Working on the previous post, I briefly contemplated using the phrase "sacred cow." It's a metaphor, possibly useful in the context of discussing the things we feel we shouldn't say. But then I thought, isn't "sacred cow" one of those things we shouldn't say? It's culturally insensitive — isn't it? — implicitly mocking Hinduism.
People don't say "sacred cow" anymore, do they? I checked, using my usual test of the usage of words, the New York Times archive. I was surprised to see "sacred cow" in active use. Just to list things in the past year:
• "‘The Beta Test’ Review: Paranoia in Hollywood" — "Tales of angsty alpha males who see the light are a cinematic sacred cow...."
• "A Taste for Pangolin Meat and the Fall of an African Wildlife Cartel" — “For Malawi, this shows that there’s no sacred cow... Money cannot save you, and there’s a limit to what corruption can actually get you.”
• "Japan’s Most Popular Candidate for Prime Minister Is Far From a Shoo-In" — The candidate, Taro Kono, had "voiced his opposition to nuclear power, a sacred cow for the Liberal Democrats." (Ultimately, Kono lost.)
• "A Black Writer Found Tolerance in France, and a Different Racism" — We're told that the writer, William Gardner Smith, "would not have recognized a sacred cow if he’d had to milk it."
• "In Canada, Did a Comedian’s Joke Go Too Far?" — The comedian explained that a particular disabled person was "a 'sacred cow' that needed puncturing," so to mock him was to recognize his "equality."And let me add one more... from July 2020: "Treacherous Times for Dr. Fauci in the Sacred Cow Business." Fauci, we're told is "a Washington sacred cow if there ever was one." The notion seems to be if they're attacking Fauci, then nothing is sacred! But nothing should be sacred in government. Stop worshiping government.
Hindus do not consider the cow to be a god and they do not worship it. Hindus, however, are vegetarians and they consider the cow to be a sacred symbol of life that should be protected and revered. In the Vedas, the oldest of the Hindu scriptures, the cow is associated with Aditi, the mother of all the gods....
ADDED: The OED gives "sacred cow" a specific meaning within journalism: "(a) someone who must not be criticized; (b) copy that must not be altered or cut."
1922 U. Sinclair They call me Carpenter xxvi. 92 It doesn't matter, because I couldn't use the story. Mr. Stebbins is one of our ‘sacred cows’.
1923 O. G. Villard Some Newspapers 143 The editors gave me their word that there is..no list of men to be attacked and no ‘sacred cows’ (i.e., favourites to be spared) in their shop.
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64 comments:
@Althouse, India is part of Asia and the Liberal establishment finds it perfectly okay to discriminate against Asian-Americans. Write “sacred cow” as often as you like!
How many references to the saying "Christ on a cross?"
It's culturally insensitive — isn't it? — implicitly mocking Hinduism.
hello! hindus aren't Black people.... Heck, they're basically asian
No ONE cares about asians! They're practically white!!!
only BLACK LIVES MATTER!
President Truman used a C-54 Skymaster named Sacred Cow as his presidential plane. Sacred Cow was first used by Roosevelt during the Yalta Conference in 1945. - google
The idea that you can't mock religions is odd.
But enough about Hillary Clinton...
I’m more disturbed by President 81-millionish declaring that the J6 riot defiled the “sacred Capitol,” as I’ve been assured by Lefties all my life that they do not see government as their religion. So then why say “sacred place” if you don’t mean it? Oh yeah, because it’s good propaganda to distract from the abject failure of every endeavor the current regime has their dirty fingers in.
I have never once in my life thought of 'Sacred Cow' as mocking in any way.
It is purely rhetorical shorthand.
Now get off your high horse.
But enough about Hillary Clinton...
That cup of joe has no cream, no sugar. This is both horrible and magnificent.
Congratulations.
Beef tastes good. Lots of healthy nutrients in beef.
Grilling beef is sacred in our home
Would it be lame to observe that Sacred Cow is not Kosher? Are we losing our cotton-pickin’ minds?
In the 60s there was talk about taking up Eastern religion, even sometimes reading relevant texts. Tim Leary amazingly enough translated or adapted the Tao Te Ching. You didn't have to be too much of a skeptic to think this was all pretty skin deep. As one student mentioned in class once when I brought up fashionable Buddhism: my understanding is that you have to live in a strict Buddhist community,very ascetic, to be a Buddhist. Which brings to mind Jim Carrey in the second Ace Ventura movie.
