Is it racist to use the term....

dazzerb

Is it racist to use the term "knacker" especially since it has been used by some as a disparaging and derogatory way to refer to the Traveling community.

It is very commonly used in normal speech in Ireland and something I have jokingly called my closest friends and family members from time to time.

I am no longer using the term and maybe I am being too PC but think it is probably time to remove it from my vocabulary.

Anyone else any thoughts on this?

AARRRGH

It is offensive to call a traveller a knacker, but I do not consider it offensive to use it jokingly with friends/family. I think, at this stage, the word does not just (offensively) mean "traveller" - it also means "scumbag".

The English language is always evolving. For example, "decimate" means to destroy 10% of something, but nearly everyone, including the media, use it to imply a lot more than 10% has been destroyed. I consider the word "knacker" to have evolved in a similar fashion.

garbanzo

Unfortunately dazzerb I think the answer here is yes. It has become derogatorywhether we like it or not.
No amount of noble reference to those esteemed lads that boil down dead horses and turn them into glue will change that

Show_me_Safety

i use the word "knacker", but not to describe a traveller.
i use it in the same way i or my friends would describe something as "gay".
i am gay myself and don't take offense to it (altho my boyfriend doesn't like it)
maybe a little bit too PC i think.

poisonated

I dont think knackers are a race:D

Dades

poisonated wrote: »

I dont think knackers are a race:D

Exactly - unless you are being offensive to those in the horse/animal rendering profession...

"Knacker" is just an insult, with no race connotations. Although it's frequently associated with people who constantly wear sports attire in a casual fashion. :pac:

Bottle_of_Smoke

poisonated wrote: »

I dont think knackers are a race:D

Theres always someone who chirps in with this. You know what he means.

Knacker would be offensive if you said it to a traveller but its okay for general use.

ChocolateSauce

When I think of knackers I don't think of travelers (tinker is the abusive term I think of for them), I think of scumbags who wear tracksuits, gel their hair, wear their hats up at the front and commit crimes.

axel rose

If a traveller acts like a knacker then they are a knacker, just like a settled person who acts like a knacker.

trentf

no but its extremely offensive...If you were part of the travelling community would you like to called that name? ...there you go

dazzerb

thanks everyone.

I have made the decision to not utter the word again!

Dudess

Oh dear. THIS, any After Hours regulars, is an example of "political correctness gone mad".
The word is used derogatorily in reference to travellers (it's not "racist" though - that just cheapens the experiences of people who have to put up with racism) but just because it is a perjorative term for travellers doesn't mean you should feel obliged to never utter it again. What about when talking about scobes? "Knacker" can mean skanger. What about when you're just messing with friends/familly as you say you do?

Phototoxin

a knacker is a person who disposes of horses I though ?

Victor

dazzerb wrote: »

Is it racist to use the term "knacker" especially since it has been used by some as a disparaging and derogatory way to refer to the Traveling community.

Not racist, but it may be bigoted in some other fashion.

Phototoxin wrote: »

a knacker is a person who disposes of horses I though ?

And gay means happy?

994

"Knacker" is a compliment; it implies the person in question has an actual job, which is rarely true.

Red Sleeping Beauty

Don't know about racist, prejudiced maybe ?

Handsome Bob

I tend to play it safe, I never call mates or family "knacker". And I'd be weary of calling the relative stranger a "knacker" no matter what they are doing, I have seen plenty of times in Clubs people losing the plot when called a "knacker".

mollypop

I use it a good bit to describe people with no sense of decency, rarely to describe actual travelers. If someone is actin like a scumbag then I think it fine to describe them as a knacker. I think it would be more offensive to travelers to call a non- traveler acting like a scumbag a traveler:
'look at yer man in the tracksuit p1ssing on the old ladies shopping - what a traveler!'

I think kancker can be used to describe all sorts of disgusting people now, not any particular group, so it don’t think it can be described racist or even prejudiced. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'll be keeping it in my vocab for the moment.

Phototoxin

a knacker is a person who disposes of horses I though ?
And gay means happy? __________________

At a risk of detracting from the discussion;
yes, we have a gay time being knackers, and now Fanny and I are about to head to Georginas house for lashings of ginger ale ! Tally Ho!

I suppose it can be used as abusive term but its not common where I come from. We use scumbag for chavvy times of criminal and a knacker would be a criminal traveler, definatly negative. But not all travellers would be called knackers.