Post
by BlackWaltzTheThird » Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:25 am
This topic is getting increasingly ridiculous.
I am Australian. In Australia, the general populace's attitude towards "offensive" jokes, humour, words, etc. is somewhat more relaxed than other places in the world. There is a reason that there exists an image macro depicting the Australian flag and the text, "Calls mates cunt, calls cunts mate" (thought I must say that assertion is rather exaggerated). It is not uncommon to hear words such as "nigger", "cunt", "faggot" and so on being tossed around in casual conversation. Of course, sometimes these words are used with derogatory intent, and sometimes these words are used with humourous intent. Sometimes the intent and the result differ.
For instance, I myself am rather prone to using "faggot" as an insult, with phrases such as "fuck off, faggot" or "so and so is such a faggot". Generally this is amongst my friends, but at times people I am less acquainted with are present. Now, one of my friends is a homosexual man, and we've known he was such for I think five years now. My use the word, "faggot", remains unchanged when he is present; heck, sometimes I call him a faggot too. At no point do I intend it to be a slur against his sexuality, but there are of course times when he will ask me to stop. I do so, out of consideration for him and anyone else who may also feel the same way.
I don't think I explained that anecdote properly, but my point is that people shouldn't be afraid to say certain things for fear of offending someone. That is the attitude of political correctness, and is the reason why the song, "Baa baa rainbow sheep", now exists. My belief is that any word, slag, or turn of phrase should be acceptable in any conversation, until such time that someone who is offended by them is present - at which time, said person should say as such as to inform those using the offending language of their objection. From then, any reasonable participants would do the considerate thing and stymie further use of the phrase until that person is no longer present.
In short, compromise is the way to go. Say or otherwise communicate how and what you like, and if someone objects to that, then they should say as such, wherein the thing would not used in their prescence. In this context, the Get Bacon thing is fine amongst yourselves. Personally, I don't agree with it, but can see where you may derive humour from it. Some people in this thread have asked for it to stop. As such, it should immediately. Continue to use it elsewhere if you must, but be aware that some people may object to it and if this is the case then cease doing so.
For those on the other side of the argument, it is understandable that people may or may not have a sore spot about things. This may be directly or indirectly. I'm not callous enough to say "drink a cup of concrete and harden the fuck up", but the intent behind the phrase is good advice. Get Bacon may be in bad taste, but it's meant as harmless fun. No one is running up to burns victims and saying Get Bacon, rather they are strategically placing a small tag in subtle places (I sure hope they are anyway, cause I'll look like a supreme ass if they aren't). To compare such would be akin to saying that the very existance of a gollywog doll is inherently damaging to a black person. If a person had one and went up to black people and openly made a comment about their race/colour, then we would have a problem. This is not the case.
In any case, it would be best for both sides to drop it. Such an argument is unproductive and unhealthy for both the board as a whole and for the individuals involved. It would be best if this topic was locked as soon as possible.
...Wow I wrote a lot. TL;DR for lazy douchebags: drop the issue, tag if you must but be considerate of the effect it may have on others, and be less aggressive about what is and isn't offensive because it varies from person to person.
Regards, BlackWaltz.
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