I believe that according to their own texts, the Indian Hindus or Arians arrived there as beef eaters. Even later there were rules requiring that meat be avoided at some times, eaten at others. Drinking cows' milk was to some extent an alternative to eating beef. Are they all generally speaking vegetarians today? I know some of the "native royalty," when they travelled to England for one of Queen Victoria's big parties, had to practice eating meat for fear they would starve when they got there. Not a lot of concession to cultural differences.
I used to work as a consultant for IT organizations, and made the mistake one time of using the wrong metaphor. A company I was working with had multiple layers of management, and very small teams.
So, I said they had "Too many chiefs, and not enough Indians."
Ooops. Their staff was more than 50% Indian... from India.
Nowadays, I'd probably get fired, shot, and then drawn and quartered if I said that, even accidently.
I don't accept that using a term like sacred cow is insensitive to Hindus any more than naming a sports team after an existing group is insensitive to that group. That approach to language is unnecessarily divisive; it's detrimental to language and culture.
If Hindus start complaining, I may rethink, but I'm not going to be pre-emptively offended. Let Hindus decide what Hindus are offended by. To do otherwise is imperialist, dehumanizing, emasculating.
A stray thought .. I can understand the connection that people make but was 'sacred cow' really based in our knowledge of Hinduism? Cattle or bulls are pretty regularly gods or god-like symbols in many religions, and there's the example of the Golden Calf (a 'sacred cow') which might come a bit closer to usual meaning of something that people have raised up to an exalted status that really doesn't deserve it.
Ring them bells Saint Peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand
So the people will know
Oh, it's rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going down upon the sacred cow
Althouse>"But then I thought, isn't "sacred cow" one of those things we shouldn't say?"<
No. we should say it whenever we feel like saying it.
>"It's culturally insensitive — isn't it?"<
Not in the least. What it is, is culturally referential. BFD.
>" — implicitly mocking Hinduism."<
No. It does not ridicule or deride Hinduism even a little. It merely alludes to an element of it in a completely neutral manner.
>If Hindus start complaining, I may rethink
Being offended on behalf of others is now a core competency in the workplace and on social media.
And be sure to start every sentence with "As a _____", where you fill in the name of some oppressed or marginalized group.
If you don't think you are in a marginalized group, don't worry. More are being invented every day.
"Sacred Cow" is another analogy (is that the correct label?) that's been turned into a cliche by overruse. How many people even know its related to a Hindu belief?
We need to retire it, along with "Iconoclast" - thee are no sacred Icons in 2022. Usually when you see the word, its some Establishment figure patting someone on the back for going after some plebe or declasse belief.
A couple years ago, when my liberal brother and I still were communicating, he informed me that my saying the word Oriental is racist. Non-racist people say instead the word Asian.
I told him that in a few years, his own use of the word Asian will denounced as racist, because he will be required to use instead some other word.
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Anyway, one good quality of the word Oriental was that it avoided the confusion of possibly including people who live in South Asia -- in particular, in India. If you said Oriental, then nobody would think you might be talking about an Indian.
Of course, when you said Indian, you might confuse people about whether you were talking about American Indians (e.g. about Comanches). The latter people were called Indians too -- nobody said anything like Native Americans.
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The phenomenon of sacred cows proved that the Hindus in India were stupid. That's what everyone thought in my school when I was a kid.
'A couple years ago, when my liberal brother and I still were communicating, he informed me that my saying the word Oriental is racist.'
When I first started substituting the word 'Asian,' I often found myself disoriented.
Western sacred cows are so sacred you can't even name them... See today's previous post.
>>"Iconoclast"
As a Catholic, I am offended by your use of this word, which clearly is insensitive to faiths that use icons.
What Christopher B said-- the concept predates Hindu belief and practice by a long shot.
As does the fascination with the mystical, mysterious, and miasmic spiritualism of the East. Leary and The Beatles were reviving something, not pioneering it.
I recall seeing an interview with the then-new Speaker of the House of Commons, who had been an officer in the Indian Army in WWII. He became a vegetarian in solidarity with his men, and never went back to meat.
Was it the Nat Lamp that said the real reason there's hunger in India isn't poverty, it's that they're such picky eaters?
rhhardin said...
The idea that you can't mock religions is odd.
In a free society yes.
But this is a relatively recent historical occurrence.
Holy Cow!
I think we should ban all metaphors because Hurt Feelings. Although, come to think of it, "hurt feelings" is itself metaphorical. Or at least importantly figurative.
If "sacred cow" is gone, will "white elephant" be far behind?
Now get off your high horse.
