Un-American Weatherman Uses Arab Word: It's The End of Civilization!

[evildevil]

Haboobs to Be Renamed "Freedom Desert Dust".

‘Haboobs’ Stir Critics in Arizona

The massive dust storms that swept through central Arizona this month have stirred up not just clouds of sand but a debate over what to call them.

The blinding waves of brown particles, the most recent of which hit Phoenix on Monday, are caused by thunderstorms that emit

Comments

[breexbree]

What US soldier wants to hear some Middle Eastern term? I dunno, why don't you ask all the Middle East-descended US soldiers?

[chaeri]

That's also a good point. The broadcaster seems to be assuming that all soldiers are white with blue eyes or something. In reality, the US military is more diverse than any other organization.

[fenris_lorsrai]

That and ones that served in Middle East may have gotten used to calling it that while IN the service.

it's like pointing at something you don't have a good word for an english and just using the local vernacular. Like foods, animals, clothing, whatever. rather than just calling it "thingy" all the time.

[antiotter]

Or any soldier. GIs LOVE to add foreign words to the already nearly incomprehensible military-speak. It's like a bragging, "I've been there" way of showing other guys where you've been.

The guys who had been stationed in South Korean with the 2nd Infantry Division throw in Korean slang. Guys who had been in Germany with the 1st Infantry Division throw in German slang. Guys who were in Italy with the 173rd Airborne Brigade throw in Italian slang. Guys who have been to Iraq throw in Arabic slang.

When I was in the Army, if I heard a guy throw in some German slang, I'd ask him where he was stationed in Germany, then we'd instantly have something to bond over.

After we got back from Iraq, we'd use Arabic slang in front of the new guys who just got out of boot camp and hadn't yet been to war, and smirk when they had no idea what the hell we were saying.

My uncle still uses Vietnamese slang.

[chaeri]

Heh, that's awesome. It also shows that people like that idiot who implied soldiers would be bothered by it all should do their homework before they speak.

[redstar826]

My uncle still uses Vietnamese slang.

my dad was stationed in South Korea back in the early 1970s and still occasionally uses random Korean words

[antiotter]

That dude would shit his pants if General John Abizaid stared him down.