Insults
English has insulting words for most races and cultures with which its speakers have come into extended contact, and for so-called minority groups within English-speaking societies, even though such groups can and do constitute demographic majorities in many regions. When the people insulted are English speakers, the insulting words can and often do become part of their own vocabulary. Those insulted will generally avoid using these terms in interaction with their insulters, since to do so would be to endorse the insulters' view of them. However, among themselves they may well deliberately adopt an insult in order to subvert it or rob it of its power. For instance, Australian Aboriginals reportedly are not averse to using terms like Abo and blackfella when talking with one another, even though they are highly offensive when applied to them by non-Aboriginals. Similarly, other groups may defy their detractors by adopting the insults directed at them: gay people may refer to themselves, polemically, as queer, as in Queer Nation; and some feminists have struck back against ageist putdowns by reclaiming crone and making it their own.
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