Somewhere I am screaming!

[marksiwel]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=1&u=/nm/20041203/od_nm/life_words_dc

Its official Californa should break off and sink into the ocean.

[bwdial]

I feel the need to post the Confederate battle flag just to counter-balance that.

[marksiwel]

I just want to know when the crazyness will end?

[TLS]

Who are these people who have so much free time that they decide to waste it on petty nonsense? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[DarthMaulRat]

How do I get a job on the word usage committee? One more question: Who the hell funds a group like this?

[FanGirl]

What is everyone's favorite PC term? Mine is your not fat, your "gravity enhanced."

[Razorback]

This comes about every few years. This is about as old as the Internet.

I actually support changing this as I was once put into a very awkward position that was turned into a racial issue (later defused) based on someone overhearing two techs talking about "master and slave" over and over again.

Not knowing what the conversation was about this person took it for granted that SLAVERY was being flippantly discussed and filed a complaint. After that, we were directed to call it alpha and gamma.

We of course just dicked around with those words by having these type of conversations:

Tech 1: Hey, John... my gamma settings on my monitor are off.

Tech 2: Perhaps you need to check to see if the alpha is connected.

Tech 3: What are we alpha testing this week???

Tech 1: No, he said the alpha of the gamma settings.

Tech 2: So the gamma is being alpha tested?

Tech 1: No! The gamma on my monitor is off.

Tech 3: Wait, are you saying that we need to alpha test your gamma settings?

(and so on... only techies will get this conversation, I know)

[TLS]

I don't know why, but that reminds me of a funny service call that a tech sent to me. Where someone actually called complaining that his/her cup holder broke. The tech is like "A cup holder?" and the customer insisted that his computer came with a cup holder and that you push the button and the cup holder pops out. The tech had to explain to the customer that it was a cd drive and not a cup holder.
It's probably funnier the way he told it, but I got a laugh out of it. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[Razorback]

I think I remember that one. There are a few tech call recordings that I remember passing around the office. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[Dave]

Everything (http://www.languagemonitor.com/wst_page4.html) you ever wanted to know about the Global Language Monitor.

[DarthMaulRat]

Wow. That page was an overload of excitement. It's like Ben Stein's voice personified (if that makes sense at all).

[PftLBritt]

My question is: What's so wrong with "Yankee Hater"? I see it as a term of endearment. Being called a "Red Sox Lover" just sounds way too weird for me.

[Mighty_Wingman]

Ahah ! So you finally admit to your sox fetish!

Anyway back on topic :
Every so often political correctness oversteps it's bounds and just makes everyone feel more uncomfortable. We are forced to learn new adjectives in order to label others and perception dictates that we need these descriptions in order to paint the mental picture of association. Perfectly useful adjectives are tossed, because they're deemed offensive (or outdated) and we're forced to adopt new ones to comply with social norms.

" Language is the liquid
That we're all dissolved in
Great for solving problems
After it creates a problem" - Isaac Brock, "Blame it on the Tetons"

So we have to learn some new adjectives ? BFD.

[Razorback]

A sociology professor of mine told us that when he was a kid, if someone called him "black" then that person would not have made it home. Worse yet, if they called him "African American" it would have been considered a greater insult (almost as bad as that evil N-word).

At that time, it was a victory to be called "negro" over a more offensive version of that word. Isn't it funny how people determine which word will be more offense in some decade?

Some words will always be offensive... but I scratch my head over others.

[Mighty_Wingman]

Yeah, good point.

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Some words will always be offensive... but I scratch my head over others.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yup , it's also weird to me, that what words we find offensive, often depend who says them, and/or how familiar you are with that person.
Example: I've used the evil "N" word around my black ( Yes, I still call them black. ) friends, once I'd come to know them well. They were not offended . Either because of the context, or because they know me well enough. Yet , had they heard me use that word before they knew me?( no matter the context) My body would likely have been found washed up on the bank of the river.

As kids they taught us "Sticks and stones....blah blah blah" and sometimes people are being overly sensitive, but the obvious fact is , words do have the potential to be harmful. Even if they can't break skin or bones by themselves.

[Razorback]

My circle of friends used to be pretty diverse (still is, but not as much as it once was). We had people of every race and religion, and we called each other every racial slur ever created. Friends can get away with that because you know it is said with love.

One of my best friends is Jewish... and whenever we hang out with a group of people I always work in this line of evil humor:

Me: Hey did you see the new LOST?

He: No, I was...

Me: (interrupting) Of course you didn't, you are Jewish.

Now, that makes no sense, but it is damn funny. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif Unfortunately, when my diverse group of nutbags went to see Phantom Menace together, we almost found ourselves thrown out of the theatre because of our "racial" jokes.

Apparently, the theater doesn't care if you are part of the minority group of which you are making fun, if someone complains to security that you called yourself "Jewy-Jewbacca" then you are a Nazi. Thankfully, I talked the angry head of security out of throwing my Jewish friend out of the theatre (and my Columbian friend, for calling himself another colorful Star Warsian name).