Boycott Bee!

[Akka]

But seriously, what's with the US horror reactions toward vulgar words ?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I just find it endlessly funny that you're all more squeamish about the word than, like, my wife

And of course there are no words that are completely innocent slang to North Americans but they make Australians uncomfortable, right?

There were some interesting stories about some backstage conversations on the set of Xena: Warrior Princess, between the American cast/crew and the Australian cast/crew. Words that are not a big deal to North Americans had the Australian actors turning bright red with embarrassment.

 

[Traitorfish]

Any specific swear word
will change in intensity over time, because a swear word is more than just a word, it is an expression of vulgarity or hatred or disgust or anger. For this reason, we always need curse words, and we always need words that are worse than normal curse words.

For sure, but the overwhelming trend in the English-speaking world has been for traditional taboo words- blasphemous or vulgar- to lessen in weight over the twentieth century, and for group-slurs to become more taboo. The "c-word" seems to be the exception, and perhaps a handful of closely-related word, and only really in North America. The argument that it represents a slur is tenuous- as I've said, it only carries that weight in certain contexts- but it's apparently just slur-adjacent enough that cultures more readily given to language-policing are prepared to move from the old to the new prohibition without missing a beat.

In cultures where the "c-word" has followed the usual patterns, where it's regarded as vulgar not intrinsically offensive, all this tugging at pearls and popping of monocles seems a little ridiculous.

 

[Arwon]

And of course there are no words that are completely innocent slang to North Americans but they make Australians uncomfortable, right?

There were some interesting stories about some backstage conversations on the set of Xena: Warrior Princess, between the American cast/crew and the Australian cast/crew. Words that are not a big deal to North Americans had the Australian actors turning bright red with embarrassment.

Not sure what words you could be referring to here unless it's inadvertent racial slurs but for starters Xena was a New Zealand production.

 

[Ryika]

If you were to use that term to me in person, I would not be pleased. At all. It's considered gutter language here, and only incredibly rude, boorish people use it, as a way to be derogatory.

I am also really not pleased having it used to me online. It doesn't matter if it's a man or woman who uses it.

So basically, the word does its job. Good!

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Not sure what words you could be referring to here unless it's inadvertent racial slurs but for starters Xena was a New Zealand production.

For seconders, it was filmed there, but a lot of people involved were from Australia. And no, the term I'm thinking of wasn't a racial one. It was a sexual term.

So basically, the word does its job. Good!

Of course I should have expected this attitude from you. We're done with this conversation as well.

 

[Ryika]

Of course I should have expected this attitude from you.

This is how you thank me for giving you life advice? Wow... super rude! We're done with this conversation. Don't even think about commenting on this post because I will not reply to you on this anymore.

 

[metalhead]

But black people are apes! Just like white people and all the other kinds of people.

Not that this excuses calling someone an ape in a racist way in the slightest. Instead it makes it look ridiculous in addition to offensive.

I dislike that racist use in part because it distracts from the way I usually use the word "ape": to talk about all of humanity and the whole human project. Really, all of human history and prehistory, everything we sit around jabbering about, is all because some ridiculous bipedal apes with unusually large heads, breasts, and penises started lighting things on fire and killing everything in sight with flint-tipped spears. It all snowballed from there. And now there are apes staring into glowing rectangles getting angry when other apes put things on the rectangles that they didn't like.

Ape angry! Other ape make bad vocalization! Other ape put bad thing on rectangle! Ape try to take social status from other ape! Bragh!

Now excuse me while I make a stylized penile display as a show of dominance.

 

[rah]

Well a couple of sponsors have pulled out of Bee's show. We'll see if that ratchets up the pressure on the network. While it's cable where the standards are different it's still TBS which is a lot more conservative on these things compared to a HBO. She knew what she was doing when she used the word. It didn't just slip out. She will have to live with the outcome. While I don't think either her or Barr deserve to be cancelled, it's the economics that determine the outcome.

 

[metalhead]

There is no insult you can say about Ivanka Trump that isn't richly deserved.

Seriously, the fact that people are going along with the outrage here just blows my mind.

 

[rah]

To me it's a question of decency. Would you want anyone to call your daughter or wife that? I certainly wouldn't. (regardless of your OPINION of whether she deserves it or not) The decent of common decency in the world today is very troublesome. But that's just my opinion, which is a shame.

 

[Synobun]

To me it's a question of decency. Would you want anyone to call your daughter or wife that? I certainly wouldn't. (regardless of your OPINION of whether she deserves it or not) The decent of common decency in the world today is very troublesome. But that's just my opinion, which is a shame.

I'll be real with you here, could not care less about what names people call me or those I care about. The value of one's opinion plummets when they go that route for me so their specific word usage means little beyond external context (like an intended slur).

North Americans are very weird with the "c-word", something I don't share, but the intended effect is obvious with its usage here. It's meant to be a nuclear bomb for insulting someone. In my experience I didn't notice a large distinction between men and women in its use in the past but I'm okay with just accepting that it's intended towards women primarily.

Even accepting that, though, I'm not sure I can gel with the implication that this is on par with calling black people apes. Those who are buying into this are letting conservatives burn the barn while you miss their theft of the tractor.

 

[rah]

Well to me, using insults (regardless of the actual word) speaks more volume of the one using it than the target of it.
Don't waste words insulting Trump (I'll admit that I have lowered myself on this one occasionally) use the effort to actually do something about it that will actually have an impact.
Insults are just being lazy and not really creative. (except for a few anyway)

 

[Ryika]

Insults can be a great tool, but you have to use them somewhat intelligently. Just throwing a few swear words at a person is not going to do anything other than to make yourself look bad, but if you're for example in the process of making a good takedown argument to show that a person has done something despicable, then throwing in a swear word at the right point in time can be that little extra that gives your argument so much more weight. Makes you believable, while also giving the audience a way to get rid of the anger.

 

[rah]

Yeah, I'll concede that. Maher and Oliver use them as tools but they do put a lot of effort into it.
The same can not be said about the random internet site or real life. (but I will give a few here some props)
But then it is the internet......

 

[Manfred Belheim]

No, it is never okay to call a woman the "c-word." Never.

Yeah it is.

 

[metalhead]

Would you want anyone to call your daughter or wife that?

You should hear some of the things I say about my daughter after a particularly grueling round of Bedtime Wars.

Decency is overrated. Vulgarity, even extreme vulgarity, has its place. People may find it shocking to hear it, but that's kind of the point. It's a valid form of expression, particularly when aimed at the vacuous daughter of the president who is instrumental in deconstructing our democracy.

Few people are more deserving than her of being called vulgar things. Her wholly unearned seat of power puts her in no danger of being degraded or minimized, but knocking her down a few pegs would be to the benefit of us all.

I meant it. People should yell that word at her everywhere she goes. That doesn't mean I endorse just calling anyone that word, but the context here matters.

 

[rah]

Do you say it to her face and does she realize whether you're being serious or not?
There's a big difference. (of course age matters in understanding)

 

[metalhead]

Do you say it to her face and does she realize whether you're being serious or not?
There's a big difference. (of course age matters in understanding)

No, but she is also not publicly dismantling our democracy.

 

[Arwon]

To me it's a question of decency. Would you want anyone to call your daughter or wife that? I certainly wouldn't. (regardless of your OPINION of whether she deserves it or not) The decent of common decency in the world today is very troublesome. But that's just my opinion, which is a shame.

Usually it's my wife calling other people that or, like, making glittery artworks out of the word...