A Redditor recently found himself at the middle of a minor controversy involving his family.
The issue? His dog’s name. OP’s sister thought the dog’s name was offensive, and OP disagreed. Was he right or wrong? We want to know what you think, but first, let’s consider his story.
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“Am I the [jerk] for giving my dog an ‘offensive’ name and then refusing to change it?”
This is the question posed by OP in a subreddit designed to assess whether someone’s being a jerk or not. To set the scene, OP, who is not American, was having dinner with his sister and her boyfriend, who had both recently been to the United States.
His sister and her boyfriend met OP’s dog for the first time.
His dog is an American akita. Before we continue, can we just appreciate how gorgeous this breed is?
Okay, let’s continue.
“Part way through our food my sister called and asked if I’d consider changing my dogs name. I kind of thought she was kidding, but she reiterated that she was serious,” wrote OP.
What was the dog’s name?
The dog’s name is Yankee.
“The name ‘Yankee’ had upset her boyfriend, quite badly, and he found it offensive,” wrote OP. “I basically told her to [expletive] off and tell him to grow up, before going back to my food.”
They came back to explain why they were offended.
OP’s sister’s boyfriend explained that Yankee “was essentially a slur used against Americans, and asked if I would ever name a dog the n-word,” wrote OP. “You can’t equate the word ‘Yankee’ to something like the n-word.”
OP sought more guidance.
In addition to the Reddit post, he consulted several American friends, all of whom agreed that ‘Yankee’ is not a slur on the same level that the n-word is.
For a little background, ‘Yankee’ is a slang term that generally refers to people in the northeastern United States. While it may be associated with American stereotypes, it’s more along the lines of calling a Canadian a Canuck, or an English person a limey. Again, in no world is it equivalent to the n-word.
While there’s been a push to rename North American professional sports teams with offensive names, no one has tried to rename the New York Yankees.
What did Reddit think?
OP turned this over to the Reddit jury. Honestly, this one was a bit of a slam dunk. No one agreed that the term was equivalent to a slur.
“Not the [jerk],” wrote the top commenter. “And your sister has managed to find the only American who thinks the term is offensive in any way.”
Let’s circle back to the New York Yankees.
“It’s definitely a slur,” wrote another commenter, tongue planted firmly in cheek. “That’s why we have the entire New York Yankees baseball team. And Yankee Candle. And Yankee Doodle.”
Another commenter chimed in with a John Mulaney quote: “If you’re comparing the badness of two words and you won’t even say one of them, that’s the worse word.”
‘Yankee’ is used in so many contexts.
Another commenter noted that Yankee is an official part of the military phonetic alphabet, then continued: “Keep the name and keep away from that boyfriend. He’s looking to start trouble, and the direction of travel from trivializing racism isn’t pretty. I’d be expecting him to start talking about reverse racism and diversity quotas soon.”
Let’s be clear: slurs are a thing.
It’s important to note that the response to this story isn’t to excuse slurs. There are many slurs, some of them commonly used, that should really never be repeated. The point here is that ‘Yankee’ isn’t a slur by any definition.
What do you think?
The verdict on this one is as unanimous as it gets, but we’d still love to hear your take on this. Check out the original thread , share your thoughts in the comments, and then look up some pics of American akitas, because they’re incredibly cute.
