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[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

I'm not following. So, if she's merely offended, she needs to get over it, but if she's really, deeply distraught, it's okay to allow for her to be hurt and seek to help her as opposed to offering platitudes about how words can never hurt as they are neither sticks nor stones?

No, what I am saying is that there is no need to be offended in the first place. You should never put that much though into an immature statement said by someone else. If you're letting one word affect your mood, you need to brush it off and move on. There are worse things in life to be worried about than a word or insult.

It probably isn't my opinion. What do I know? Apparently I'm not macho enough if I let these words get to me amirite

You don't need to be macho to brush off insults.

 

[gondwana]

oh, goody. four pages of conservatives defending this and back-and-fourth semantic arguments with the same 2-3 posters. not reading a single page of it. see ya

 

[Bay Maximus]

Yeah because I'm sure that black girl had nightmares and attempted suicide after what those girls said. Don't let your powerful assumptions and over-sensitivity rot away on the internet bay maximus. Man up.

We don't know what she did, but we do know that the correct response to minors being victimized like this constantly when their only crime is playing basketball can't be to, "get over it." The kids deserved their suspensions, plain and simple. If there is any indication that adults knew about this behaviour and didn't report it, they should face harsher punishments. Schools should have zero tolerance on bigotry of all types. If that's over-sensitive so be it.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

We don't know what she did, but we do know that the correct response to minors being victimized like this constantly when their only crime is playing basketball can't be to, "get over it." The kids deserved their suspensions, plain and simple. If there is any indication that adults knew about this behaviour and didn't report it, they should face harsher punishments. Schools should have zero tolerance on bigotry of all types.

I never said they shouldn't be punished. And I was saying this to anyone being discriminated that if you're letting words ruin your day, get over it and get on with your happiness. Don't dwell on something stupid.

 

[akira28]

Now the girl will probably get the whispers and stares treatment for hurting the team spirit, etc.

Sure don't miss HS culture. Loosely organized and usually dictated by the kids themselves, so no surprise it's generally shit.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

You should never put that much though into an immature statement said by someone else. If you're letting one word affect your mood, you need to brush it off and move on. There are worse things in life to be worried about than a word or insult.

But -- and I've seen this brought up again and again -- words have meaning. This meaning is often interpreted subjectively by different people.

I get that there's some wisdom in what you're saying. However, it's incredibly hollow wisdom. You're just arguing the ol' "sticks and stones" argument that we've been fed since early elementary school. Maybe that works for you; it's not terrible advice. But we can't argue that words are ultimately meaningless unless you choose to give them weight. Language was invented and has continuously evolved for a reason.

But then again, I do agree. I've never understood the purpose of literary critique. Why do we argue about which books are better than other books? After all, once you strip away all context, they're ultimately all the same: just words on a page.

 

[spindashing]

oh, goody. four pages of conservatives defending this and back-and-fourth semantic arguments with the same 2-3 posters. not reading a single page of it. see ya

So you read the thread but you don't want to read the thread. Ok.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

So you read the thread but you don't want to read the thread. Ok.

He can tell the racists from their user titles, clearly

 

[Dreams-Visions]

lol. this turned out to be an interesting thread. but any thread which CK and Tim Wise get posted will be a good, introspective thread.

 

[Antagon]

As a non-American, shit like N-word always looks stupid. You would never use it in a situation where you're actually trying to hurt / demean (?) someone, so why not just type nigger? A word by itself doesn't hurt, the way it is used does.

 

[Trey]

It probably isn't my opinion. What do I know? Apparently I'm not macho enough if I let these words get to me amirite

Has nothing to do with machoism. You don't have to be manly to say "nigga." If it makes you uncomfortable, then it makes you uncomfortable. There are certain words I don't like to say.

And it's probably a cultural thing as to why you don't see any real difference between nigga and nigger, whereas I say the former freely and abhor the latter. Different strokes and all that.

 

[Dyno]

And it's probably a cultural thing as to why you don't see any real difference between nigga and nigger, whereas I say the former freely and abhor the latter. Different strokes and all that.

Dude if you just gave it up then you would never have to explain yourself again.

 

[spindashing]

He can tell the racists from their user titles, clearly

Haha.

Has nothing to do with machoism. You don't have to be manly to say "nigga." If it makes you uncomfortable, then it makes you uncomfortable. There are certain words I don't like to say.

And it's probably a cultural thing as to why you don't see any real difference between nigga and nigger, whereas I say the former freely and abhor the latter. Different strokes and all that.

I was messing around. Trey, I was referencing the whole "don't let words get to you, just man up" stance referenced in the thread a few posts earlier.

I gave my two cents already, lol.

 

[TangMeng]

I'm guessing the word became some sort of meme that the girls used all the time, so the chant isn't surprising and is likely more of an inside joke than a rallying cry. Considering this, it's hard not to see these girls as extremely racist and ignorant.

 

[MWS Natural]

When you say 'they', you're talking about more than 200 million individuals. Fighting fire with fire isn't terribly effective.

Do I think all white people are racist? Of course not. But when I read countless stories like this in addition to my own personal experiences "white racist" is about as shocking to me as "corrupt politician".

