Oh boy! Here's an article (and yes to the question I posed in my last post), but let me comment as we read through it:
https://www.bustle.com/articles/118386-5-racist-english-phrases-with-a-seriously-awful-history
A caveat before we begin, please don't get defensive. If you've been using these phrases without knowing, there's no fault, but after you read this, you'll know, and then you can avoid them and avoid hurting other people. You value reducing the pain you cause to others, right? You're a good person. And if you slip up, hopefully you'll be gently reminded and won't cause much pain and will be able to remember in the future. We do all kinds of things in order to try not to hurt other people. It is okay to adjust your language so as not to hurt other people. I hope you don't feel frustrated. If it makes you feel better, the "f" word is totally fine, and you can even add "swive" to your dictionary. If you don't want children to have knowledge about swear words, and they're reading over your shoulder, don't click this link.
I also don't know if I need a preamble about "snowflakes", but just in case I do: Someone's being hurt by racist phrases doesn't make them a snowflake. We all can be hurt by words. Think about something raw and painful (or imagine, if you have nothing recent). Something that reminds you that you are less than human. (If there's nothing, congratulations, everyone should be able to feel that way). Then imagine that people casually bring that thing up all the time. It's tiring and can be painful. Work on your empathy muscle.
"Sold down the river"
Hmmm. I hate to argue for insensitively using language about slavery. And I'm white. I'll put forward a suggestion, and if anyone wants to tell me why I'm wrong, I'm open:
It means betrayal. It isn't insulting or making light of slavery. It is a phrase that means, "you have betrayed me as badly as if you had sold me into all the horrors of chattel slavery"
So while there's a strong case for not dropping it casually or for humor, there could be a useful place for it in circumstances where the betrayal leads to incarceration, death, etc.
I guess it's cultural appropriation?
"No can do"
Did not know this. Mocking people for how they speak is wrong. Clearly racist. Will try to remember that. Moving on.
"Gypped" (pronounced and often misspelled jipped)
I did know this one. And I always remind people not to use it. Say "ripped off" instead or "cheated". Implying that a whole culture's most noteworthy feature is cheating people is racist no matter how you cut it.
"Off the reservation"
Hmmm. Yeah. I guess, the difference to me between this one and "sold down the river" is that there's no sense of the weight of history when we use it. Current usage is like, big deal, even though the origin IS a big deal. (I almost said "big whoop" and then I really wondered if that was racist. Let's find out....I'm back. This one is less clear cut. I think big whoop is fine until further information is provided. Moving on.) If you have no regard for the devastating history behind the phrase and you used it anyway, you're culturally appropriating someone else's pain for your casual language. Why would you do that? Make up something better if you want to say "they left their group." Don't be a lazy racist. (Don't be a proactive racist, either.)
"Cotton-picking"
Whoa, I expected this one to be more clear cut, but aside from the fact that cotton picking is heavily associated with slavery, there doesn't seem to be a reason why it gets used as an adjective. So... undecided?