Meta post I’ve decided to make. I enjoyed the unixporn subreddit a lot when I used reddit more. I enjoy customizing my linux de as much as the next nerd.

But you definitely shouldn’t use racist slang to refer to the process.

To be clear, I didn’t know the origin of the term ‘ricing’ until fairly recently. I was chattimg with my friend and used it to describe my de setup. They informed me that apparently it’s from car customization, and is a pejorative against generally asian men who customize their car to look like a racecar.

After learning this I was sad to realize just how engrained it is in linux de customization culture. I personally have stopped using the term, and I would ask everyone here stop as well.

  • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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    2 years ago

    Linguist here. Totally agree the term should stop being used. As a practical concern, it would be easier to get people to stop using it if there were another term that was a drop-in replacement.

    Yeah, we can say “customize” as the verb, but what about the noun? Sharing “customizations” doesn’t really refer to the same kind of DE-specific customization as the other term.

    Is there any such word in usage? If not, can we coin one and just start dropping it on forums?

    • harry@lemmy.ml
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      2 years ago

      Hi Linguist, which side of the linguist camp you are?; the one that thinks the meaning of the language is fix and people should be following it or the one that let people decides how the language works and let it change overtime?

      • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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        2 years ago

        There aren’t really two sides of the linguist camp. That language changes naturally over time is well documented.

        And new coinages are part of that process. ;)

  • Andrew 1412@lemmy.sdf.org
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    2 years ago

    This is not a word made to be racist, but stolen to be one in the eyes of a few.

    The mare fact that you stop using the term rice, because “it’s racist” implies that you’re being one, by saying the racists are right about using the term in a racial and derogatory way. Instead of using the word normally, as has always been here.

    If tomorrow greetings becomes racist, because it’s discovered that in their origins were racists the ones who greeted themselves, will you stop greeting people?

    Im pretty tired of seeing this stupid propaganda spread everywere and everyone celebrating it.

    You will never be morally superior. You really are not helping any one, you have no altruist intentions, you have no repercussion on reality. You are an attention seeker twisted by social media and social engineering into a mockery of a sane person’s mind.

  • inasaba@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    Thank you for making this post. The number of times I’ve seen the term used here lately has been bothering me.

  • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    2 years ago

    The arguments being made here are the same ones that were used for f*ggot, tr*p, nword, g*psy, r*dskins, etc etc etc.

    It’s the same damn thing every single time, a bunch of reactionaries will piss and whine and piss and whine and piss and whine because they have to make the most minimal amount of effort to adopt a new word in their vocabulary instead of the problem one. They will piss and whine forever until eventually accepting it, like all the others historically.

    They join a long long line of pissy whiney losers for making the same tired old arguments we’ve seen for so many things before.

  • nasi_goreng@lemmy.zip
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    2 years ago

    Asian here and rice eater here.

    Language doesn’t work in absolute way, it could change its meaning all the time.

    It’s better to regain is neutral meaning instead of letting the racist weaponize neutral word.

    Also, this mindset is also Western centric, go to Asia and people in Linux and car community simply use the word without any negative connotation.

    Edit: By doing this, you’re no different from imperial government who tries to make one standard of morality, which in fact further hurts Asian living in Asia. And as Indonesian, I’m hurt with your statement. Let me regain the neutral meaning. Don’t speak for us.

    • panopticon [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      2 years ago

      Ok, Asian here and rice eater here also and I think the right way to respond to racist cliches is with hostility, same way we ought to respond to Nazism and other forms of fascism. if you want to reclaim the word, fine whatever. But you’re drawing a false equivalence between westerners trying to self-criticize their use of chauvinistic language, and the imperial governments that enforce that chauvinism in the first place (wtf?)

  • ScienceBear [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    2 years ago

    Huh, I was under the impression it was an acronym for Racing Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement or something along the lines of that. Parts that make the car look like a racecar but don’t actually help it perform any different.

    It could totally be a backronym that was generated after it’s initial use though.

  • Thordros [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    2 years ago

    How the fresh fuck is this even a thing still? Even back in the 90’s I heard dudes making gags about “Uncle Ben Hot Rods”. You know. RICE IT UP!

    GET IT? They’re shitty race cars made by a shitty race who only makes cheap stuff!

    🤮

    • flan [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      2 years ago

      Yeah I’m actually amazed people are still using this term. Figures it’s about computers though lol, of course the antisocial nerds are stronger holdouts than car enthusiasts.

  • tun@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    TIL the origin of the word.

    But I am confused. Anyone offended for using the word?

    When repos changed to main from master, I got problems.

    People are hypersensitive over these words now.

      • temptest [any]@hexbear.net
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        2 years ago

        One of the top-rated replies so far is an Asian who expresses they are offended, so that can’t be right.

        What power and control does this even give someone?

    • Solemn@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 years ago

      I’m Asian American. I’m offended by this word. In my experience, it has always been a racist perjorative every time it’s been used.

      Like you mentioned in your other comment, you don’t have the American racial experiences with how this is used to understand why this hurts me, so I’d like to clarify that it does.

  • slacktoid@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    Im asian. I eat and like rice, even on my setups. I’m gonna keep using rice cause its not my fault yall western imperialists fuck shit up and dont wanna be reminded of it. also very western centric debate. Good job debate perverts.

    • panopticon [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      2 years ago

      Asian here and rice eater here also and I think the right way to respond to racist cliches is with hostility, same way we ought to respond to Nazism and other forms of fascism. if you want to reclaim the word, fine whatever. But you’re drawing a false equivalence between westerners trying to self-criticize their use of chauvinistic language, and the imperial governments that enforce that chauvinism in the first place (what the fuck dude)

      Funny you’re calling anyone a debate pervert

  • Integrate777@discuss.online
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    2 years ago

    For the sake of the American asian diaspora minorities again?

    This reminds me of attacking those girls for wearing a kimono or cheongsam to a prom. The Japanese and Chinese living in Japan and China certainly don’t have an issue. It’s the Japanese/Chinese American minority community who has built their identity around it, and feels threatened by the use of their traditional clothing. Fine, the prom is in America, it’s an American problem in an American space, the local diaspora have a say there.

    Unixporn on lemmy.ml isn’t American(or any one country) though, clearly there are a variety of people from every corner of the globe here. This place is positively cosmopolitan. I don’t see a reason why the “rice” term still has to be protected despite being a global platform. Just like it’s fine for any tourist to rent a kimono in Japan, it should be fine to use rice as a term here. Unless this platform were to officially become Amerian(or any other country like Fedd.it etc), this problem shouldn’t exist. I’m an rice eating asian myself, I’ll be glad if people were to associate rice with customization.

    The Asian American community should keep in mind that the internet isn’t always an American space by default. I don’t think they should be gatekeeping everything Asian on a global platform.

  • Throwaway@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    Nah, I like the term.

    It refers to early 00s car culture, a race car had all go no show, a ricer had all show no go. It’s just the next iteration of the term. And it’s pejorative to anyone who does that shit, not asian men. I have no idea where y’all got that idea from.