 

[Trey]

Dude if you just gave it up then you would never have to explain yourself again.

Nope. If my dialect makes you uncomfortable, okay. I'm not going to change my language to suit others that don't share my perspective.

 

[Dyno]

Nope. If my dialect makes you uncomfortable, okay. I'm not going to change my language to suit others that don't share my perspective.

Your a man whose personal style is more important then personal relations. I get it.

 

[Shorty]

I'm guessing the word became some sort of meme that the girls used all the time, so the chant isn't surprising and is likely more of an inside joke than a rallying cry. Considering this, it's hard not to see these girls as extremely racist and ignorant.

that's probably it.

 

[MThanded]

I dont understand the point of this chant.

 

[IceCold]

Tim Wise's opinion on the use of the word : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MnmmDiQSdA

Although I do believe that the word has lost a lot of it's original meaning due to it's use in rap music and the media by black people, Time Wise brings a lot of good points here.

But yeah, those chicks are idiots. I don't why anyone, regardless of colour, would make a chant like that.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Do I think all white people are racist? Of course not. But when I read countless stories like this in addition to my own personal experiences "white racist" is about as shocking to me as "corrupt politician".

or "black criminal", I suppose

 

[Mammoth Jones]

People say messed up stuff all the time, even non-racist words can offend, even swearing in conversation can offend. None of it's ok depending on the person, but in the end if you're insulted by it and you allow words to affect your happiness, you need to grow up.

Yea, so if I walk up to you while you're in public with your mother and say disgusting and degrading things about her and you get mad that means you need to grow up?

Give me a break. Disrespectful words used in a disrespectful context are indeed.....disrespectful. Maybe the person saying it is the one that should be burdened with growing up.....

 

[neutralgamer02]

or "black criminal", I suppose

or "white criminal".

Seriously, wtf is going on in this thread.

 

[captmcblack]

I love threads like these, because people reveal themselves to be of a certain mindset in them.

Don't use these words. You know who you are if you shouldn't be using them. If you have to defend your right to use them, you shouldn't be using them. If you wouldn't feel safe/comfortable using them casually and out loud at and around the people they are associated with, you shouldn't be using them.

Why? Because you just can't. Get over it.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

Yea, so if I walk up to you while you're in public with your mother and say disgusting and degrading things about her and you get mad that means you need to grow up?

Give me a break. Disrespectful words used in a disrespectful context are indeed.....disrespectful. Maybe the person saying it is the one that should be burdened with growing up.....

If what is said ruins your day and you're in a bad mood the rest of the day? Then absolutely yes, you need to grow up. And of course the person saying it is in the wrong, but I'm not talking about them and already explained this.

 

[Teknoman]

Honestly i'll never understand when racists claim (especially about black people) that if they dont like certain words or things, then they can go back to their own country. Its not like most our ancestors came over voluntarily... and even then I doubt any one would even be able to automatically fit in overseas.

 

[LOCK]

They are cheerleaders guys...duh.

smh

 

[Mr. Patch]

The fact that the other girls kept doing it after their teammate asked them to stop shows a blatant lack of respect of their teammate.

 

[hsin]

What is the thought process behind this????

 

[Htown]

I love threads like these, because people reveal themselves to be of a certain mindset in them.

Don't use these words. You know who you are if you shouldn't be using them. If you have to defend your right to use them, you shouldn't be using them. If you wouldn't feel safe/comfortable using them casually and out loud at and around the people they are associated with, you shouldn't be using them.

Why? Because you just can't. Get over it.

Yep.

Also, I love that we've already reached the "majority telling minority not to be offended at slur" portion of the conversation.

 

[Henchmen21]

people let out their inner racist when they know they are hidden. If Gaf wasn't moderated so many people on here would be using the N-word.

Fact of the matter is the USA has a long history of racism and it wont go away anytime soon. Social segregation and inequality are the order of the day. Just look at unemployment numbers for Black americans and Hispanics vs whites....

If there were no mods, Gaf would just be a hardcore porn site with people posting outright clips all day long

 

[J-Rod]

This is stupid even for high schoolers. I guess just saying the word makes them wiggle with glee, because there is no rhyme or reason to the way they are using it.

 

[Slayven]

I love threads like these, because people reveal themselves to be of a certain mindset in them.

Don't use these words. You know who you are if you shouldn't be using them. If you have to defend your right to use them, you shouldn't be using them. If you wouldn't feel safe/comfortable using them casually and out loud at and around the people they are associated with, you shouldn't be using them.

Why? Because you just can't. Get over it.

You can pretty much set your watch to it.

 

[A Link to the Past]

That is a shite chant.



You have a really low opinion of 'gaffers' if you think the average member is just chomping at the bit to post pointless slurs out of context.

Well, I think a lot of people are well within their right to have a low opinion for a decent percentage of gaffers.

 

[Orayn]

Yep.

Also, I love that we've already reached the "majority telling minority not to be offended at slur" portion of the conversation.

That is the even horizon, and the portion of posts per page that say "IT'S JUST A WORD, GET OVER IT LOLOLOLOL" is the Schwarzchild radius.

 

[suzu]

Yeah, that girl should have just have let this slide and got over it. They're just words man.