As a hippophile, I find that phrase insensitive
Isn't one of today's posts about the censorship at the Emory Law Journal a perfect example of sacred cow?
You know, you can't say anything critical, even if truthful, about blacks? Or Islam? Or Muslims?
Mike Sylwester @ 9:56: "...Of course, when you said Indian, you might confuse people about whether you were talking about American Indians (e.g. about Comanches). The latter people were called Indians too -- nobody said anything like Native Americans..."
I have struggled over that ambiguity but your remark inspires me to a solution. We could call the American Indians "Native Americans" but that implies that they were the original human tenants on the continent. They weren't. There were people before them and, I believe, they got chased off, wiped out or absorbed. When populations migrate, that's pretty much what happens. So why accord our immediate prior tenants with indefeasible fee simple title to the whole show?
Let's call them what they are: "Prior Tenants."
More than 200 million Indian citizens are not Hindu and they do not care about the Hindu veneration of cows. Further, the veneration of cows is not supported by ancient Hindu religious texts such as the Vedic scriptures or the Bhagavad Gita, it is a somewhat modern practice (meaning about 500 years old, see D.N. Jha’s research paper from 2001). Further, the Hindus will let a cow block traffic in a busy street just because...and said practice is quite annoying to non-Hindus. Treating cows as sacred is one way the Hindu majority proves they have the power in Indian society. We non-Hindus have every right to mock this practice, because, at the end of the day, cows are just dumb animals, they are not moral exemplars. Religions should be mocked when they promote stupid ideas. This is one example.
>>You know, you can't say anything critical, even if truthful, about blacks? Or Islam? Or Muslims?
Docile and quiet is how your betters prefer you to behave. Just pay your taxes, put on your mask, get your shots, do as you are told, and don't make waves.
You don't simply ban all "offensive" terms. Keep those no one is currently complaining about in reserve. Wait until someone who needs canceling (for other reasons entirely) uses such a term, and then deploy the outrage. I think it's all pretty obvious.
@DanTheMan:
"So, I said they had 'Too many chiefs, and not enough Indians.' Ooops. Their staff was more than 50% Indian... from India."
You could have said, "By Indians, I mean feather, not dot."
"I believe that according to their own texts, the Indian Hindus or Arians arrived there as beef eaters."
This is correct. In Vedic literature, there were sacrifices requiring bovine as well as equine offerings. In true anti-Brahmin reformation, it was Siddhartha Gautama (aka The Buddha) who instituted the prohibition against eating cow meat--why kill off the major source of power and sustenance?
But the term Sacred Cow predates The Buddha considerably. In Semitic traditions (like the Jews) animals could be donated to the Temple to provide work, sacrificial meat, and liquid by-products. It was forbidden to work with these animals, or use their flesh, in ordinary fashion since they had been Dedicated To The Temple. Hence, they were Sacred. QED.
It was the Bible Reading English Protestant ministers who applied the term Sacred Cow to the Hindu refrain from slaughtering cows, although the "Harijan" classes, Christians, and Muslims had no problem.
>>You could have said, "By Indians, I mean feather, not dot."
So, I see you subscribe to the German method of solving a problem by first making it worse...
And, if you are German, and that offends you... I will quote Basil Fawlty: "Who won the bloody war, anyway?"
Ahthouse: But then I thought, isn't "sacred cow" one of those things we shouldn't say? It's culturally insensitive — isn't it?
All comes down to whose ox is being gored.
Further, the Hindus will let a cow block traffic in a busy street
when i lived in the northwest suburbs (Hoffman Estates), the main road (Hassell road) in our neighborhood went between two lakes (retaining ponds)....
MOST drivers would stop to let the ducks walk back and forth across the road (i never did)
eventually, they put up "Duck Crossing" signs. There were HUNDREDS of ducks living in the ponds... it could take 10 minutes* to get through.
Try as i could, i never hit a duck; not even a duckling... Those things are FAST
However; people would Scream at me "WATCH OUT FOR THE DUCKS!!!"
stupid chicagoans
10 minutes* okay, FIVE minutes
The etymology of the phrase is only of passing interest since the present moment is all about the feelz. I doubt even substantiating that Hindus used to eat beef would keep the usual suspects from getting wee-wee'd up about it.
“Feather, not Dot”? I thought it was “Casino, not Slurpy”.
Time to put Bowie’s China Girl on the playlist
Now you guys are just beating a dead horse. And that's offensive to Native Americans, who use the meat.
