Fuck Republicans, but just for a sanity check, is it normal to say "people of color?" As in, "The judicial system is biased against people of color." That's in my verbal lexicon, and I'm suddenly questioning it.
Slurs are so interesting, being on a broad shifting scale based on contextual usage. I think it's interesting, for example, that "handicapped" has become a slur in my lifetime through it's general misuse.
And you're right, language can change pretty fast. I've seen plenty of respectful words become slurs. I've even seen slurs be reclaimed by communities. Don't even get me started on person-first vs identity-first language.
think it’s interesting, for example, that “handicapped” has become a slur in my lifetime
Hell, my mom used to work for an organization called ARC. When I was little it stood for "Association for Retarded Citizens". The organization still exists, but stopped being an acronym in the '90s.
It's a fine argument for people who grew up during a time when "colored people" was the less racist way of referring to POC.
Like, maybe this guy's great-grandfather, seeing as the NAACP was named in 1909.
But, to be a bit more charitable, his grandfather probably used the term (it peaked in usage in the 1960s), and maybe his father, if his father was one of those people who stubbornly resists change. But Rep Crane himself was born a decade after "colored" had gone from the least racist term to a decidedly mid-level racist term (after social shaming began to be applied to the more racist ones).