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The Power of Language
Do Writers Hold the Key to Defusing Ethnic Slurs?
I Had a Childhood Horse Named ‘Dago’
As a kid in the 80s, I grew up riding an old ranch horse named “Dago.” His full name was actually “Dago Red,” but we typically just referred to him as “Dago.”
It was until adulthood that I learned, to my shock, that the term “dago” was an ethnic slur aimed primarily at Italians. “Dago Red” was the common name for the home-brewed red wine Italians were famous for. While not quite as offensive as just straight ‘dago’ it is still a phrase considered ‘not appropriate’ in today’s culturally sensitive vernacular. Plus, we generally just referred to the horse as ‘Dago.’
But at the time I was a young white girl growing up in a predominantly white community and I had no idea there was anything remotely negative associated with my horse’s name. Though in hindsight, that would explain the strange pause that typically accompanied my announcement at the local pony club competitions.