I can't cry anymore
While you run around
Break away
Just when it
Seems so clear
That it's
Over now
Drink your big black cow
And get out of here
When I first started substituting the word 'Asian,' I often found myself disoriented.
Nice work there Joe!
rcocean said...
"We need to retire [sacred cow], along with 'Iconoclast' - thee are no sacred Icons in 2022. Usually when you see the word, its some Establishment figure patting someone on the back for going after some plebe or declasse belief."
No sacred icons in 2022? Tell that to the followers of St. Greta.
Sacred cow is fine- just don’t call anyone a heifer.
Hillary is a cow. Sacred? Not so much.
Digging into the origins of words to find out what potentially offensive connotation they might have had in the past or what malintent may have inspired their initial use, for the purposes of excluding them from current use or criticizing someone who uses them now, is part and parcel of the feminization of society. And it ain't good.
If the words now have a meaning that is well known and objectively is not offensive (as in this case), have some balls, feel free to say the words, and don't be a pussy about it.
I have a friend who grew up in Mumbai.
He often says "Holy cow!"
It's great with his accent.
It is okay to say "sacred cow" because Indians no longer have a right to be offended. They have repeatedly elected Narendra Modi, who is an Official Bad Person. He is consistently described as "right-wing".
Until about 1965, all Catholic Masses were celebrated 'ad orientem', or, facing East. It has nothing to do with those who would be considered Asian. But then, no one uses 'occidental', from the Latin ‘occidens’ anymore, or even knows what it means. It’s just an excuse for someone to get their knickers in a knot.
Sacred Cow : (I vaguely recall) was hindu temple maintained animal that could roam anywhere in the village and eat whatever it found to its liking.
in todays culture = Sacred Cow = D politics thinking
If we really want to offend the Cow God worshipping church, misuse the term Bullshit. That fecal waste substance is their holy sacred sacramental substance.
The illegal word list is not 5 now. It’s 50,000. Legalism must grow faster and faster to keep controllers in control.
1. I doubt that more than 1/3 of Americans even realize that cows are sacred to Hinduism.
2. Everyone knows that Indians are not REAL POC, they should be happy we let them in and not complain. Going to /sarc this just in case it is not plain enough.
3. Banning of language is reserved for things like niggardly and illegal alien.
Joe Smith said...
"'A couple years ago, when my liberal brother and I still were communicating, he informed me that my saying the word Oriental is racist.'
When I first started substituting the word 'Asian,' I often found myself disoriented."
Did that also make him an anti-Occident?
Which is more worthy of honor, the sacred cow or the scapegoat?
Bovine Americans & Caprine Americans discuss.
"Offensive" words and phrases were words and phrases you could use in some contexts and not in others, and you had to know how to make your way in situations where such expressions were and were not permissible. For most people this wasn't a problem, but I'd suppose that if you were an Englishman who spent much time in India, you would really have to know what you were expected to say and not to say in many different situations.
Today, we assume that the offensiveness is inherent in the word or phrase, even when nobody has any objections. Indeed, people object because they think expressions are inherently offensive (or because they believe that other people think that), not because they are actually offended by them.
You can use ngrams with names as well. If you want to know if Didion beats Mailer, you can put your theory to the test. The problem, though, is that everybody's score goes down after they die. Or you can compare "sacred cow" with "Christ on the cross." Jesus is actually a little ahead now, though that hasn't been the case for most of the last 60 years.
Lo, the poor Indian.
Scot said...
Which is more worthy of honor, the sacred cow or the scapegoat??
don't forget the sacrificial lamb! That kid counts too!
Weird how not wanting to offend people (here Indians) leads to talking about them as little as possible, even when (as here), the reference is not at all insulting, but just an honest reference to something real.
But then I thought, isn't "sacred cow" one of those things we shouldn't say? It's culturally insensitive — isn't it? — implicitly mocking Hinduism.
Yes, that's right, because the term "sacred cow" is a reference to things that aren't holy or special. It's a mocking term. And "sacred cow" is a word that intellectuals and elites use. They are mocking religion in general and Hinduism specifically.
The expression "holy cow," on the other hand, is actually more respectful. Think of Harry Carey yelling "Holy cow!" when he sees something amazing on a baseball field.
Of course you can argue that Harry Carey is guilty of appropriation. He (along with a lot of other people) has stolen this idea from the Hindu religion. But he's not actually denigrating Hinduism. He's adopted this language to describe amazing things that he sees.
"sacred cow" = not sacred at all, the opposite of sacred, a joke
"holy cow" = amazing, cool, look at this thing!
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