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this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023
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Asklemmy
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I'm a Linux user and love some good rices. But I've no idea what "ricing" comes from. Why is it offensive?
Rice rocket was a term used for modified Japanese cars, and ricing your car meant turning it into a rice rocket.
Oh… I had assumed it was like an acronym for some tech thing
Nah, just subtle racism
I thought "ricing" meant submerging your stuff in rice to get the moisture out to stop water damage.
Slang can mean different things, depending on context
What! No one's ever told me that before!
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.
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.
It would probably be like calling Beemers and Mercedes bratwvrst-mobiles.
I mean, that does sound tasty.
You completely missed an opporitunity for kraut-cars.
I know some people that refer to Japanese motorcycles, mostly "crotch-rockets," as ricers.
The only people I know who say that are in fact Japanese, but I agree it is a racist term.
Racist slang against Asians, think "beaners" for Hispanics.
Sort of an insult to beans and rice, two of the greatest categories of food, to make slurs of them, too.