h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The one thing I find offensive (apart from genocide, rape, murder etc) is people being offended on behalf of some other part of society.

I presume people know about the Len Goodman 'silly sod' debacle where 600 people complained and there was a lot of 'sod is short for sodomite and Revel-Horwood is gay so it was a homophobic insult and it offended me.'

But did it offend Revel-Horwood? no idea actually but one would assume not.

Yes I get sick of dim witted heteros getting offended on my behalf.

I never quite know whether it's them being offended or their dim wittedness that is more choking...

I've got quite uppity of late to do with some stuff here about mental illness.

As I posted somewhere, I know we'll have achieved true equality once people can be as snide about any 'physical' condition.

(NOt that I'm obssessive about it. I'll happily talk about mentals and nutjobs..meant in fun..and sometimes more babrbed...but esentially not as something where I feel free to rip the crp out of mental illness..but stay as nice as pie about eg MS

And really it's not offended like a way of thinking and an affectation...it's just suddenly it s me off..it's from the heart.

#61 "... But did it offend Revel-Horwood? no idea actually but one would assume not."



I'm sure that someone who likes to call themselves a "Revel Horwood", would be able to manage a "silly sod".

ps - it would put a whole new meaning to off'end.

Offence is a difficult one isn't it?

For me it depends if the insult is aimed at me personally, or at a group to which I happen to belong to.

(This is a personal response based on what I find offensive, not based on anything else, not

Lets say you wanted to insult me:

You could insult me personally - 'Z is stupid, and I detest every thing he says on h2g2, it really irritates me'.

I think that's fairly clearly offensive to me.

Or if you want to insult me you could insult a group of people to which I belong, I might find that personally offensive, particularly if it was aimed at me.

You could insult a group of people of which I have no choice about belonging to, 'Z, you're a rapist like all other white men.'

You could insult a group I have chosen to join 'Edinburgh Skeptics Book club is full of silly people who aren't open minded enough to accept crystal healing'

Or

Z, like most doctors, is an arrogant tit.



Now alternatively you could not actually be aiming the remark at me at all, you could say.

'Doctor's are arrogant tits'.

I might be offended at that, but I wouldn't think it was offensive to me personally. I'd be more likely to try and correct the person who posted it.



It all gets a bit grey-er if someone is trying to protect me. For instance if Ben sees a post saying 'All doctors are arrogant tits' and decided that it's offensive to doctors, but no doctor actually yikesed it then Ben is speaking on behalf of a minority she's not a member of.




But doctor's aren't an oppressed minority, we're a minority, but we're not oppressed. Unless you read BBC Health news when we feel a bit oppressed. If there was a history of persecution we may well feel different.


Now every single gay person I have met has told me that they find it offensive to be called a '[homophobic insult would be removed by moderator if I had put one in] then I can be reasonably sure that the rest would also find it offensive.

Z



How can it be offensive if it's true?

back...

Obviously it isn't true...but if you said something true could someone take offensive at it.

Can offensive only be truly taken if something said isn't true?

Hummmm..


Difficult. I have had colleagues have complaints because they told very very overweight people that they needed to loose weight after a heart attack.

Something I could get quite offended about is a Researcher painting an suggestion that her view is paranoid as being a comment on mental illness.

Yes, paranoia can be a *symptom* of mental illness. Alternately - it can just be someone being damn silly. The offensive part is falsely and disingenuously using mental illness as a voluntary victimhood trump card. This belittles sufferers.

Lynx* - Men's toiletries, had various advertising posters banned for giving offence. One of the posters for "Lynx shower gel showed a woman in a bikini under a shower at a beach, with the headline: "The cleaner you are the dirtier you get.""

The question is what are they suggesting to men? Perhaps it is the following: if you clean yourself with Lynx shower gel then you can "do the dirty" with this woman under this shower on this beach?

Anyway this is the BBC report http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15849142


*The Iberian lynx (a distinct species) is nearly extinct whilst the British lynx was eradicated in the 17th century.

>You could insult me personally - 'Z is stupid, and I detest every thing he says on h2g2, it really irritates me'.<

See I'f feel angry and hurt if that was me.

Irritated, annoyed, upset etc

But where does 'offend' come in?

I honestly don't think I've been offended in my life as I still don't understand it. Of course I can read a definition..but I don't think I've ever felt it.

It's weird with words. There are some words that I can't attach a feeling to..and some feelings that don't have words you can attach them to

Well if I'm offended I feel, angry, hurt and annoyed. to me the words me the same thing.

So what's the point of 'offended'?

It's so theoretical. You get people saying they are offended without any feeling attached.

And it just seems so fashionable now to just be 'offended' a bit like disgusted of Tunbridge Welles..

But it's a media thing.

I don't notice any difference in my community about being seemingly offended.

But I've seen a massive difference on h2g2 about what gets hidden compared to when I first joined.

re the Lynx advertising thing

here's my point of view:

I am watching tv with my aged dad, with whom i have huge issues concerning sex, and that naked butted girl bends over the oven...

i have to leave the room

and since its an ad that can show up anytime after children go to bed (supposedly)
i cant watch tv with my dad after that designated time

this is difficult because i am caregiving him
and i monitor his tv watching so that he does not become upset
he has trouble changing the stations


my point is that, sure, in a star trek next generational mentally healthy society this ad would not be a problem...
but in this messy mixed up abusive violent dysfunctional society...
ads like that can cause so much grief for so many people where ever they are aired....

shows are another thing
you can choose
but ads just pop up

>>But I've seen a massive difference on h2g2 about what gets hidden compared to when I first joined.

And might your behaviour be relevant?

Is this actually going anywhere, Effers? You seem to keep going on about how there's no such thing as offensive. Do you have a purpose in mind? At the moment, it seems to be "Nothing is offensive, therefore I should be allowed to post anything I want without it being yikesed". That's not how this place works.

I have yet to see you actually being playful or creative, you just complain that we aren't. If your definition of "playful and creative" cannot be demonstrated without breaking the house rules, you're on the wrong site.

Maybe it's like when toddlers make a mess with their toys. Psychologists tell us they're being creative. Problem is - it's only creative to the toddler. To everyone else - it's just a mess. And someone else has to tidy it up.

And perhaps, Ed, there are those who are like the mischeivous older child; deliberately winding the toddler up so they'll have more tantrums and make more mess.

FKF, have you considered using radio or videos/DVDs instead? If commercial TV is potentially problematic, remove commercial TV from the equation. Simple.

Except, Mr D...she's an adult.

Funnily enough, Ed, so are you.