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Post by samachine on Apr 24, 2008 16:47:42 GMT -5
It's the internet, that's part of the appeal, I don't have to be PC on the internet, PC has ruined relations with other cultures.
I don't make a topic saying 'hey could you guys stop saying hicks/rednecks' because I'm from the south.
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Post by The Wraith on Apr 24, 2008 16:51:55 GMT -5
How manny years did it take for the word RACIST COMMENT BY POST to be stopped in normal conversation? the fact that it's filtered here should tell you the answer It hasn't stopped being used in normal conversation.
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Post by MiLo Duck on Apr 24, 2008 16:53:09 GMT -5
Context means nothing if you don't use it. Don't preach at me telling me what I mean by what I say when I say it. You got a problem with certain words? Don't use them. I'll go ahead and know what I mean when I talk. You go ahead and tell me I'm a bigot. there ya go. getting upset and going on the defensive. that's the first sign that you know your doing something wrong. we can mature about this an have a discussion or we can get all pissed off and try to say I'm to sensitive. what ever fits your bill is fine with me. I prefer to be mature and talk about things without get upset. plus. But I will sort of agree with you about context. Saying something is retarded. Altho I don't like it. I understand that's it doesn't really mean anything. But to say somebody is retarded when ever they do something stupid is another. I don't like to be called stupid just because I wasn't born typical. and by calling things that are stupid retarded. that's exactly what you are doing. You compared my day to day slang with racial slurs. The offense was yours, the defense was mine. You keep on "translateing" the meaning of these words when people like me use them. You even ended with telling me/us "that is exactly what you are doing". I tend to take offense when people transpose meaning to my words. I will simply restate that I have faith in you and others to use the context of my words to understand my meaning. What really gets my goat about all of this is how elitist this kind of thing always is. A lot of people grew up using these words in different ways than you did apparently. I don't like it when people try to impose there social norms and customs on another group in the name of what is "proper". To me its like me ragging on an English person for saying they are going to smoke a fag. Just cause in the states that implies beating up a homosexual, for them it is more likelly to mean smoking a cigarette.
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Post by Throwback on Apr 24, 2008 16:53:52 GMT -5
It's the internet, that's part of the appeal, I don't have to be PC on the internet, PC has ruined relations with other cultures. I don't make a topic saying 'hey could you guys stop saying hicks/rednecks' because I'm from the south. not the same thing dude. Saying hick doesn't mean you are from the south. not that I would call anybody a hick. but honestlly what you just said is a great addition to the thread. Yes people feel they don't need to be P.C on the net. But then they turn off the computer go outside and continue that type of language. Instead of making sure you don't say things and tell jokes around the people that you (I say you as a generalisation of everyone) are making fun of. why not teach yourself not to say those things at all? I just want people to feel comfortable with who they are and not be made fun of for things they can't help. Is that so wrong?
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Post by Kash Flagg on Apr 24, 2008 16:54:11 GMT -5
I don't have to be PC on the internet, Off topic, but this line made me laugh hard..."PC". Get it? Yer a funny hick.
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Post by Throwback on Apr 24, 2008 16:57:18 GMT -5
You even ended with telling me/us "that is exactly what you are doing". I tend to take offense when people transpose meaning to my words. . sorry you misunderstood. I meant you as in a generalisation of the people who do so. and even though you may not mean harm. that is what you are doing. Using the word retard as a replacement for stupid. is pretty much saying that all "retarded" people are stupid.
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bigHEADinc
El Dandy
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lest we forget...
