FOB - is a degrading term for people not up to date on the culture which is an abbreviation for (Fresh Of the Boat.)
meaning you still carry your sense of fashion from your country which clashes with the current countries cultures.
Origin: Hawaii 60's
Local Hawaiians used it to refer to white people who came from mainland US to Hawaii. Its was used a lot by locals and surfers. it was to refer to white people who wasn't up to date on the culture.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fob
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ABCD - (American Born Confused Desi) Term used to describe those of the Indian (South Asian) descent who are unaware of or are unwilling to outwardly project their Indian Heritage. The title is typically used by those of the same nationality but who are unwilling or unable to assimilate to a culture other than their own.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ABCD
Today, someone called me an ABCD :(. She didn't say it intentionally and quickly explained that she called anyone who grew up in the US that. but it's still derogatory. FOB and ABCD are mean, hurtful terms that stereotype people. I am an individual and deserve to be treated so. I know I am guilty sometimes of grouping and judging people together, which I should stop doing. I try to have some self-awareness that I would like to be treated as a person with unique thoughts and actions and not part of some category. Just saying. Everyone should be aware of the terms they use to describe other people...
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3 comments:
In an ideal world, no stereotyping would happen, but it seems the human brain isn't designed for that. The brain is taking in information all the time and needs to organize it quickly and efficiently otherwise it will essentially overload and fail to work. This means taking many shortcuts such as typing and categorizing. For example, there is no such thing as "treeness" but we have come up with an accepted grouping for what trees are even if it fails a few times. Thus next time we see something with leaves and a trunk, even if we haven't seen it before we can be pretty sure it's a tree. This being said, humans will categorize other people for the sake of efficiency. Thus your brain doesn't have to have a different protocol for every novel situation (meeting a new person). If I am about to meet a women in hijab, my brain has already stereotyped her as Muslim and I will proceed in behavior typical of Muslim interaction. It essentially gives us a starting point to dealing with new people. Unfortunately it can be hurtful but there is little ways around it.
rightly said. we have to categorize and organize the world in our heads somehow. however i am not thinking about it from a scientific perspective, but acultural one - about the negative connotations associated with the terms.
You are right - those terms are derogatory - to be honest I used to use them quite often. I am an Indian - living in the States for 6 years now - when I was a student I am pretty sure I was being labelled an FOB - didn't hurt me really. Well, to be fair - nothing anyone says hurts me unless its a very close friend.
Anyways what I remember is that it took me a few years and quite a few experiences to understand that labeling anyone with anything is bad - and it prevents you from discovering who the person really is. It is for intellectually deprived people who need a generalized set of behavior rules - so they wouldn't have to tax their tiny brains.
I'm sorry that someone called u an ABCD - Keep Writing!!
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