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A profane question 2

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IPGuru

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Jun 24, 2003
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I find profanity is difficult to create a rule for, what may be considered profane in one sentence may be perfectly acceptable in another.


with regards to masking words, if you do not know the meaning of scumblesnorter (I just made that up) then writing it as s$@&*^%£$%^&*r should mean nothing to you except to tell you the author considered it might offend.
Therefore people are getting offended because they have been told they should be not because they are.

I could just have easily written it as <insert expletive here>, in which case the reader is surely offending them-self!

of course using the Mc prefix may have scared the moderators in case they had to face the wrath of a certain purveyor of fast food.

I think the problem you had is the example words are open to debate where as the rule clearly stated that masking was not allowed.


Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows
 
I work in a place that employes felons, immigrants, and those considered not well educated so cursing around here is a common place. One thing that always intrigues me is when a new hire comes in acting respectable and proper, but after a few weeks, they seem to join right in. Interesting how your surrounding can affect your speak patterns.....

That being said, I consider going to a forum like going into someone else's house and talking with them. You wouldn't go running your mouth off or swearing up a storm because you wouldn't want someone to do that to you. If you do they have the right to kick you out or "suspend" your rights to the area. Same as a forum where you are in the mod's house discussing whatever. Granted, internet anonymity plays a big reason why people are so crass.

"Silence is golden, duct tape is silver...
 
No Ben, pun was intended.

It is worth people being offended to preserve freedom of speech!

Ok, putting it your way, defend the right to offend...

as you say, sticks & stones :)

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

MIME::Lite TLS Email Encryption - Perl v0.02 beta
 
The thing that offends me most is people making a decision in my name to hide/ban something because it might offend me.

ask first & I will tell you if I think it offensive or not, don't just assume!


Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows
 
IPGuru - you are right when you say that other peoples' assumptions are inappropriate.

I get angry when, for example, the celebration of Christmas is altered to "Winter Holiday" or any other alternative simply to avoid offending non-Christians.

I am Jewish. I have family and friends who are Jewish. I have friends who are Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and even a Pagan.

None of them have ever expressed a feeling of offence when confronted with the celebration of Christmas. Quite the contrary, most of them join in. You're likely to get presents, after all. ;-)

If you live in a society which is predominantly of a Christian nature, you must accept that you will be exposed to certain aspects of life which are not of your culture. You must accept this. It is part of being a member of civilised society.

It is not up to any organisation (local council, school, club or any other) to try to alter the traditions of the mainstream in order to avoid offending any group which probably hasn't even opined on the subject.

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.
 
It is not up to any organisation (local council, school, club or any other) to try to alter the traditions of the mainstream in order to avoid offending any group which probably hasn't even opined on the subject.
but isn't that the "angst" of the American people/organizations/firms (etc.) over getting sued by people who think that their believes/gender/racial (etc.) are being (having been) offended.


Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"
 
That's my whole point. Most of these "not wanting to offend the little darlings" incidents are not initiated by members of the group-to-be-offended, rather by some twopenny-ha'penny jobsworth in the local authority or on the committee of stupid decisions who hasn't even asked the group-to-be-offended before enacting his (or her for fear of offending the ladies/girls/women in our community) small-minded dictatorial edict.

(No offence intended to any twopenny-ha'penny jobsworths or members of the committee of stupid decisions.)

As a whole, we need to develop thicker skins in order to let this nonsense bounce off rather than to permeate our entire beings.

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.
 
(No offence intended to any twopenny-ha'penny jobsworths or members of the committee of stupid decisions.)
You can't say that! They can be offended and put up with it, just like we are offended by them interfering busy-bodies!

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

MIME::Lite TLS Email Encryption - Perl v0.02 beta
 
@hjgoldstein,

Are you offended by Halloween celebrations?

Local U.S. school districts are beginning to ban the wearing of any Halloween costumes in school on Oct. 31.

