Jade, Jo, Danielle - Enough Is Enough?

[Trinity]

Le rosbifs - a French - derogatory - term for the English.

[soapyclean]

Context does matter no matter what word is used, no matter if the meanings of words are changed or not.

Can you give me an example? Would you go over to your Pakistani friend and say "Hey Paki, how you doing today?"

Yep my brother and his black friends call each other some really derogatory names, sit back and watch the PC nuts go ape at them.
It was funny, because a real nazi type started joining in with my brother, my brother turned around and told him where to go cos he wasn't a friend of theirs. Needless to say a fight ensued and my brother and his mates walked off laughing together.

My friends call each other some rude names, and thats because we can it's not meant in a derogatory way.
I made the mistake of thinking someone was being mean to another person, it turned out they were best friends having a laugh as well.

So context truly does matter, and not jumping to conclusions also helps.

[Trinity]

I feel really sorry for some people who live near to you and who have to walk down the street listening to the 'banter' going on between your brother and his mates.

For someone who isn't in your group overhearing offensive language and seeing the sort of behaviour you seem to condone would be frightening.

[alan45]

Of course people can be offended by the slightest thing dependining on the context.

Recently my wife was in M&S and was being talked down to by a member of staff who kept sneering as he called her Madam.. She found this very demeaning but had the last laugh when she reported him and got a grovelling apology and a £20.00 voucher. In normal circumstances Madam is a very appropriate tem to use when talking to a woman as long as its not done with a nasty sneer.

Supercillious little ****

[soapyclean]

I feel really sorry for some people who live near to you and who have to walk down the street listening to the 'banter' going on between your brother and his mates.

For someone who isn't in your group overhearing offensive language and seeing the sort of behaviour you seem to condone would be frightening.

Oh come on, this is what I'm talking about. We're so sensitive to these words we cant sneeze without offending anyone, what friends do to each other is between them.
Are we to record every thing someone says and send it off to the police so they can be prosecuted for bantering between themselves???

That will cause more dissent which is what we're trying to avoid, so it's a no win situation with the pc brigade on the rampage.

[Trinity]

Good for your wife! Don't let them get away with it, that is what I say.

However - with regards to context....

It was the sneering that was offensive - not the words.

If you call somebody what for in a bright and cheerful manner then it is still offensive!

Of course people can be offended by the slightest thing dependining on the context.

Recently my wife was in M&S and was being talked down to by a member of staff who kept sneering as he called her Madam.. She found this very demeaning but had the last laugh when she reported him and got a grovelling apology and a £20.00 voucher. In normal circumstances Madam is a very appropriate tem to use when talking to a woman as long as its not done with a nasty sneer.

Supercillious little ****

[soapyclean]

Of course people can be offended by the slightest thing dependining on the context.

Recently my wife was in M&S and was being talked down to by a member of staff who kept sneering as he called her Madam.. She found this very demeaning but had the last laugh when she reported him and got a grovelling apology and a £20.00 voucher. In normal circumstances Madam is a very appropriate tem to use when talking to a woman as long as its not done with a nasty sneer.

Supercillious little ****

I've heard of that with other people, the sales person thinks they are beneath them.
A maori (new zealander) guy walked into a car show room, money in his back pocket work clothes on. Got talked down to, and told he couldn't afford what they had on show, asked for the manager.
Got told he was busy, repeated his request louder, manager came over asked what was wrong, pulled out the money and told him he lost a cash sale because of the sales guy.
No sale, no bonus and red faced.
Guy got a car from down the road and really happy with ssales team. I was on the same course as him and we got on great.

[Jojo]

It looks like we have all entered a totally new ball game here, but it is my belief that political correctness in SOME respects has gone way OTT. There are many words which are now deemed as racist whether or not said in a derogatory manner, yet a racist term is made to a white person and it is supposedly ok to do this. I can't recall many cases where a white person has been racially abused, yet it does happen. The perpetrators just don't seem to be prosecuted, or it isn't reported as a racist offence.

As I think I have said before, there are many Polish people working down here, and the local people that work with them are finding it very frustrating. They are hard working, and great people, but tell them to eff off in jest and you are hauled up on a disciplinary, yet tell a local person to eff off also, and it doesn't matter.

I wouldn't call anyone by a term that is considered racist in any respects, but I do find that we are fast becoming a society that are scared to say any words for fear of retribution or come backs. People speaking to friends aren't allowed to use any terms that MAY be considered derogatory in case someone walks past them and takes offence!

What happened to "freedom of speech" in our so called democratic society..

I'm not saying that people should be allowed to be racist - far from it! But....there are ways and means and if someone is having a private conversation with someone, yet they can be prosecuted if overheard making an offensive remark......

[soapyclean]

It looks like we have all entered a totally new ball game here, but it is my belief that political correctness in SOME respects has gone way OTT. There are many words which are now deemed as racist whether or not said in a derogatory manner, yet a racist term is made to a white person and it is supposedly ok to do this. I can't recall many cases where a white person has been racially abused, yet it does happen. The perpetrators just don't seem to be prosecuted, or it isn't reported as a racist offence.

As I think I have said before, there are many Polish people working down here, and the local people that work with them are finding it very frustrating. They are hard working, and great people, but tell them to eff off in jest and you are hauled up on a disciplinary, yet tell a local person to eff off also, and it doesn't matter.

I wouldn't call anyone by a term that is considered racist in any respects, but I do find that we are fast becoming a society that are scared to say any words for fear of retribution or come backs. People speaking to friends aren't allowed to use any terms that MAY be considered derogatory in case someone walks past them and takes offence!

What happened to "freedom of speech" in our so called democratic society..

I'm not saying that people should be allowed to be racist - far from it! But....there are ways and means and if someone is having a private conversation with someone, yet they can be prosecuted if overheard making an offensive remark......

JoJo, thank you for saying what I was trying to say earlier. I agree racism does happen to white people on a daily basis, and I can see another war happening because this govt has been pandering to everybody else instead of going out and asking what the people want.

Racism should be stamped out, no matter who is abusing who. If friends want to do it to each other in jest then let them, if people want to talk about it and use derogatory terms as examples that's their conversation. It's not for anyone else to decide for them what they should or shouldn't say, its heading for a fall out and we'll have a hard job of stopping it.

[Meh]

Racism to me is wrong in any form and yes, political correctness has gone too far. I would love to see Alf Garnett and Rising Damp back on tv.

This is what I call the chickens coming home to roost syndrome. For decades racism went one way i.e. the oppressors to the oppressed. Now we are seeing the reverse happening or what is being labeled as 'reverse racism'. Either way its wrong and there's no justification for it and lets face facts: no matter how PC we get its still going to be there.

I disagree about the freedom of speech. There has to be a line between what is acceptable and what is inflammatory. What I find ironic is that people tend to use inflammatory language when faced with a perceived threat. I've seen polish, chinese, and asians verbally insulted for nothing more than the fact they are over here working. If that is what freedom of speech is about then I'm sorry, something has gone badly wrong.

People need to look at Nu Labour and actually realise that they are the problem. I think we're going to have a whole lot more to worry about in the next few years.