What I learned today...

[Kymizer]

I learned where picnic derived from...


well...turns out that it goes back into the lynching of african americans....

a white town would bring goodies to eat and snacks, and camp out at a local park.

they would then build a bon fire...and then pick a black person to lynch and kill


its so amazing what you learn in english class.....

[zog]

...appetizing?


  not so much

[Kymizer]

nope..not at all...when i look back at it...i'm just wondering what the hell they were thinking...

[Santiago]

It is amazing to see the extent to which the ethics and morals of whole communities can be influenced according to the dominant social norms and religions of the period. And also very sad. That these people truely believed what they were doing was Right and Good is unimaginable in the modern world today. People now would see such acts as "evil", but back then they would have believed they were doing the work of God.

[RayvenD]

wow, i really didn't know that. that's kinda harsh, and i loved picnics aswell.

[lanser]

What you really learned today is to never believe all that a teacher tells you

Picnic

Internet lore (and perhaps folklore prior to the internet) has the origin of this word as lynching party for blacks in the American South, originally deriving from the phrase pick an nigger. This is absolutely incorrect. The word's origins have no racial overtones whatsoever.

In actuality, the word derives from the French pique-nique, meaning the same thing as it does in English--an outing that includes food. Pique is either a reference to a leisurely style of eating (as in "pick at your food") or it's a reference to selective delicacies chosen for the outing. Nique is a nonsense syllable chosen to rhyme. The word appears in English as early as 1748 in reference to picnics in Germany. The word did not gain widespread use in Britain until c. 1800.

the above quote is from Wordorigins
edit to remove pretentiousness

[Kymizer]

Yes, I also saw that, but it is an arguement.

though it is true that they called it a pic-a-nig (sorry for the slang)

though it does come mostly from france.

its very controversial

[dying_inside]

It is amazing to see the extent to which the ethics and morals of whole communities can be influenced according to the dominant social norms and religions of the period. And also very sad. That these people truely believed what they were doing was Right and Good is unimaginable in the modern world today. People now would see such acts as "evil", but back then they would have believed they were doing the work of God.

This is why I believe we should first crush all existing religions and then aany religions that attempt to spawn in their places.

Religion = death, hatred, general havoc and *^%&

[zog]

sorry, but my god IS better than your god

[Learch]

When someone feeds you something that sounds a little too good/spectacular/bizarre to be true, remember that snopes.com is your friend. Browse around a bit; you'll be surprised by the stuff that's false.

It's amazing how much utter nonsense is being circulated by email (and, apparently, making its way into classrooms ... )

On this topic specifically, read http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/picnic.htm

[Croconil]

This is why I believe we should first crush all existing religions and then aany religions that attempt to spawn in their places.

Religion = death, hatred, general havoc and *^%&

I coulden't agree more!

[Kymizer]

This is why I believe we should first crush all existing religions and then aany religions that attempt to spawn in their places.

Religion = death, hatred, general havoc and *^%&

i agree with this too..

btw Learch...i'm saving this site so i can shove it in my english teachers face..

[LARAGORN]

This is why I believe we should first crush all existing religions and then aany religions that attempt to spawn in their places.

Religion = death, hatred, general havoc and *^%&

so an athiest dictatorship ?
Believe what I want you to believe or I will crush you ?

sounds like you have a little hatred yourself.

Peace will never be spread with an iron fist.

[Robinmagus]

but with a hand full of flowers....

[dying_inside]

Touche.
What If I hand the flowers out with an iron fist?