4 ms·

> It is morally unacceptable that on 2021 there are new taboo words being introduced. This particular conversation started with a very old one; regardless, I’m

> It is morally unacceptable that on 2021 there are new taboo words being introduced. This particular conversation started with a very old one; regardless, I’m not sure I follow. This claim is in no way self-evident. > as somebody who has been on the receiving end of ugly ethnic slurs I’m very sorry to hear that.

enriquto 6y ago
> I’m very sorry to hear that. No need to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. If anything, I'm much more hurt by the prospect of a world where taboo words cannot even be discussed about, than a world where random weirdos insult me on the street. If you want to be sorry about something useful, please make efforts so that taboo words can be used safely, at least when talking about them! Millions of people are learning English every day all over the world. How can you even teach these people about offensive words without mentioning them?
- foldr 6y ago
  >How can you even teach these people about offensive words without mentioning them? Isn't this a straw man? Who has objected to teaching people learning English about the existence of the n-word? We are having a discussion about this taboo word right now and no-one is stopping us. The problem is the inference from "it may in some special circumstances be necessary to mention the n-word" to "anyone should be free to say the n-word at any time without anyone objecting".
  - enriquto 6y ago
    > We are having a discussion about this taboo word right now and no-one is stopping us. I'm not a native English speaker and I was not talking about any specific word; my argument was general. What word do you refer to by "the n-word", precisely? Can you write it down, please? > The problem is the inference from "it may in some special circumstances be necessary to mention the n-word" to "anyone should be free to say the n-word at any time without anyone objecting". It seems to me that these two extremes are quite wrong. A moderate middle-ground seems to be better: "anyone should be free to say any word, as long as they are not using it as a slur to insult another person".
    - foldr 6y ago
      >I'm not a native English speaker and I was not talking about any specific word; my argument was general. What word do you refer to by "the n-word", precisely? Can you write it down, please? I’m sure if you genuinely don’t know what the n-word refers to then an English speaker will be happy to explain it to you – although given your existing command of English it seems odd that you couldn’t find out the answer using Google. > It seems to me that these two extremes are quite wrong. A moderate middle-ground seems to be better: "anyone should be free to say any word, as long as they are not using it as a slur to insult another person". As a standard of acceptable behavior (rather than a legal standard) this seems obviously too lenient. For example, it means I could roam the streets shouting the n-word at the top of my lungs as long as I wasn’t directing it at anyone in particular. Given the existence of a universally understood euphemism (’n-word’) it is generally difficult to use the n-word without showing a certain level of disregard for black people (and indeed anyone who’s offended by racist language).
      - enriquto 6y ago
        > I’m sure if you genuinely don’t know what the n-word refers to I do; I just wanted to see if you dared to dogfood your own argument and write down the word "nigger". > I could roam the streets shouting the n-word at the top of my lungs as long as I wasn’t directing it at anyone in particular. It seems OK to me, and this is certainly already the case. For example, I learned a lot of English vocabulary thanks to the song "WAP", which is so over the top that it becomes hilarious. This song uses many times the word that you don't dare to write. What's the problem, exactly? It's a rather famous song. Can't people repeat the lyrics of this song? It seems that you can utter the word everywhere (as a synonym of "good friend") without any trouble, unless there are north-american journalists around.

enriquto 6y ago

> I’m very sorry to hear that. No need to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. If anything, I'm much more hurt by the prospect of a world where taboo words cannot even be discussed about, than a world where random weirdos insult me on the street. If you want to be sorry about something useful, please make efforts so that taboo words can be used safely, at least when talking about them! Millions of people are learning English every day all over the world. How can you even teach these people about offensive words without mentioning them?

foldr 6y ago
>How can you even teach these people about offensive words without mentioning them? Isn't this a straw man? Who has objected to teaching people learning English about the existence of the n-word? We are having a discussion about this taboo word right now and no-one is stopping us. The problem is the inference from "it may in some special circumstances be necessary to mention the n-word" to "anyone should be free to say the n-word at any time without anyone objecting".
- enriquto 6y ago
  > We are having a discussion about this taboo word right now and no-one is stopping us. I'm not a native English speaker and I was not talking about any specific word; my argument was general. What word do you refer to by "the n-word", precisely? Can you write it down, please? > The problem is the inference from "it may in some special circumstances be necessary to mention the n-word" to "anyone should be free to say the n-word at any time without anyone objecting". It seems to me that these two extremes are quite wrong. A moderate middle-ground seems to be better: "anyone should be free to say any word, as long as they are not using it as a slur to insult another person".
  - foldr 6y ago
    >I'm not a native English speaker and I was not talking about any specific word; my argument was general. What word do you refer to by "the n-word", precisely? Can you write it down, please? I’m sure if you genuinely don’t know what the n-word refers to then an English speaker will be happy to explain it to you – although given your existing command of English it seems odd that you couldn’t find out the answer using Google. > It seems to me that these two extremes are quite wrong. A moderate middle-ground seems to be better: "anyone should be free to say any word, as long as they are not using it as a slur to insult another person". As a standard of acceptable behavior (rather than a legal standard) this seems obviously too lenient. For example, it means I could roam the streets shouting the n-word at the top of my lungs as long as I wasn’t directing it at anyone in particular. Given the existence of a universally understood euphemism (’n-word’) it is generally difficult to use the n-word without showing a certain level of disregard for black people (and indeed anyone who’s offended by racist language).
    - enriquto 6y ago
      > I’m sure if you genuinely don’t know what the n-word refers to I do; I just wanted to see if you dared to dogfood your own argument and write down the word "nigger". > I could roam the streets shouting the n-word at the top of my lungs as long as I wasn’t directing it at anyone in particular. It seems OK to me, and this is certainly already the case. For example, I learned a lot of English vocabulary thanks to the song "WAP", which is so over the top that it becomes hilarious. This song uses many times the word that you don't dare to write. What's the problem, exactly? It's a rather famous song. Can't people repeat the lyrics of this song? It seems that you can utter the word everywhere (as a synonym of "good friend") without any trouble, unless there are north-american journalists around.