A devout catholic friend of mine can't decide if he's offended more by Halloween or by the bans. He's offended by both and can't decide whom to sue. [wink]

 
I am more offended by the ban. Almost always, I find any action by an authority to ban a behavior, short of criminal activity, that erodes freedom of choice and that promotes intolerance to be far more offensive than the behavior itself.

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I too am offended by the ban, both from an intolerance standpoint and a religious one. If we are going to ban Halloween, we should ban any form of religious celebration, including Easter and Christmas.

Out of curiosity, aside from the trivial answer, why does your friend find Halloween offensive? Do they not realize that THEIR chosen holidays may be offensive to someone else?
 
what I want to know is what religious holidays do we get as a Jedi ;-)

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

MIME::Lite TLS Email Encryption - Perl v0.02 beta
 
what I want to know is what religious holidays do we get as a Jedi
Lets start with Yoda's spawning day.

Seriously, the concept of offense seems to be a natural extension of what one considers to be profane. This in turn seems to be a result of one's belief system. For example, I find the offense that many take over sexual topics and words, as well as nudity to be absurd. Similarly, 'damn' and 'hell' (or telling someone to go there) are not insulting or offensive to me either because I don't believe in the concept of Hell (or Heaven) or in damning in that sense. On the other hand, I find things like wonton use of paper products, strip mining, natural gas fracking, and littering to be extremely offensive. To me, things like natural habitat destruction amount to crimes against nature that should carry punishment way beyond any crime against humans.


 
==> what I want to know is what religious holidays do we get as a Jedi
May 4th.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato
 
I agree, the bans on Halloween are offensive(The word I would normally use is probably more offensive to some). Couldn't they just say that the dress code applies on Oct. 31 the same as it applies every other day? And if they are going to ban a specific holiday in order to not offend some group, then don't they have to ban all holidays. No christmas...might offend the non-Christians. And no winter festival or whatever...might offend the Christians who can't now have christmas. Let's just never celebrate anything. Think about the children. =)
 
Ponoolde, I have a request for clarification if you please. Is the word you would use in place of offensive, more offensive or is the word for Halloween (I assume Samhain), more offensive? If so, why would this word, name be offensive? Why would it be any more offensive than other names like Yule, Beltane, or Imbolc, or even Ostara (which is the origin of the name Easter)?

Personally, I don't see why so many get uptight about Halloween but not the other holidays. It is no more sacred than any of the other days of power, many of which other religious holidays, such as Easter and Christmas, are based. I wonder if it is because it is a celebration of death and a time to honor the dead or perhaps it is still an accepted symbol of paganism? Of course, it is not PC to admit that this is the problem (because someone might be offended), so instead excuses are made up about it scaring the some children or candy not being good for them, or the teachers not wanting to deal with kids suffering from sugar overload.

 
Sorry for the confusion, Noway2. I love Halloween, especially now that I have a little one around. I was talking about the word I would normally use to describe the ban, instead of just "offensive".
Here's a hint..Alaska's ex-halfterm-Governor supper hates the word I wanted to use. I'm just in an odd mood today.
 
Well, about Halloween, I am offended by that, just because we in Germany DO NOT have that holiday... and do not celebrate it as such... except for the few Halloween parties at local clubs that is... I sure do miss that candy (and scaring the kids coming to the door)... ;-)

about the Jedi day, May 4th. in most of the country, except for LA, there it is May 25th... "May the schwartz be with you! "

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"
 
I think that those who are "offended" by Halloween are more worried about the perceived apspects of Satanism. I am not aware of it having anything to do with "celebration of death and a time to honour the dead".

The traditional time to honour the dead in the Christian calendar is All Saints Day which is the day after Halloween, or All Souls Day the day after that.

I remember some French friends who are Catholics visiting the cemetery where their grand parents were buried on 1st November each year for the French festival of Toussaints

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.
 
my opinion on these type of bans is quite simple:

if someone's beliefs cant stand up to a bit of competition or cross-examination then perhaps they need re-evaluation



Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows
 
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