Sunday, May 08, 2016

Arabs in the lexicons of the US military

From Robert: "My guess is that your student repeated probably the least insulting term GIs use to characterize Arabs. "Hajji" is clearly far less offensive than "towel-head" or the ultimately nasty "sand-nigger."  This is a marvelous example of the principle of Plus-ca-change. This is the same Army that in the 60s and 70s called the Viet Namese "dinks" and "slopes." The locations and the nationalities have changed, but GI contempt for the other still manifests itself in dismissive epithets."