I was browsing Reddit and saw a post where people were sharing cringe-worthy incidents where they blurted out something completely inappropriate without thinking. I don't post on Reddit, but I have a pretty good (or bad) one to share.
I was with a friend in South Dakota, talking with "Ben", a member of the Lakota Sioux tribe. There was a big Indian conference going on, and he had just finished judging a Native fashion show. My friend was discussing the idea of starting a program to teach Indian youths computer programming.
Ben's kids were running around the emptying auditorium, laughing and playing and being typical kids. After we had been talking for a while, Ben mentioned that he probably ought to get his kids home so he could feed them. Without thinking, I blurted out "yeah, the natives are growing restless!", which was a phrase my mother often used when my brother and I were kids, and were starting to act up.
I'm not sure if Ben didn't hear me, or just chose to ignore it, but I'm sure I turned beet-red as I immediately realized the potential offensiveness of what I had just said! Later, I found out that the phrase wasn't in reference to Native Americans at all, but originated from the South Pacific. Later the phrase was used in the 1933 film "the Island of Lost Souls", based on HG Wells "Island of Dr. Moreau."
