dave partington
Crazy Dave
Oh. It's my knickers. I thought it was something else down there. ;D
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Whats the deal!
- Thread starter Carinata
- Start date
Oh. It's my knickers. I thought it was something else down there. ;D
ArpeggioAngel
Around Here Somewhere....
What really kills me is if people get this upset over online forum conversations - what do you do in real life when someone says something that offends you? A bad word, or a slang term that you don't like? Do you beat them down in public? Yell and scream at them? I highly doubt it. So then why is it acceptable to do that online but not in public?
Why is everyone so easily offended these days anyways? Why can't we all just go about our lives in peace instead of making mountains out of molehills all the time?
Why is everyone so easily offended these days anyways? Why can't we all just go about our lives in peace instead of making mountains out of molehills all the time?
Ricky87
New member
Don't worry about it, I'm bored so I'll rep him for you...
snakewispera snr
The Devils Advocate
Actually I do...... Comes from being a welder I think....Or Welsh....
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
I can only answer this question from my perspective, but if someone offends me in real life I'll speak up. I don't go looking for conflicts in life, but I don't do suffering in silence very well.
It may make my life 'harder' in some ways than it could be, but meekly accepting bad behaviour from other people just isn't my style.
jazzgeek
The Rule Of Thirds.
Ricky, don't rep me, rep THIS. I can't.
(Uh-oh. Am I going to offend the sensibilities of the whiny female canines who took umbrage to the abuses of the rep system a few months ago? I don't care.)
Dale
Drizzt80
Dakota Corns
You want my thoughts on that? Tough, you're going to get them anyway.
Noone has to work to survive anymore. Notice I used the word survive. Not live, not pay bills, not get through life. Survive. My grandparents worked to survive. They farmed. They lived from the land. Milk at the supper table came from the cows in the barn. Eggs at breakfast were collected at 4:00 am. I grew up with that background. Life today is too easy. Waaaaay too easy. And now I officially feel like I'm getting old.
D80
tricksterpup
I has nuttin to Say.
You want my thoughts on that? Tough, you're going to get them anyway.
Noone has to work to survive anymore. Notice I used the word survive. Not live, not pay bills, not get through life. Survive. My grandparents worked to survive. They farmed. They lived from the land. Milk at the supper table came from the cows in the barn. Eggs at breakfast were collected at 4:00 am. I grew up with that background. Life today is too easy. Waaaaay too easy. And now I officially feel like I'm getting old.
D80
Hush now and go milk a bull, i mean cow.
ArpeggioAngel
Around Here Somewhere....
You want my thoughts on that? Tough, you're going to get them anyway.
Noone has to work to survive anymore. Notice I used the word survive. Not live, not pay bills, not get through life. Survive. My grandparents worked to survive. They farmed. They lived from the land. Milk at the supper table came from the cows in the barn. Eggs at breakfast were collected at 4:00 am. I grew up with that background. Life today is too easy. Waaaaay too easy. And now I officially feel like I'm getting old.
D80
That is a good point Brent. I guess once life got easy, people needed to find something else to keep them occupied so nitpicking every little thing became the new habit.
You can't say ANYTHING these days without offending someone and it just irks me to no end. Everything has to be so PC... I do understand that some words have less than desirable connotations, but they are afterall just words....
Like my momma always said "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"
J9 - very admirable. I am not saying that if someone says something that does offend you that you should just hang your head and walk away - but the "aggression" that comes out on a forum - I just can't see most people acting like that in public. Normally a sharp word or rebuttal is enough - not like the drawn out, antagonizing attacks that we more often see online.
tricksterpup
I has nuttin to Say.
If people really want to get offended, here they go.
glenhead
Elder curmudgeon
From 52 hours ago:
DYK this thread is less than a week old?
I drafted a pontifical response to David's question that evening. Now that someone else has broached the subject, I'll post it for your amusement (or perhaps an opening, should you choose to exercise that option).