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Post by bigHEADinc on Apr 24, 2008 16:57:22 GMT -5
well it's obvious people would rather defend what is wrong then leave the thread alone and not post at all. what ever floats your boat. I'm just asking you nicely to please think of other people when you post. The same way that if was saying something that hurt other people I would expect them to ask me to stop. I'm sorry I believe we should treat humanity with respect instead of helping the earth down the cesspool. I know this is just one little forum. But did I hurt anybody by polietly asking them to stop? No I didn't. Sorry, was trying to lighten the mood a little bit... The thing is, with a bunch of these terms that may offend, is that EVERYTHING OFFENDS SOMEBODY. If I drive a Hummer, I offend tree huggers. If I smoke a cigarette, I offend a person who's mother had lung cancer and subsequently died from it (True story). If I buy a diamond, well I better damn be sure it's not a blood diamond or else I'm gonna get my head chewed off. Obviously, your situation is a lot different from those three mentioned but it's that, to really be offended by something you would need a frame of reference that would make sure that you, personally, did not do those things anymore. You work with "special needs" children, so the word retard offends you. A lot of people don't have the frame of reference to make it a bad word in their minds. Just like Randall in Clerks 2 thinking that Porch Monkey was not a racial slur, he just never had that frame of reference. Being of Middle Eastern descent, I've personally had to deal with the fact that, pretty much since I can remember but more specifically since 9/11, it has become perfectly acceptable to say absolutely anything you want about anybody from the Middle East without fearing any sort of retribution like you would from, say, the N word. In my case I dealt with it and learned to have things roll off my back without thinking about it because usually it's either not intended to offend or said by ignorant people.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Apr 24, 2008 17:01:01 GMT -5
Or perhaps people should stop changing words, trying to attach dignity to them. Special needs is a bullcrap term, really we all have special needs. So the term "special needs" or "differently abled" or about a dozen others have no meaning. The word retard describes exactly the conidtion of that person, they have a mental retardation. There's no shame in it whatsoever. Instead, others come along and attach shame to it for the mentally retarded. It's not just that, there's tons and tons of other examples. Best post in the thread. The words retard, retards, and retarded are all verbs, adverbs, nouns, and adjectives in their true forms. Retard means to hinder, prevent, or slow down. For example, "The cow sitting in the road retarded Kevin's trip." Now there you go, the word retarded used as it was originally meant, and no harm came from it. Mental retardation is a hindrance of one's mental capabilities. Thusly, calling anyone a retard for doing something stupid is a viable way of describing their actions at the time, as they were enacted under a period of mental hindrance. The truth is, out of all the words that have been perverted from their original meanings, the word retard is one of the few still used with the original meaning in the implication. However, I'm taking neither side in this thread's overall discussion on whether or not it is a good thing to say it in public with frequency or even at all. I'm neither enemy nor friend to either side. I just came in here to state the facts, and the fact is even if you don't like it, no one has been using the words retard, retarded, or retards(both noun and verb form) with a different meaning from its original inception. Unlike several other "slurs" I personally don't see it as a slur, as slurs are meant to be hurtful at all times they are stated, while the word retard is used mostly as a classification of a hindrance of any kind, and thus is not hurtful at all. And with that, I am done, I'll keep an occasional eye on this thread, but I won't post again here so any rebuttals and debates that stem from my post I will not partake in, good day gentlemen and women.
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Post by MiLo Duck on Apr 24, 2008 17:01:59 GMT -5
It's the internet, that's part of the appeal, I don't have to be PC on the internet, PC has ruined relations with other cultures. I don't make a topic saying 'hey could you guys stop saying hicks/rednecks' because I'm from the south. not the same thing dude. Saying hick doesn't mean you are from the south. not that I would call anybody a hick. but honestlly what you just said is a great addition to the thread. Yes people feel they don't need to be P.C on the net. But then they turn off the computer go outside and continue that type of language. Instead of making sure you don't say things and tell jokes around the people that you (I say you as a generalisation of everyone) are making fun of. why not teach yourself not to say those things at all? I just want people to feel comfortable with who they are and not be made fun of for things they can't help. Is that so wrong? Yeah, but did you consider that we may already use tact? My cousin is mentally handicapped and several of my friends work with the disabled. There is a world of difference between people using their blue collar slang to talk to one another and how one speaks when in specific situations. That is not knowing its wrong and doing it anyways behind closed doors. Its being sensitive to a particular situation. I don't talk about my religious beliefs around some people because I know it would be counterproductive. That doesn't mean because I don't feel free to say everything I think that the things I hold back are wrong.
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Tim
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Tim on Apr 24, 2008 17:02:13 GMT -5
It's cool, I'm taking it back... <3
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Jake, The Jake, Jake
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Post by Jake, The Jake, Jake on Apr 24, 2008 17:06:42 GMT -5
In my opinion, the word is never really used (at least not by me) as an insult. People don't use it in any way to be hurtful. If I ever call someone a retard it is not because they are in any way mentally handicapped; I use it to refer to people who have shown a complete lack of intelligence that it seems that their brain is not functioning to it's highest potential. I would never say to a retarded person "Shut up, retard!" or anything like that, I would only say something like that to a person who had just done something incredibly unintelligent.
It's like the word "gay". I never use gay to refer to anything or anyone that is actually gay. To me, gay refers to anything that sucks (if you'll pardon the pun). I know gay people, my mom is gay, and I still don't think of actual gay people whenever I describe something as gay. The way I see it, if a word is not used in any derogetory way, than it is not an offensive word.
If you don't agree with my philosophy, than I'm sorry but I'm not going to change my vocabulary.
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Post by Captain Wonderful on Apr 24, 2008 17:06:49 GMT -5
This thread is mentally challenged.
