Dark Octave
Banned
Yeah, probably one of those things that will grow on you and sound natural after a while.Cyan said:
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Why do you think calling someone "retarded" is alright but "faggot" gets you banned?
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YellowBird
Member
It's because retarded people don't defend themselves or take offense because they don't care or are aware of the offense.
CultureClearance
Banned
The strange thing to me about the whole "retard" issue is that it's never the person with the disability being offended. Most of them find the word funny. I never quite understood the concept of being offended for someone else.
Also, all derogatory words are the same to me. Moron is Stupid is Retard is Dumb in sentences like "Wow, that guy is being a _____." They all mean the same thing in the sentence you use it in. Again, gay, fruity, feminine, girly, pansy, etc all mean the same thing when used in a particular sentence like "Don't be _____, John". These are mean words of course but if you become offended by them, it should be personal as they are used as personal attacks. They are not dissing mentally retarded people by associating people that aren't actually retarded with retarded people. It's the other way around! You're dissing John and not the adjective. They are not categorizing you, either. They're just words that have a connotation and they know that you don't want to be taken in that connotation because technically you're not; therefore, you take it as an insult as intended.
Some suburban Muslim people don't want to be called Jewish or associate with urban culture.
Some urban Jewish people don't want to be called Muslim or associate with suburban culture.
Which one is the bad word? Jew or Muslim? Urban or Suburban? The answer is neither. It's all about connotation. You are in Category A and you don't want to be associated with Category B. So, when you are you feel misrepresented and uncomfortable.
Generally, these type of "disses" are in good humor. It's when there is no humor that the diss becomes something more -
When you start using words like "retard" or "Jew" in a collective way, that's when people should start being offended as a people because that's exactly how its being used. It's not a personal diss thing anymore. It's about attacking the group that John is in. Examples would be sentences like " _____s are sinners" or "Or great, more _____s in my neighborhood." These offend and belittle a group. It has nothing to do with connotation and everything to do with hate towards of a kind of person. It's not about John anymore, it's about people that are mentally disabled and how they are bad in some way.
Also, all derogatory words are the same to me. Moron is Stupid is Retard is Dumb in sentences like "Wow, that guy is being a _____." They all mean the same thing in the sentence you use it in. Again, gay, fruity, feminine, girly, pansy, etc all mean the same thing when used in a particular sentence like "Don't be _____, John". These are mean words of course but if you become offended by them, it should be personal as they are used as personal attacks. They are not dissing mentally retarded people by associating people that aren't actually retarded with retarded people. It's the other way around! You're dissing John and not the adjective. They are not categorizing you, either. They're just words that have a connotation and they know that you don't want to be taken in that connotation because technically you're not; therefore, you take it as an insult as intended.
Some suburban Muslim people don't want to be called Jewish or associate with urban culture.
Some urban Jewish people don't want to be called Muslim or associate with suburban culture.
Which one is the bad word? Jew or Muslim? Urban or Suburban? The answer is neither. It's all about connotation. You are in Category A and you don't want to be associated with Category B. So, when you are you feel misrepresented and uncomfortable.
Generally, these type of "disses" are in good humor. It's when there is no humor that the diss becomes something more -
When you start using words like "retard" or "Jew" in a collective way, that's when people should start being offended as a people because that's exactly how its being used. It's not a personal diss thing anymore. It's about attacking the group that John is in. Examples would be sentences like " _____s are sinners" or "Or great, more _____s in my neighborhood." These offend and belittle a group. It has nothing to do with connotation and everything to do with hate towards of a kind of person. It's not about John anymore, it's about people that are mentally disabled and how they are bad in some way.
TurboLibre
Member
Chumly said:
Because idiot, stupid, dumb, and moron are all "offensive". They're not used to discribe the developmently disabled anymore because they realized it's demoralizing. They still occasionally refer to mental disabilities as "mental retardation" though according to wikipdeia:
So the words that were considered offensive developed common uses, while the word that is still used should be blacklisted? It's confusing. Some posters above said it's because it still has it's ties to the disability, it's more offensive then the others. I would say that if it was no longer a medical term and it was continued to be used, it would eventually loose that tie and adopt it's new meaning. Yes, it's origins have bad intentions, but so do the other words (and many others).
Words are only as strong as you make them. The people trying to ban these words are making them even stronger when they are used. It's like when you were a young child and discovered curse words, they were this terrible thing you shouldn't say, and when you grew up and people stopped caring when you used them, they lost all their power.
dammitmattt
Banned
I can confirm that "the kids" are still using the word "faggot" as a general insult, kind of like my generation did 15-20 years ago when we didn't know any better. I've got a 15-year-old sister-in-law who I've TRIED to convince not to say that shit, but it's hard when ALL of her friends are saying it, too, and they really don't see anything wrong with it.
It's really weird because I thought the generation coming up would be more tolerant of homosexuality than the rest because it's so much more out in the open than ever, but it looks like people aren't really changing their views that quickly.
It's really weird because I thought the generation coming up would be more tolerant of homosexuality than the rest because it's so much more out in the open than ever, but it looks like people aren't really changing their views that quickly.
TurboLibre
Member
dammitmattt said:
People using that word in the context of a general curse word are not necessarily homophobic. If they're using it in hatred or are directing it towards homosexuals, then they most likely are.
dammitmattt
Banned
Tkawsome said:
This day and age, you know what you're saying. And they don't use it in a "tongue in cheek" way like a lot of people (both homosexual and not) do.
Like I said, 15-20 years ago, we had no clue. The kids these days are much more educated.
dammitmattt
Banned
levious said:
Speak for yourself. I and everyone I knew was completely ignorant.
TurboLibre
Member
dammitmattt said:
15-20 years ago you knew what that word meant too, and it was less likely to have the same meaning it does today. It's not a good thing for them to say, but saying it as a general curse word does not mean they hate gay people. The word homophobic is thrown around way too much.
dammitmattt
Banned
levious said:
I'm thinking back to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. 20+ years ago for me when I vividly remember EVERYONE throwing the term around as a general insult. I can't remember when I learned about homosexuality, but I definitely never, ever remember thinking that the word "faggot" was anything but a general insult when I was that young.
And people, quit fucking telling me what I knew and didn't know. This isn't about me. The whole point was about TODAY'S YOUTH.
dammitmattt said:
that's a bit too much anger if it's directed at me... anyway, I won't speak for you, but I don't think you can speak for all of your friends either, unless you've discussed this now as adults. I certainly knew what homosexuality was at that age, certainly by 5th grade, I really don't think that was unusual either.
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