4 ms·

I was just reading this article about how a long-time NYT worker was fired, because, when he was acting as a guide/chaperone for a student field trip, one of th

I was just reading this article about how a long-time NYT worker was fired, because, when he was acting as a guide/chaperone for a student field trip, one of the students asked him a question about someone else hypothetically saying a racial slur, the NYT employee pronounced the slur in question - and for this, he was fired. That seems outrageous to me. Even more outrageous that some/most of the other employees seem to support and advocate for the firing. I'm glad people are blocking the NYT. I hope it fails or changes. https://freebeacon.com/issues/inside-the-grey-ladys-meltdown-over-donald-mcneils-resignation https://freebeacon.com/issues/inside-the-grey-ladys-meltdown...

high_derivative 6y ago
As a non-American, the intellectual infantilization around bad words is completely insane to me.
- dang 6y ago
  Please don't add nationalistic flamewar on top of ideological flamewar. That's going the wrong way down a one-way street. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - blueflow 6y ago
    I'm an European and i strongly feel like this cultural issue is coming from the anglosphere. I'm totally in for discussing this, if you dont like it about nationality, then make it about culture/language?
    - jeofken 6y ago
      In Germany, Sweden, and Norway it certainly exists as well. These countries even have laws enforcing such taboos. Good call @dang
      - tjansen 6y ago
        No, at least in Germany the laws depend on the context. You can't use a racial slur to insult someone, but pronouncing it to talk about the word with students would be perfectly allowed (and how else could you explain to them that they shouldn't use a word, if you can't even pronounce it? Wait till they hear it somewhere else and repeat it?).
        thu2111 6y ago
        The question here is not what's "allowed" - saying nigger is allowed in the US if you're talking about the law. The question here is about the most extreme social reactions. I guess an equivalent might be what'd happen if a well known persona started wearing a toothbrush moustache. It's not illegal (presumably!). Would it create retaliation, sure.
      - disgu 6y ago
        That's not true. You can use any racial slur in Germany to describe said slur. The laws only ever apply to insults, which have to be directed at someone. There's no "N-word" equivalent where people talk about a specific word but then somehow don't say it.
      - blueflow 6y ago
        You are making the same mistake like the people i was lamenting about - equating the 'bad' word with its use as insult. The words are not regulated by law as you suggest, but insults are.
    - dang 6y ago
      Regional flamewar isn't any good either :) But there are ways of talking about these things that don't involve flamebait and name-calling. If one reads the site guidelines and takes the intended spirit of curious conversation to heart, that goes a long way. Note this one: "Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive." and this one: When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

high_derivative 6y ago

As a non-American, the intellectual infantilization around bad words is completely insane to me.

dang 6y ago
Please don't add nationalistic flamewar on top of ideological flamewar. That's going the wrong way down a one-way street. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- blueflow 6y ago
  I'm an European and i strongly feel like this cultural issue is coming from the anglosphere. I'm totally in for discussing this, if you dont like it about nationality, then make it about culture/language?
  - jeofken 6y ago
    In Germany, Sweden, and Norway it certainly exists as well. These countries even have laws enforcing such taboos. Good call @dang
    - tjansen 6y ago
      No, at least in Germany the laws depend on the context. You can't use a racial slur to insult someone, but pronouncing it to talk about the word with students would be perfectly allowed (and how else could you explain to them that they shouldn't use a word, if you can't even pronounce it? Wait till they hear it somewhere else and repeat it?).
      - thu2111 6y ago
        The question here is not what's "allowed" - saying nigger is allowed in the US if you're talking about the law. The question here is about the most extreme social reactions. I guess an equivalent might be what'd happen if a well known persona started wearing a toothbrush moustache. It's not illegal (presumably!). Would it create retaliation, sure.
    - disgu 6y ago
      That's not true. You can use any racial slur in Germany to describe said slur. The laws only ever apply to insults, which have to be directed at someone. There's no "N-word" equivalent where people talk about a specific word but then somehow don't say it.
    - blueflow 6y ago
      You are making the same mistake like the people i was lamenting about - equating the 'bad' word with its use as insult. The words are not regulated by law as you suggest, but insults are.
  - dang 6y ago
    Regional flamewar isn't any good either :) But there are ways of talking about these things that don't involve flamebait and name-calling. If one reads the site guidelines and takes the intended spirit of curious conversation to heart, that goes a long way. Note this one: "Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive." and this one: When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html