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Post by Throwback on Apr 24, 2008 17:08:44 GMT -5
go into an Autistic camp and say the word retard. chances of you leaving in the same state you walked in as is a very small possibility. It may be a proper english term but over time people have switched over to mean something hurtfull. maybe you guys don't see it that way. But I've seen children turned to tears and depression Ive even seen kids commit suicide because somebody at school kept calling them retard. I'm not asking you guys to understand what I'm saying. I'm just asking you guys to sympothsise and if I got one person to widen their horizon with this thread and see that it's not just a word. then I consider that a good thing
I know I'll never be able to make it stop because well some people just don't get it. But maybe through out time it may become a word like Midget or Skwa and people will stop using it so freely.
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Tim
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Post by Tim on Apr 24, 2008 17:10:36 GMT -5
But maybe through out time it may become a word like Midget or Skwa and people will stop using it so freely. People still use the word midget all the time... And what the hell exactly IS a skwa, anyway?
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Post by Captain Wonderful on Apr 24, 2008 17:10:58 GMT -5
go into an Autistic camp and say the word retard. chances of you leaving in the same state you walked in as is a very small possibility. It may be a proper english term but over time people have switched over to mean something hurtfull. maybe you guys don't see it that way. But I've seen children turned to tears and depression Ive even seen kids commit suicide because somebody at school kept calling them retard. I'm not asking you guys to understand what I'm saying. I'm just asking you guys to sympothsise and if I got one person to widen their horizon with this thread and see that it's not just a word. then I consider that a good thing I know I'll never be able to make it stop because well some people just don't get it. But maybe through out time it may become a word like Midget or Skwa and people will stop using it so freely. Well, the fact that you said "can we lay off the retard talk" to get your point across automatically makes said point null and void. Holier-than-thou much?
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Apr 24, 2008 17:11:09 GMT -5
go into an Autistic camp and say the word retard. chances of you leaving in the same state you walked in as is a very small possibility. It may be a proper english term but over time people have switched over to mean something hurtfull. maybe you guys don't see it that way. But I've seen children turned to tears and depression Ive even seen kids commit suicide because somebody at school kept calling them retard. I'm not asking you guys to understand what I'm saying. I'm just asking you guys to sympothsise and if I got one person to widen their horizon with this thread and see that it's not just a word. then I consider that a good thing I know I'll never be able to make it stop because well some people just don't get it. But maybe through out time it may become a word like Midget or Skwa and people will stop using it so freely. Ok, I sort of lied in my last post, but I have to put this out there, midget is still used just as much as ever.
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Post by Throwback on Apr 24, 2008 17:13:02 GMT -5
go into an Autistic camp and say the word retard. chances of you leaving in the same state you walked in as is a very small possibility. It may be a proper english term but over time people have switched over to mean something hurtfull. maybe you guys don't see it that way. But I've seen children turned to tears and depression Ive even seen kids commit suicide because somebody at school kept calling them retard. I'm not asking you guys to understand what I'm saying. I'm just asking you guys to sympothsise and if I got one person to widen their horizon with this thread and see that it's not just a word. then I consider that a good thing I know I'll never be able to make it stop because well some people just don't get it. But maybe through out time it may become a word like Midget or Skwa and people will stop using it so freely. Ok, I sort of lied in my last post, but I have to put this out there, midget is still used just as much as ever. really. I haven't heard in years outside of wrestling. I've heard it as dwarf or "little person"
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Jake, The Jake, Jake
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Post by Jake, The Jake, Jake on Apr 24, 2008 17:13:02 GMT -5
I honestly never realized midget was an offensive term. really. I haven't heard in years outside of wrestling. I've heard it as dwarf or "little person" And I think "little person" is the dumbest phrase ever.
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Post by T.J. "the Crippler" Stevens on Apr 24, 2008 17:13:35 GMT -5
I understand why the word could be offensive. But I admit, I use it myself. The thing is, I'm never thinking of a mentally challenged person when I say it. In my mind, the term has shifted away from the pejorative word that it used to be to describe a person. In fact, I never use it to describe a person (as in "That guy's retarded." or "Vince is so retarded.") I just don't use it that way.
I always use it when describing an idea or a something that was done that I don't like (as in "They had Jericho job to Funaki? That's just retarded." or "They're remaking 'Star Wars'? That's retarded.") I don't mean, "that's a mentally challeneged person."
To "retard" something is to do it wrong. And something that is "retarded" is just another word for stupid. Not because the word once described people with disabilities, but because that's just what the word means now. I don't know if that makes any sense. But, I tried.
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Post by The Wraith on Apr 24, 2008 17:14:26 GMT -5
I honestly never realized midget was an offensive term. It's only recently become offensive in the "I'M OFFENDED BY THIS WORD" wave of the 2000's.
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