Quote:
Originally posted by damasa
I never invented the analogy, I just used it as an example. The fact of the matter is that not matter what, the word is disrespectful and that's how I see the word "frat" in most cases. Although I think you missed that point 
I dislike being called a frat boy probably as much as you would hate to hear that Sinfoinia is a "fake fraternity." (Not that I agree with that statement in the least.)
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Damasa, I think you miss my point. (And I don't think I ever said you invented the analogy. I just said that I don't think it is an analagy worth using.)
To put it a little more plainly, I respect completely that you consider the word "frat" disrespectful. Many, many people (mostly Greek) agree with you. Depending on the context in which it is used I would agree with you. (That is to say, I tend not be offended by the word "frat" unless it is used with the intent of being offensive or dismissive. Some people just don't know better. And I don't use the word myself.)
But, since many people don't know better, the reality is that many, many people do not think of "frat" as an offensive word. They just think of it as short-hand. (As suggested above, of course, some people unquestionably
do mean the word to be dismissive at best or offensive at worst.) In this way, it differs from the "country" analogy, because the shortened form there is a word that no one could possible think isn't offensive.
So, when someone weighs in on the "frat" controversy with a simple "Would you call your country your ___?," my response is: "Of course not. But, given that we shorten words in English -- even names of institutions that we care about -- all the time, what does that have to do with why "frat" is offensive?"
Because it is a bad analogy, it weakens the argument of the person who uses it. We'd make a lot more headway if, instead of just saying "Don't call it a 'frat'! Would you call your country...?," we would actually explain
why we find the word "frat" offensive -- because it carries an "Animal House" connotation, because it is stereotypical, because it suggests a lack of respect for an institution that means a great deal to us, etc. A response like that is much more likely to elicit an "Oh. I see. I've learned something and will try not to use it."
I hope this makes some sense.
Edited to add: Sorry, I didn't see your edit until after a posted my post.