Swearing

[DM Cross]

For me, I really don't care about swearing. It makes you SERIOUSLY look like a moron when you put F' in every other word.

I agree over-doing it is stupid and not needed.

 

[Cognitor]

That's only half correct. The forum is subject to the laws of the country the server lies on, thus, if they were using the forum resources for say, racially discriminatory or other unlawful speech related activity, then you would have a legal leg to stand on.

1JadedJen is more than half right. The "law" created by the forum is valid so long as it does not conflict with government law. There is no law that states a private enterprise, e.g this forum, cannot mute its memebers if they agree that they can be muted (as we have by accepting the terms of our registration).

Racially or sexually descriminatory statements in a forum that allows such is perfectly legal. There is no law that says you can't say you hate another ethnic group or what not. That would be unconstitutional. There is a big difference between saying or typing, "I don't like all people of race X," and saying or typing, "Let's kill or hurt all people of race X on Tuesday."

 

[Sud]

Incorrect:

In 1993, Denny's restaurant chain fell under an uncomfortable spotlight as it faced the first of several lawsuits and thousands of claims of racial discrimination of its customers. San Jose, California was the site of the first incident, when several black teenagers were refused service unless they agreed to pay in advance (Smith, 1996). The following year more and more issues came crashing down on the popular casual dining chain. One of the most well-known cases was that of six Asian-Americans of Syracuse University. The students visited a Denny's restaurant late at night and waited over 30 minutes for service. As white patrons were regularly seated and waited on, these six students were kept waiting. When they complained, they were forcibly ejected from the establishment by two security guards. Outside, they were beaten by a mob of white customers that spilled out of the restaurant while guards stood by and did nothing. These six students were pushed, shoved, jeered, and racially insulted, and not a single law enforcer present did anything to stop it. Three black students were threatened with mace by guards when they attempted to aid the Asian-Americans. A white student accompanying the group was also threatened. Two of these students were knocked unconscious during the assault ("Students Accuse," 1997).

On the same day that the first lawsuit was settled, six black Secret Service agents visited a Denny's restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland, and were forced to wait an hour for service while their white companions were seated promptly and were waited on with second and third helpings (Guillermo, 1997). Countless other incidents similar in nature occurred throughout the Denny's chain. One Sacramento resident, a white male, was seated promptly at a Denny's restaurant. When his wife, a black woman, came to join him, the waitress's demeanor altered drastically. She slammed down a plate of spaghetti in front of the black woman, splattering her blouse with tomato sauce. Another black Denny's customer, Douglas McNeal, was told that he and his friends had to pay for their meals at the same time they ordered their food. McNeal observed a white couple order and pay up at the counter after their meal, as usual. He questioned the waitress: "We asked the waitress about it and she said some black guys had been in earlier who made a scene and walked out without paying their bill. So the manager now wanted all blacks to pay up front" (Ferraro, 1995).

These are only a few examples of the discrimination that Denny's displayed. Thousands of black customers have claimed similar suits.

If your statement were true, Denny's could claim "by stepping in our restaurant you agree not to hold us liable for any kind of racist action". These people all wouldn't be able to sue. However, they can, making your statement invalid.

 

[Cognitor]

That is illegal, they can sue Denny's and Denny's would lose .

TITLE II--INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN PLACES OF

PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION


SEC. 201. (a) All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.


(b) Each of the following establishments which serves the public is a place of public accommodation within the meaning of this title if its operations affect commerce, or if discrimination or segregation by it is supported by State action:


(1) any inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests, other than an establishment located within a building which contains not more than five rooms for rent or hire and which is actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as his residence;


(2) any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other facility principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, including, but not limited to, any such facility located on the

premises of any retail establishment; or any gasoline station;


(3) any motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium or other place of exhibition or entertainment; and


(4) any establishment (A)(i) which is physically located within the premises of any establishment otherwise covered by this subsection, or (ii) within the premises of which is physically located any such covered establishment, and (B) which holds itself out as serving patrons of such covered establishment.


