![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Words mean things!
May. 14th, 2011 06:49 pmDear Finland, please stop using the word "racism" as a synonym for discrimination. Racism is discrimination, yes, but if discrimination has nothing to do with race, then it isn't racism. It's really not that complicated.
I'm not even exaggerating here. "Age-racism" just may be the most common term for ageism over here. And I know at least one person who thinks the word racism also covers sexism. Today I read an article that used the term "personality racism" to describe a situation where a less than ideal personality may prevent someone from passing an entrance exam.
And okay, racism - or rather, the Finnish word "rasismi" - is a loanword and I guess a lot of Finns don't immediately see the word "race" in there like an English-speaker would. And I suppose it's a quick and easy way to get the message of "it is wrong to hold this belief" across, because unlike many other -isms, the vast majority of people understand that racism is wrong. But the word has a specific meaning and there are already other words that mean all those other forms of discrimination that you're incorrectly filing under "racism". Learn those words. Use them.
I'm not even exaggerating here. "Age-racism" just may be the most common term for ageism over here. And I know at least one person who thinks the word racism also covers sexism. Today I read an article that used the term "personality racism" to describe a situation where a less than ideal personality may prevent someone from passing an entrance exam.
And okay, racism - or rather, the Finnish word "rasismi" - is a loanword and I guess a lot of Finns don't immediately see the word "race" in there like an English-speaker would. And I suppose it's a quick and easy way to get the message of "it is wrong to hold this belief" across, because unlike many other -isms, the vast majority of people understand that racism is wrong. But the word has a specific meaning and there are already other words that mean all those other forms of discrimination that you're incorrectly filing under "racism". Learn those words. Use them.
