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[DJ]

I think there's a world of difference between taking offence when somebody uses bigoted language when talking directly to you and when talking to somebody else within your earshot.

Also, I think making words taboo just gives them more power, hijacking their meaning is where it's really at.

[G-Flex]

Personally, I'm torn between not causing offence, which is undeniably right, and making words not offensive, which is also a good thing.

When it comes to reappropriation of words about a given group, isn't it fair to let the actual group do it? That seems most appropriate, and also seems to work best.

I think there's a world of difference between taking offence when somebody uses bigoted language when talking directly to you and when talking to somebody else within your earshot.

In this case, it wasn't really either. These are forum threads, for group discussion. Things aren't done in terms of strict one-to-one communication.

[Tellemurius]

OK CAN WE GET ON TO MORE IMPORTANT THINGS THAN POLITICAL CORRECTNESS?
How about the EU economic crisis or how Santorum somehow just shot up in the polls.

[GlyphGryph]

The EU thing is just depressing to talk about, and the Santorum Surge is covered by the election thread.

[Bauglir]

Yeah but the former isn't really progressivism is it? Economics and politics, to be sure, but that's a different thing. Unless I'm missing part of the discussion. And we have an election thread

Why am I doing this I actually agree that the whole thing has blown up to a ridiculous degree

EDIT: Ninja'd

[DJ]

In this case, it wasn't really either. These are forum threads, for group discussion. Things aren't done in terms of strict one-to-one communication.

Cutting off previous line of conversation to pounce at one specific word that was used is bad netiquette, IMO. And we get that ALL the time here with political correctness discussions. Though to be fair this *is* Vector's thread, so meh, you win this one, Batman.

[Tellemurius]

Yeah but the former isn't really progressivism is it? Economics and politics, to be sure, but that's a different thing. Unless I'm missing part of the discussion. And we have an election thread

Why am I doing this I actually agree that the whole thing has blown up to a ridiculous degree

EDIT: Ninja'd

I dunno im throwing any topic right now to rerail it, how about scientists are considering throwing everything we know about diets and restart from scratch?

[RedKing]

I'd argue that the EU economic thing is very much a topic for progressivism. Because it's being handled in a way that seems to invoke the North-South power divide. Almost all the troubled countries are the southern, Mediterranean ones, and it's the northern countries (particularly Germany) that hold the balance of power in the situation and are demanding repeated and increasingly harsh austerity measures, and even going so far as to establish an escrow account for the Greek government "to ensure that the primary use of the money is to pay creditors before paying the Greek government".

There's also the fact that if you think about it....Greece is being used as a funnel to move money from EU citizens to EU banks. Banks are the primary creditors of Greece, and the citizenry of the EU are ultimately the ones footing the bill. The Greeks aren't benefitting at all.

[Tellemurius]

So basically the greeks are a pawn in a grand scheme to make EU citizens broke?

[G-Flex]

In this case, it wasn't really either. These are forum threads, for group discussion. Things aren't done in terms of strict one-to-one communication.

Cutting off previous line of conversation to pounce at one specific word that was used is bad netiquette, IMO. And we get that ALL the time here with political correctness discussions. Though to be fair this *is* Vector's thread, so meh, you win this one, Batman.

Sometimes one specific word can be important enough to make note of. Also, it was Max's idea to move it to this thread in the first place.


For what it's worth, I've spoken to one Australian so far in order to ask them if the word "gypsy" has connotations regarding the ethnicity there. They specifically said: "well I guess in some ignorant shithole it could have no relation at all to the ethnicity but not everywhere". I was just curious, so... yeah. The notion that it has no relation to the ethnic group in Australia is pretty much bunk, apparently, at least for Australia as a whole.

[GlyphGryph]

tists are considering throwing everything we know about diets and restart from scratch?

Since a great many of them know far less than they think they do, this would mostly be a step up. Seriously, though, science. Scientists. So many of them are so terrible, makes me rage all the time, reading studies and the YOUR CONCLUSIONS ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY YOUR EXPERIMENTS.

When they even bother.

[Vector]

I live in an area with a very, very high Asian population, and there's a perfectly usable other word.  Sterilizing language of virulent racial slurs... ?  Yeah, I'm gonna do that.

As far as pretentiousness goes, yeah, I'm a rhetorical showoff--but the thing I think people don't realize is that I make myself far more miserable with this than I've ever tried to make anyone else.  My standards for others are high, my standards for myself are high, and I spend very little time patting myself on the back and a whole lot of time trying to figure out how to be good.  The only thing I even criticize others for (honestly, as opposed to random stupidity-rage outgassed into the net) is hurting other people...

Oh, and yes, the current argument was not an argument I picked.  It's an argument I'm trying to end, because I saw it taking up so many pages in here.

Santorum somehow just shot up in the polls.

Maybe because he now also wants to ban prenatal testing for birth defects.  Hurray.


Women and water.

This is important.  Give 'er a read.  It'll only take a minute.

[Frumple]

Huh. Any idea what the cost projections are for even semi-modernizing (Like, I'unno, aqueducts!) water transportation and sanitation in the areas in question?

I'm thinking... maybe next year, no superbowl, and we just go and build them. Let it be American Sport Fan's Great Charity Act of the New Millennium.

[MadocComadrin]

I'm thinking... maybe forever, no superbowl, and we just go and build them. Let it be American Sport Fan's Great Charity Act of the New Millennium.

Fixed.

[kaenneth]

I'm moderately annoyed at the use of the racist stereotype word 'Vandal' to describe property damage.

Sadly, it's even used in the text of laws, news reports, etc.