(c) The operations of an establishment affect commerce within the meaning of this title if (1) it is one of the establishments described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b); (2) in the case of an establishment described in paragraph (2) of subsection (b), it serves or offers to serve interstate travelers or a substantial portion of the food which it serves, or gasoline or other products which it sells, has moved in commerce; (3) in the case of an establishment described in paragraph (3) of subsection (b), it customarily presents films, performances, athletic teams, exhibitions, or other sources of entertainment which move in commerce; and (4) in the case of an establishment described in paragraph (4) of subsection (b), it is physically located within the premises of, or there is physically located within its premises, an establishment the operations of which affect commerce within the meaning of this subsection. For purposes of this section, "commerce" means travel, trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among the several States, or between the District of Columbia and any State, or between any foreign country or any territory or possession and any State or the District of Columbia, or between points in the same State but through any other State or the District of Columbia or a foreign country.

There's more but that pretty much covers it. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech. Denny's was in violation of Federal Descrimination laws. Its employees, now representatives of the company, illegally descriminated against African Americans making Denny's as a whole, liable.

This is further emphasised, as you have provided for us, when it is stated that...

On the same day that the first lawsuit was settled...

Showing that Denny's headquarters knew they were in violation of antidescrimination laws among others things. This also shows that only a Civil Suit was filed and that, to avoid a public fiasco, an undisclosed dollar amount was given to the victims.

Again, this is not a freedom of speech issue, this is a descrimination issue.

 

[w/e]

For the last time, stop being so hypocrite! I offended you - and you specifically, not others - for discriminating homosexuals.

This is, most probably, the last message I posted in this forum; I leave this forum for good. Now, unsurprisingly considering my utter inferiority, I am nearly entirely isolated and generally contempted.

maybe that's why mind left...

 

[DM Cross]

I think... The main problem here is...

Perception.

What do YOU think is a "bad word", or "unacceptable". Whatever that is may be HUGELY overexaggerated compared to what I think is "bad", or "unacceptable".

Personally, words don't offend me much. Singular words, anyway Someone could walk up to me off the street and say "Hey, fuck you, goth boy!" and I would honestly smile. I mean, it's just funny how some people think a word is bad. It's sound. Syllables. How are the unacceptable?

Now, that may be from growing up in a town where kids swear at their parents 24/7 Even me and my parents swear at each other. Not always meanly, but I mean when we talk, we swear. Just today I was asked how school was and responded with "Oh, the same shit, mom. The idiots can't run the damn school without screwing everyone over." My mom didn't care, or even seem to blink from my language.

Why?

Because she perceives it as acceptable.

Now, you look at someone who grew up who never swore because he/r may have done it ONCE, and gotten yelled at for it. Maybe his/her parents never swore around him/her. Thus, he just never really thought of it. You throw that person into my home, sweet home, South River, and they're going to be a little out of their area of language

All perception!

And to round out my little speech of logic A quote from Julie, my girlfriend, who, as you may be able to tell, is in FAVOR of swearing!

fucking shithead scumbags who dont like it can jump off a fucking bridge... bastards

 

[XXXconanXXX]

Hey, F' you, goth boy!

 

[Sud]

emo boy*

 

[DM Cross]

Conan's was... Expected

Sud, that's getting real old, real fast. Get some new material and come talk to us again

 

[SD_Ryoko]

maybe that's why mind left...

Indeed it was.

We were discussing who /how voted for Bush and issue 11 - the marriage ban.

This is why we don't allow moral and political discussions. Look how upset people get.

 

[MasterOfABCs]

Swearing acceptable? no. swearing tolerable? yes.

 

[1JadedJen]

Alexander is right as well, perception is a big deal. In a sexual harrasment seminar I had to take for work last year I learned that perception can be the difference between harrasment and joking around.

I briefly worked for a Denny's a long while back. During orientation their take on the lawsuits was that....well, maybe the black group had 5 people in it and the white group had 2 people in it and a tables for smaller groups kept coming available while the black group had to wait for a larger table to become available and that takes a while cause if there is a large group sitting there it takes the large group longer to finish. So if we had to seat people we were told to seat the group for whom a table was available and then turn to the next group and tell them we were still waiting on a larger table to open for them. WHICH might fly, if it was only one isolated incident. The fact that there were multiple incidents all around the country seem just too fishy.