NOTE: This is NOT pointed at anyone. NOT. Period. It is simply my analysis of the state of human nature.
[Begin pontification]
David, it appears we can't agree to disagree. We're human beings in a society that values freedom of expression. That freedom brings along with it the tiresomeness we see scattered throughout this thread.
This is an international forum with a lot of people who will never meet in person. That gives some participants the ability to say things in print that they would never say to someone's face. In such a setting, some people will parse and tease out juicy tidbits and wax indignant about them. In any group of humans, there are always going to be those on the prowl for something they consider offensive, those who consider it their duty to rail about any perceived offense, those unwilling to look at an issue from another viewpoint or consider another's upbringing or circumstance. Especially when cocooned in relative anonymity, some feel it is their responsibility to attempt to coerce others to adhere to their version of "correct". If the perceived miscreant refuses to adhere to said version of "correct", said miscreant is castigated and berated. In past times, many of these perceived miscreants were viewed as heathens or heretics; entire civilizations have been eradicated from the face of the planet for refusing to adhere to someone's version of "correct".
An online forum like this also demonstrates one of the major pitfalls of the written word. Phosphor or LCD or plasma traces on a screen (or any other form of textual communication) have no voice, intonation, or inflection. Something that someone sees as an eloquently phrased play on words, devoid of verbal clues, can easily get misinterpreted, especially if it is somewhat obscure or abstruse. Once misinterpreted, such a phrase can be dissected and picked apart, and what they intended to be jocular or subtle suddenly gets turned around to be nasty.
There are also some who refuse to see that there is almost no such thing as "black-and-white" in human endeavors, there are only varying shades of gray. From my experience, there is no purity, there is no absolute right or wrong, there is only muddle. When humans attempt to portray concepts in pure terms, things rarely go well. This thread illustrates that point. As a further exercise, go do a search in these forums about cohabitation, or live feeding versus frozen/thawed, or temperature control, or quarantine, or wild-caught critters. What might be proposed as recommendations are regularly stated as absolutes, and I have yet to see much willingness to consider any exigent circumstances. Unfortunately, these pseudo-absolutes are frequently presented in scathing terms; what might have been an opportunity to enlighten or educate is instead used as another chance to anonymously berate and scold.
As a final point, as illustrated with the timestamps on many of the posts in this thread, in too many cases very little time is taken to think about what has been said. There have been many, many snap responses that were perhaps more heated than they might otherwise have been. There are some real disadvantages to instantaneous pseudonymous communication. Combine that with the fact that courteous discourse appears to have become practically extinct, and it makes it quite easy to become disillusioned with humanity in general.
So no, we apparently cannot agree to disagree. Sad, isn't it?
[End pontification]
DYK this thread is less than a week old?
I drafted a pontifical response to David's question that evening. Now that someone else has broached the subject, I'll post it for your amusement (or perhaps an opening, should you choose to exercise that option).
NOTE: This is NOT pointed at anyone. NOT. Period. It is simply my analysis of the state of human nature.
[Begin pontification]
David, it appears we can't agree to disagree. We're human beings in a society that values freedom of expression. That freedom brings along with it the tiresomeness we see scattered throughout this thread.
This is an international forum with a lot of people who will never meet in person. That gives some participants the ability to say things in print that they would never say to someone's face. In such a setting, some people will parse and tease out juicy tidbits and wax indignant about them. In any group of humans, there are always going to be those on the prowl for something they consider offensive, those who consider it their duty to rail about any perceived offense, those unwilling to look at an issue from another viewpoint or consider another's upbringing or circumstance. Especially when cocooned in relative anonymity, some feel it is their responsibility to attempt to coerce others to adhere to their version of "correct". If the perceived miscreant refuses to adhere to said version of "correct", said miscreant is castigated and berated. In past times, many of these perceived miscreants were viewed as heathens or heretics; entire civilizations have been eradicated from the face of the planet for refusing to adhere to someone's version of "correct".
