Banning Words?

[Simon Dog]

The acceptable terms used for certain groups changes over the years.     You have to keep up with the memos to avoid offending or being branded racise.

Oriental is now considered non-PC; use Asian instead.

Negro and Colored are obsolete; Afro-American is getting there.   Use Black or "of color" if you wish not to offend.  Unless, of course, you are running a united college fund.

[Rerun]

  

[iKAZ3D]

The acceptable terms used for certain groups changes over the years.     You have to keep up with the memos to avoid offending or being branded racise.

Oriental is now considered non-PC; use Asian instead.

Negro and Colored are obsolete; Afro-American is getting there.   Use Black or "of color" if you wish not to offend.  Unless, of course, you are running a united college fund.

And what happens when those words are no longer acceptable, and the next words? People need to learn to suck it up.

[Rerun]

Agree....

               

[monrein]

Disagree.  Strongly disagree.  Agree that words ought NOT to be banned (how can they anyhow) and if a person chooses to use words that are disagreeable to others, so be it, it is their right to do so.  However I choose to walk the world as sensitively as I am able and if a word hurts, offends or insults another, I choose NOT to use it.  I don't want anyone to have to "suck it up" because I insist on being insensitive or merely stubborn.  I like being considerate of others and the word "retard" as it is currently used colloquially is hurtful to many.  It is not hurtful to use the word in a factual way..."flame retardant",  "retarded economic growth" ...but when used to mean stupid, idiotic or worse it is insensitive and can hurt.   I've really spent too many hours of my life dealing with the emotional fallout of certain words...retard and gay or faggot in particular...to remain silent on them when I hear them but I know that they will continue to be slung about.  They will never, however, be used by me. 

[gothiclovemonkey]

Words can hurt, even if they arent directed right at you... and worse when they are!

an example- im fat. im actually obese, and have been for most of my life... or all LOL but and often i hear people say OMG look at that whale... um... if you think shes a whale, what the hell am i?!?! a continent?! but i dont take it personally, it wasnt directed at me but it still struck a chord though...

my son is... special... i wouldnt say hes "retarded" no matter what his IQ reflects. I personally dont like the word but i dont get bent out of shape when i hear it, even if my son could be classified as such. I think entirely too many people get their panties in a twist over things that dont matter at all, in the long run... this is one of the many things thats wrong with our world...


BUT i still say its best to choose your audience. There is a time and a place for everything. Human decency is lacking (another thing wrong with this world)

[iKAZ3D]

Disagree.  Strongly disagree.  Agree that words ought NOT to be banned (how can they anyhow) and if a person chooses to use words that are disagreeable to others, so be it, it is their right to do so.  However I choose to walk the world as sensitively as I am able and if a word hurts, offends or insults another, I choose NOT to use it.  I don't want anyone to have to "suck it up" because I insist on being insensitive or merely stubborn.  I like being considerate of others and the word "retard" as it is currently used colloquially is hurtful to many.  It is not hurtful to use the word in a factual way..."flame retardant",  "retarded economic growth" ...but when used to mean stupid, idiotic or worse it is insensitive and can hurt.   I've really spent too many hours of my life dealing with the emotional fallout of certain words...retard and gay or faggot in particular...to remain silent on them when I hear them but I know that they will continue to be slung about.  They will never, however, be used by me.

That's fine, but don't get mad when I do.

[Rerun]

We are not born with the knowledge of "sensitivity".  In fact we have "Sensitivity Training" for that reason.  Just like math.  You need to be taught the understanding.  Having said that, it gets a little ridiculous especially when one group can use a word and it is considered "cool" but another group can't use that same word.

Gay use to mean "happy" and a name.... Gay Lynn Smith.  Fag was a cigarette. 

My nephews are 5 and 7 and they die laughing at a FART.  No matter what you call it they are rolling on the floor.  Toot, pooop, wind, oopps, ....

[gothiclovemonkey]

thats why i think kids are awesome, and we adults could learn a thing or two from them!

Every time my son sees this post screen... he laughs at this:

 

[gothiclovemonkey]

And I wont even say what i see here
 

yep, im that immature :p

[brenda seal]

As I said before it is really a choice using your freedom of speech over good manners . Good manners are about having consideration for other people's feelings . Laurie has only one eye and wears an eye patch in public in case his disfigurement offends others , Children often stare and tell their mother they have seen a pirate ! Laurie finds this amusing but if an adult stares he is uncomfortable and self conscious .
I fail to understand Weston , why you would deliberately hurt someone's feelings and upset them under the guise of having total freedom of speech . We all have the power of freedom of speech and the right to use whatever words we want , some of  us just choose to respect others in our hearing . Like I said before you can't put old heads on young shoulders !

