Is this Discriminatory?

[VomitStainedCretin]

McDonald's has launched a campaign to get the "derogatory" term McJob thrown out of dictionaries.
And MPs are backing the petition, claiming it is insulting to the 67,000 people who work for the burger chain.

The McJob tag is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "an unstimulating low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector".

However, despite the campaign, John Simpson, chief editor of the OED, says he has no intention of changing the definition.

But McDonald's is taking to the road to try and change his mind. Visits are planned to 40 cities and towns around the country to collect signatures.

David Fairhurst, a senior vice-president of the company, argues that the whole of the service industry and not just McDonald's is involved in the "word battle".

He says: "It is a totally outdated picture of work in today's service sector."

Labour MP Clive Betts has tabled a parliamentary motion branding the word "derogatory".

Mr Betts, who has won the backing of 15 other MPs of all major parties, said the use of "McJob" was symptomatic of the way in which people who work in the service industry are under-appreciated by Britons.

But the OED, which has carried the word McJob on its online dictionary since March 2001, said its inclusion was simply reflecting the word's usage in everyday life.

Mr Betts said: "It indicates that the jobs they do are worthless and anybody could walk in off the streets and do them.

"We value people who are skilled craftsmen or highly qualified professionals, but not people in the service industry - even though we rely on them if we go out for a night out or stay in a hotel."

He said McDonalds had a good record of training staff and was planning to introduce formal qualifications which staff could use to further their careers elsewhere.What do you think - is the word 'McJob' discriminatory?

[Iskandar]

It refers to the job, not the unfortunate people who have it.

[Eliminator]

nobody cares but them.

[Scuba_Steve]

McDonalds doesnt want people to know its a shithole.



but the secrets out.

[Moon Flavor]

I've never heard this term before...when I clicked the thread I thought it was referring to like a low-wage job that Irish immigrants had at the beginning of the industrial era.

They're not losing any money because this word exists, so they can go screw.

[John Paul Harrison]

as far as i know, "mcjob" is not a common term.

that's the only reason why i'd remove it from dictionaries.

[ringworm]

who cares, gimme a #3 combo please, no onions, sweet tea

[StrangeVision]

That's ridiculous.

[GreyHam]

using 'mc' in front of things is pretty common though.... McDojo is one youll probably have heard if you go on any martial arts related forum for example

i dont really see how it could be discriminatory anyway... derogatory yes, but not discriminatory

the majority of people who work in shitty low end jobs dont plan on making a career out of it anyways

its just mcdonalds being unhappy that their franchise is associated with high profits and low quality. theres not a lot else you can associate it with really...

[Iscariot]

the fact that mcdonalds is acting so defensively about this is a good sign that there's a reason for the title

[VomitStainedCretin]

Thanks for the responses, I'm surprised that members of the UK parliament seem to be backing this, seems like another attempt by MacDonald's to clean up their deservedly filthy image; then again, the UK today is a PC police state.
the fact that mcdonalds is acting so defensively about this is a good sign that there's a reason for the title123

[PerpetualBurn]

"It indicates that the jobs they do are worthless and anybody could walk in off the streets and do them."

Well it's not worthless in as much as I want my burger.

...

I think the second part speaks for itself.

[peeted]

This is ****ing stupid, the OED aims for accurate definitions of words not politically correct ones, the fact that the word is in common use means that OED have to list it and its definition regardless of how offensive it is. If McDonald's has a problem with the word they should be trying to change peoples attitudes not threatening the OED, after all its social attitudes towards the employment at McDonald's that lead to the introduction of the phrase into common use.

[Danger Bird]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak
Control the language, control the people.

I'm sorry, I just have to read 1984 for school and it makes me feel like a 13-year-old rebel again.

[Eliminator]

i, an employee of the glorious mcdonalds corporation, am offended by such discriminatory phrases with the prefix Mc.

[Chrizzle fo' Shizzle]

Discriminatory definitely isn't the word to use


Derogatory, however, may be

[italic zero]

if a word isn't discriminatory it's basically a failure as a word

[Independent_CA]

They don't seem to have a problem with the term "McWorld", maybe thats because it benefits them.

Whatever, screw McDonalds.

[Swill_Merchant]

as far as i know, "mcjob" is not a common term.

that's the only reason why i'd remove it from dictionaries.

Neither are half the words in the dictionary ( to make a point, not to be a dick) I think the defintition is funny, I would definatley keep it.

[SoulSeekerz]

I had a McJob once, and I got McFired.

[sexymuffin]

nobody who actually works at a mcdonalds cares about stuff like this. Mcdonalds employees are comprised of apathetic teenagers who just want enough money to buy cigarettes and weed, prisoners on work release who have been convicted of god-only-knows (i worked with a guy who exposed himself in public but told everyone he got in a big fight), and over-zealous albino managers with temper issues. All of whom are too busy hating their lives to care how the world views their services.

fact is, anyone COULD work at mcdonalds, that's why teenagers and immigrants* do it.

*excluded from first paragraph because most of them don't even legally work there

[MegaPhony]

I agree completely with sexymuffin.
Those who the title has been bestowed upon don't give a ****.
It's the higher-ups that spend billions on advertising and "ba-da-ba-ba-ba,
i'm loving it" who don't want to see their profits decline.
In reality, everybody who eats at McDonald's knows what's going on and everybody already knows that the job sucks ***

[fingers mccoy]

mcdonalds is crashing and burning right? i dont actually know if it's doing significantly worse than it used to but i remember it handing out these leaflets trying to simultaneously appease the carnivorous, the zealously healthy, the poor and the female door to door. If that's a not a sign of extreme panic i dont know what is.

i remember reading a page of it that was like 'so ladies put your feet up after a hard day's shopping with a mcsalad and an orange juice and don't let your man ignore you for the football. This is your life and sisters, do it for yourselves.'

[Nadinus]

I suppose the official English dictionary has to keep up with the language of the time, and I doubt it will make much difference to how many people work there - you have to be pretty desperate anyway.

[lfantwister]

i remember reading a page of it that was like 'so ladies put your feet up after a hard day's shopping with a mcsalad and an orange juice and don't let your man ignore you for the football. This is your life and sisters, do it for yourselves.'

I hope you're making that up. If it's true I'm horrified. Clearly all I do all day is go shopping. And I don't like burgers! Only salad for me, gotta keep that figure! All men watch football.

[Reaganista]

burgers are gross

[lfantwister]

youre gross

[TheClap]

I said yes, cause I don't want to be a member of the norm.

But yeah, McDonald's wants it gone cause it makes the job look horrible, not cause of actual people, come on now.