this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
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I just got up from conversation with a couple of older black men, that I said "well I got to go back to work and start cracking the whip." And it occurred to me then that it was probably a really insensitive stupid thing to say.

Sadly, it hadn't occurred to me until it's already said.

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[–] cashews_best_nut 14 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I'm a Linux user and love some good rices. But I've no idea what "ricing" comes from. Why is it offensive?

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Rice rocket was a term used for modified Japanese cars, and ricing your car meant turning it into a rice rocket.

[–] captainlezbian 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh… I had assumed it was like an acronym for some tech thing

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Nah, just subtle racism

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I thought "ricing" meant submerging your stuff in rice to get the moisture out to stop water damage.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Slang can mean different things, depending on context

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

What! No one's ever told me that before!

[–] TropicalDingdong 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m a Linux user and love some good rices. But I’ve no idea what β€œricing” comes from. Why is it offensive?

I believe it is racist slang that emerged in the 90s with the advent of cheap japanese and korean cars that were easily customizable (civics, accuras, etc..). Throw a turbo and a loud exhaust, and bam, now its a rice burner. These were prevalent in Asian immigrant communities, but also other places.

It basically meant like, cheap, but also very fast car, of Asian origin.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

There's an older form that goes back to at least the 1970s when fuel efficient Japanese cars started to become popular in the US: "Rice burners."

There was some made-in-America angst at the time because of the oil crisis, coupled with some quality issues that made these cars more appealing. The phrase was definitely used pejoratively. I can remember my dad muttering about it well into the '80s.

[–] Eh_I 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I know some people that refer to Japanese motorcycles, mostly "crotch-rockets," as ricers.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The only people I know who say that are in fact Japanese, but I agree it is a racist term.

[–] Chainweasel 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Racist slang against Asians, think "beaners" for Hispanics.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Sort of an insult to beans and rice, two of the greatest categories of food, to make slurs of them, too.