Common lime name has racist history

Following the Redskins piece by Neil MacDonald (From Washington Redskins to queer culture, the uneasy evolution of the slur), another example of a term in need of changing:

There is a growing campaign to change the name of a variety of lime because it is viewed as offensive by some.

“Kaffir” lime is gaining popularity as North American cooks expand their culinary horizons into Southeast Asian food. The lime’s leaves are also used in parts of South Asia and Africa. It goes by many names around the world, but Veronica Vinje, a masters student in Intercultural and International Communications in Victoria, B.C., says the most common one is deeply racist.

Vinje says calling someone by this name in South Africa is akin to using the N-word to describe black people, while in the Middle East and South Asia, the name is a derisive term for non-Muslims.

​”Since there are so many other names for this lime already, I thought whats the big deal if we call it something else?” Vinje said. “Because it is becoming popular and trendy … and it’s not a very nice message to send to our citizens from Southern Africa … that know this term from a very bad history. Why not change it to something else?”

Common lime name has racist history – Canada – CBC News.