot.
GEORGE: That’s a myth.
George takes a bite of his sandwich and gets a piece stuck to his chin.
JERRY: T-bone, the ladies are gonna love ya.
EXT. KRUGER’S OFFICE BUILDING - DAY - ESTABLISHING
KRUGER: Let’s order lunch.
INT. MEETING ROOM - DAY
Everyone is gathered around a large conference table.
KRUGER: Mary, I will have a chef’s salad.
MALE WORKER: Turkey sandwich.
GEORGE: T-bone steak.
KRUGER: For lunch?
GEORGE: Well, I am just a T-bone kinda guy. Love that T-bone. In fact, you might as well call me—
WATKINS: That sounds good. I’ll have one, too.
KRUGER: Watkins, you’re havin’ a T-bone?
WATKINS: I love ‘em.
KRUGER: Well, then we should call you T-bone.
GEORGE: Uh, no. No, we shouldn’t.
KRUGER: T-bone!
ALL (chanting): T-bone! T-bone! T-bone! T-bone! T-bone! T-bone! T-bone! T-bone!
JERRY: Hey, T-bone!
GEORGE: No. No T-bone.
JERRY: No T-bone?
KRAMER (from bathroom): Hey, is that T-bone?!
JERRY: No! There’s no T-bone!
KRAMER: Well, why no T-bone?!
JERRY: Why no T-bone?
GEORGE: ‘Cause Neil Watkins from accounting is T-bone!
EXT. KRUGER’S OFFICE BUILDING - DAY - ESTABLISHING
GEORGE: Excuse me. Can I talk to you for a second there, Watkins?
INT. KRUGER’S OFFICE BUILDING - DAY
George and Watkins stand just outside the conference room talking.
WATKINS: It’s T-bone.
GEORGE: The thing is...I’m supposed to be T-bone.
WATKINS: Heh heh. You’re not a T-bone. You’re a perfect George.
GEORGE: What? Now, you listen to me!
Kruger and a few other people watch George through the window of the conference room door.
KRUGER: Hey, look at George. He’s givin’ it to T-bone. He’s jumpin’ up and down like some kind of monkey. Hey, what was the name of that monkey that could read sign language?
WATKINS: All right, you can have T-bone. Stop crying.
GEORGE (sniffling): I’m not crying. And I shouldn’t have said that about your wife. Please accept my apologies.
Watkins and George enter the conference room.
GEORGE: Ok, everybody, uh...I have an announcement to make. From now on, I will be known as-
KRUGER: Koko the monkey.
GEORGE: What?
ALL (chanting): Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko! Koko!
INT. MEETING ROOM - NIGHT
Everyone is gathered again around the conference table. George is standing introducing the newest employee.
GEORGE: This is our new Vice-president of Acquisitions, sir.
KRUGER: So you’re just hiring new people now? That’s your job, to hire people?
GEORGE: Yes?
KRUGER: Ok, good enough for me, Koko.
George sits down.
KRUGER: Ahem. Now, what’s your name?
COCO: My name is Coco. Coco Higgins.
GEORGE: Coco?
KRUGER: We can’t have 2 Cocos. So I guess you’re back to being George.
GEORGE: Well, it was a hell of a ride.
KRUGER: All right, the Grace building. There’s a big stain on the front. How do we get it off?
COCO: When I was a little girl in Jamaica, my Gammy taught me to take a wet rag and in a circ—
GEORGE: Ah, excuse me, Vice-president Coco, no one cares about your Gammy.
COCO: What did you say about my Gammy?
GEORGE: Forget Gammy.
KRUGER: Who’s Gammy?
GEORGE: There’s no Gammy.
KRUGER: Maybe there should be a Gammy.
GEORGE: Oh, no.
KRUGER: George.
ALL (chanting): Gammy! Gammy! Gammy! Gammy! Gammy! Gammy! Gammy!
GEORGE: Gammy’s gettin’ upset!
It never ends, does it? By the article's own account this is a "slur" totally unknown to anyone under 50, and apparently known to only a few people when and where it was marginally active. Yet based on that it's probably unofficially banned for the next several generations.
One of the downsides of the internet, where a handful of people with long memory and lots of spare time can whine until somebody cries uncle..
All of my daughter’s Mexican friends call her “Pork Chop” or PC because they say she acts like a Puerto Rican girl. They must be Latina-hating racists.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.