Just a thought here..

[MBismyPlayground]

Well, apropriate or not, we've been called refugees each time we've evacuated to my sister's home upstate (which is now at a count of 3 times in the last year). That is what their friends and the people at their church have called us.

All I can say is shame on them. First and foremost, anyone who survives this kind of mass destruction, whether man made or by nature, is a survivor in my book. Considering the way the body count numbers are going up, these people SURVIVED, just as you did, when you had to evacuate. Just a personal question, and please, you don't have to answer if you don't want. When your sisters friends and church members refered to you as refugees, how did it really deep down make you feel???
If you had been on vacation, they would have said, hey there is so and so's sister and her family and suddenly it was Hey theres the little refugee family?? Calling them refugees seems to create a dividing line between US and THEM.(from NO and not from)How about trying to embrace these people and refer to them( each state) as OUR NEW RESIDENTS......THE SURVIVORS.

[baygirl_1]

Honestly, it didn't bother us a bit. The comments were not made in any derogatory manner. We have visited there several times for football games and holidays. But, when we evacuate they refer to us as the hurricane refugees "again." Their pastor is a personal friend of our family and he refers to us as that, as well. Again, we have no problem with the term at all. It's all just semantics, anyway, and doesn't change who you are.

[jburns]

It's not wrong.

Agree to disagree.

Deal.


One more thing: Wikipedia is a noble project, but it's written by amateur contributors from everywhere. A lot of bad info is published on Wikipedia, much of this gets deleted eventually by their editors, however I would caution anyone about using this as a definitive source of information.

I am aware of this. If the Wikipedia definition had differed from the others it would be suspect and require further investigation. In this case it agrees with all the other sources and I personally have adjusted my understanding of the meaning of the word refugee. I guess I am flexibly picky.

[MBismyPlayground]

Inotherwords,
Thanks so much for that lesson in proper grammer and writing ect...me and my dumb blonde self just can't find the time to correct typing, spelling or punctuation errors. But then again, I didn't realize I was being graded.

Actually the proper word would be stigmata, although I chose not to use that.

I guess as long as people continue to use this word, eventually they will see the phychological damage done, not only to the adult survivors but more so to the children.

[angler1986]

To insinuate that the word refugee brings about a negative connotation is what is causing it to be a dividing line, not the use of the word itself. You say it brings about feelings of "third world" people, and that in itself is insulting to those that would be considered third world. As if Americans are somehow better than those that live in third world countries and that it's insulting for those displaced by the storm to be compared by them.

These people are seeking refuge. They are refugees. Plain and simple!

[themusk]

It may or may not be correct, but I can see why it rubs salt into some people's very sore wounds. For several days, many of these people have been fighting to survive in conditions that we all thought we'd never see in our nation, and during that time many of them felt that their country had just forgotten about them.

Using a word associated, correctly or incorrectly, with people who are not citizens of the country in which they reside is for many of them a excruciating reminder of those horrendous days where they feared that they were being left to die by their country, and also a reminder to some of us who have been traumatized at a distance watching people drop dead on the streets, weeping, and wondering when our leaders would get their heads out of their posteriors.

Sometimes it's not about what the dictionary says, or what you or I think about the words. It's not even about what's correct or incorrect. Sometimes its about respecting other people's pain.

Give the ones who don't want to hear the word a break, okay? It's not worth the argument.

(BTW: I have no issues with the word myself, and was using it prior to learning that some persons disliked it. But then I've been sitting in my air conditioned secured apartment complex, taking my medications regularly, enjoying the visit of nurses and nurses aides, drinking clean water, bathing, and eating all manner of delicious food over the last week. And my skin color doesn't look disconcertingly like the most common shade of skin I see on the TV set (though the number of wheelchairs has hit me hard personally) )

[vbhoutex]

Who cares what they are called? EVERYONE OF THEM IS A HUMAN BEING WHO HAS BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR ORIGINAL PLACE OF RESIDENCE!! IS THAT POLITICALLY CORRECT ENOUGH FOR YOU!!!! AND YES I AM SCREAMING!!!

We don't need to be arguing about the semantics of this horrendous situation, we need to be doing everyhthing we can to help!!!

Give me a break!!!

[SouthFloridawx]

the only people complaining are the people not affected by the storm. you are right who cares what you call them. They got kicked the hell out by katrina ... i mean it is bad enough people are dying, starving and dehydrated... what else can we complain about....!!!!!!!!