An online forum like this also demonstrates one of the major pitfalls of the written word. Phosphor or LCD or plasma traces on a screen (or any other form of textual communication) have no voice, intonation, or inflection. Something that someone sees as an eloquently phrased play on words, devoid of verbal clues, can easily get misinterpreted, especially if it is somewhat obscure or abstruse. Once misinterpreted, such a phrase can be dissected and picked apart, and what they intended to be jocular or subtle suddenly gets turned around to be nasty.
There are also some who refuse to see that there is almost no such thing as "black-and-white" in human endeavors, there are only varying shades of gray. From my experience, there is no purity, there is no absolute right or wrong, there is only muddle. When humans attempt to portray concepts in pure terms, things rarely go well. This thread illustrates that point. As a further exercise, go do a search in these forums about cohabitation, or live feeding versus frozen/thawed, or temperature control, or quarantine, or wild-caught critters. What might be proposed as recommendations are regularly stated as absolutes, and I have yet to see much willingness to consider any exigent circumstances. Unfortunately, these pseudo-absolutes are frequently presented in scathing terms; what might have been an opportunity to enlighten or educate is instead used as another chance to anonymously berate and scold.
As a final point, as illustrated with the timestamps on many of the posts in this thread, in too many cases very little time is taken to think about what has been said. There have been many, many snap responses that were perhaps more heated than they might otherwise have been. There are some real disadvantages to instantaneous pseudonymous communication. Combine that with the fact that courteous discourse appears to have become practically extinct, and it makes it quite easy to become disillusioned with humanity in general.
So no, we apparently cannot agree to disagree. Sad, isn't it?
[End pontification]
Ricky87
New member
If anybody made those comments in public I would do the same exact thing, though. How can anybody just ignore stuff like that?. This is a site I like to visit frequently and I don't like to think one of the mods of the site carries those views publicly. I think the word "offended" has become so Taboo in the last 50 pages, that it totally misinterprets the reaction. I was bothered that Susan would say that in a public forum, only to reiterate the same statement a few times after even though there may be people viewing who are upset by those comments.
As a mod, like it or not, Susan is held as someone who directly reflects the site. I don't make the rules, Rich does, but this is definitely an unwritten one. I don't mind if a mod is just being themselves, as long as it doesn't include being discriminant. Will I continue using this site even if Susan is a mod?, yes. Despite contrary belief, Barack Obama was voted in on majority vote (by quite a large margin I might add), and so odds are a lot of the visitors on this site would prefer she didn't say statements so extreme about our President..
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Katie I don't agree that 'just words' cannot cause harm. Words can excuse or rationalise subsequent actions, and be used to make bad behaviour appear reasonable.
As human beings we all have our blind spots and prejudices, as members of society we can all work with and against our limitations.
As human beings we all have our blind spots and prejudices, as members of society we can all work with and against our limitations.
snakewispera snr
The Devils Advocate
It seems to me we have a couple of people on here offended by some posts, there are others who are not offended by the posts but are offended that the offended are offended. Then we have the peace makers that are offended that we are all arguing over whether people should be offended or not....
I'm in neither of these camps and am offended that anyone would think so.....
I'm in neither of these camps and am offended that anyone would think so.....
Nova_C
New member
snakewispera snr
The Devils Advocate
I have to offend at least once a day:nyah:That was pretty offensive, Snakewispera.
jazzgeek
The Rule Of Thirds.
This is why I find the "I hate everyone; everyone hates me" approach the most efficient way to go.
Dale
mike17l
Self-Admitted Duckoholic
I knew that a fag was a cigarette, and that a faggot was a bundle of sticks. I did not know that a faggot was also a food.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2698507.stm
Interesting, especially in the context of "lynching" and word meanings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2698507.stm
Interesting, especially in the context of "lynching" and word meanings.