NOTE: this thread is informational and not intended to be racist.
The other day I got called up to the large Camp & Conference Center up in the mountains in Southern California, where I used to work as a high ropes course and rock climbing instructor, to do a hazardous dismantle on a large pine.
A 35' leader had broken off and hinged over with the end slamming and smashing a guest's Rav4 suv. The remainder of it was still attatched partially to the trunk and the rest of it was suspended out over one of the large cabin buildings. I had been allotted an Adventure Rope/Rock Course program employee as a temp groundie for the job.
While up in the tree, I had asked to have a biner tied to the rope so I could pull up some equipment, and the girl says, "oh my gosh, we aren't allowed to use the word "biner" anymore, we have to say the whole word "carabiner".
I was pretty puzzled, and asked what the heck she was talking about.
Apparently, they had made a new rule not long ago consisting of what she told me, under the grounds of "racial sensitivity". They had had some problems in the past with some of the mexican groups who had come up to the place.
(mexicans are widely (slightly derrogatorily) reffered to in California and other states as "beaners". I don't know if it's because many of them tend to wear beanies as head-gear, or if it's from a cross-the-border thing with them working in the fields. "Biner" and "beaner" sound the exact same)
Either way, we tended to use alot of phrases that had caused confusion at some point when they people in the groups heard phrases like:
"bring that biner over here"
"uhoh, this beaner is really messed up"
"don't mess with the biners, you could get killed"
"make sure you've got enough biners when you get up there"
"we just got some new biners"
"make sure you don't step on any ropes or biners"
"when someone yells "ROCK!!" make sure not to look up, as you could be hit by a falling object, whether it's a rock, a biner, or whatever"
"this biner's ready for retirement"
etc etc etc
So I guess some of them heard that stuff and thought the staff members were talking about them, got all offended and complained about it, and now everyone at the camp has to use the full word "carabiner" in order not to offend anyone.
Pretty strange eh?