[iKAZ3D]

As I said before it is really a choice using your freedom of speech over good manners . Good manners are about having consideration for other people's feelings . Laurie has only one eye and wears an eye patch in public in case his disfigurement offends others , Children often stare and tell their mother they have seen a pirate ! Laurie finds this amusing but if an adult stares he is uncomfortable and self conscious .
I fail to understand Weston , why you would deliberately hurt someone's feelings and upset them under the guise of having total freedom of speech . We all have the power of freedom of speech and the right to use whatever words we want , some of  us just choose to respect others in our hearing . Like I said before you can't put old heads on young shoulders !

And as I said, this jackbutt of a "friend" was not even part of the conversation, nor was the word directed as an insult or deragatory in any manor. HE invited himself in, HE stated offense. HE had no grounds. HE thoughthe had the right t tell me what I could and could not say. HE WAS WRONG TOO.

[Simon Dog]

And what happens when those words are no longer acceptable, and the next words? People need to learn to suck it up.

Take good care of yourself, follow your treatment or get lucky with a xplant and you'll live long enough to see them become obsolete, though I think "Asian" has staying power.

It seems that institutions get pass if their names contain a de-facto prohibited word - for example, the "Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation".

[Henry P Snicklesnorter]

........ nor was the word directed as an insult or deragatory in any manor.

I would have thought it may have been in some manors   


Henry P

[jbeany]

There are reasons most adults pay attention to the words they use, and when, where, how and who we use them with.  Our word choices change others' perceptions of us.  And in the real world, others' perceptions have a lot more serious consequences than ticking off a teenage friend.  Casually using a racist, sexist, or derogatory term, even in a conversation with friends can be overheard.  I work in the legal field.  If I say something like that, even in a private, casual conversation someplace that isn't connected to work, it can get overheard by someone who can have influence over my future career.  Want a job, a raise, a reference from someone who has overheard something offensive?  Nope. 

That can be true for more personal things, too.  How about a date, an introduction, a favor?  Do you think anyone will go out of their way to do those things when their first impression of you was of a bigot?

And even if you are sure you are having that conversation in private with friends who share identical views, there are hazards to that as well.  Ever given a teacher or fellow student a nick name you intended to keep secret because it was bound to get you in trouble if it was heard by the person it applied to?  Ever hear anyone slip and use that nickname to the person's face because they were distracted?  It's an easy thing to do with nicknames and with derogatory words.

Your friend overreacted, clearly.  If he wants to make the point about the use of the word retarded, he should have done it quietly and calmly, and made it a request, not an order.  But there are good reasons to think about what you say and how you say - and not all of them are about tiptoeing through the world, trying not to offend anyone.  Sometimes, it's about not limiting your own opportunities.

[Poppylicious]

And I wont even say what i see here
 

yep, im that immature :p

GLM!!! I'd never even noticed that.  I'll never look at this emoticon in the same way again, you rascal!

 

[gothiclovemonkey]

  i know im terrible!

[gothiclovemonkey]

I thought this might be relevant here.
and thought provoking too

[iKAZ3D]

I thought this might be relevant here.
and thought provoking too

Nope.

[Sluff]

Wouldn't it just be nice if everyone could love all races the same and there would be no reason to have racist vocabulary. I mean really we all bleed red. We all have to get through life on earth as we know it. It would just be much easier to look at all races as just another person.

[gothiclovemonkey]

That would be ideal.

[Hemodoc]

Wouldn't it just be nice if everyone could love all races the same and there would be no reason to have racist vocabulary. I mean really we all bleed red. We all have to get through life on earth as we know it. It would just be much easier to look at all races as just another person.

So true Sluff, that is what the Bible states that all men are of one blood.

[iKAZ3D]

Wouldn't it just be nice if everyone could love all races the same and there would be no reason to have racist vocabulary. I mean really we all bleed red. We all have to get through life on earth as we know it. It would just be much easier to look at all races as just another person.

So true Sluff, that is what the Bible states that all men are of one blood.

Please, I beg of you, don't start this here.

[cassandra]

I think Jbeany really puts it nicely, and wisely. It makes it just that bit easier to get on in this world I think.

Take care all, Cas

[Hemodoc]

Wouldn't it just be nice if everyone could love all races the same and there would be no reason to have racist vocabulary. I mean really we all bleed red. We all have to get through life on earth as we know it. It would just be much easier to look at all races as just another person.

So true Sluff, that is what the Bible states that all men are of one blood.

Please, I beg of you, don't start this here.

Give it a rest kid, we have the first amendment in this country still so even you can state what you wish as well.

As far as my statement in support of what Sluff stated, here is the direct quote:

Acts 17:26     And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth. . .

There is no racism in the eyes of the God of the Bible my friend.