ANYWAY, I digress,
While I believe you can't run a dictatorship over the internet, I think if you were to discriminate against a group they can't shut you down. I am sure if you looked you would (unfortunately) find various sites that do so. I wonder if the KKK has a site? (probably not, people that ignorant can't possibly know how to run a computer) But you hear all the time about these kids who shoot their school up regularly posting on anti different culture sites and sites that believe that Hitler had it right, etc. They are still up and running. I think the difference is that you go into that site KNOWING, hey, this site is racially discriminating and you may be offended by the words there. But you don't go into a Denny's expecting a crowd to mob you just because you are asian. The key word there is also racist ACTION. While I don't think they could have sued if someone in Dennys' had said something derrogatory, the fact that it was an action against them is what gave them their basis for a suit.

It all goes back to the context thing. In a group of people where we have said, the occasional swear is ok, all is coo. But in open public, sitting at a Dennys' saying something like GADDAAMN I hate Fing whiny kids cause the kids next to you are bothing the heck outta you. Yes, you would probably be asked to leave.

 

[DM Cross]

Indeed it was.

We were discussing who /how voted for Bush and issue 11 - the marriage ban.

This is why we don't allow moral and political discussions. Look how upset people get.

We have rules like this for the Game area of OM.com.

They read:

• Leave your morales, religion, political views and prejudice at the door These are GAMES, not to be taken offensively. Don't bother posting that "you take offense to this or that", or reporting a post, because we really don't care Have fun.
• With the above being said, don't go out of your way to pick on anyone/thing/religion, etc. etc. Leave ALL your views, religious debate, and other crap at the door. Meaning don't be a problem!
• One thing we won't accept is pornographic jokes and such. (Like if you were to post porn in the "Rock Paper Scissors" thread, it would be deleted, and you'd get a warning)
• Have fun. Or else -.-

See, if I were to see anyone getting pissy, I'd just reply that it's only a game and to shut the **** up

But, that's not what this is about.

Another thing, though:

Who the **** are you to tell me what I accept and don't accept?!

I love that question

 

[Sud]

Actually Jen the KKK does have a site - they call it the "Knights of the Ku Klux Klan". They take a very apologetic stance and they are trying to say that they don't mean to make it sound like they think whites are the supreme race in the world, just that they are proud to be white and love their heritage in the same manner that other races have stuff like "asian pride" etc.

It's actually pretty funny to read.

 

[w/e]

Actually Jen the KKK does have a site - they call it the "Knights of the Ku Klux Klan". They take a very apologetic stance and they are trying to say that they don't mean to make it sound like they think whites are the supreme race in the world, just that they are proud to be white and love their heritage in the same manner that other races have stuff like "asian pride" etc.

wow, i didn't know that, I thought they were like doing anti-black rituals or something. lol. I don't know much about them, except what they did in the past.

 

[XXXconanXXX]

People need to watch the Family Guy episode when Peter's in the flashback with Cleveland back in the 60's while they're riding in a hippy van, and a group of the KKK starts chasing them. "Oh no Peter!" "Oh my god! They're ghosts!"

 

[1JadedJen]

Recently while visiting my grandma, my husband mentioned that since we live in the country, we have the occasional big snake in the yard. My grandma asked him if he would like a shotgun. Of course he was like HELL YA! I was like, my grandma don't own no damn shotgun.
Ummmm, turns out, she owned two shotguns, two pistols and a bb gun.
whatwhat?
She said the first shotgun she bought was back in the 60s. They lived in northern Ohio on a street that was fairly mixed. So naturally she was friends with all her neighbors (as they were in the good ole days LOL). One of her black friends came up to her one day and told my grandma to watch her back - turns out, because my grandma was friends with the non white community on her block, her house had been targeted for a raid by angry white guys. Not necessarily the KKK, just some dumb mad white guys. So, my grandma took her friend to Kmart and they told the salesman of their situation. The salesman sold her a 16 gauge shotgun and told her, if a mob comes runnin up your entryway stairs, just aim this in the general direction of the crowd and you'll take out a good few.
DAMN I said.
No mob ever came to her house, but how crazy is that story? Go ask your grandma to tell you a crazy story....bet you'll find out something you never expected to hear.

 

[Red Beard]

Go ask your grandma to tell you a crazy story....bet you'll find out something you never expected to hear.

Absolutely, you take for granted that old people actually did stuff with in their time. Before WW2, My grandfather(Polish) was the head master in a school near the polish/russian border.
Every morning he would find the Russian flag flying on the flag post. So, every morning he took it down and burnt it.

Someone took offense to this, and one night, whilst writing some reports, a bullet went through the window in front of his desk. Missing him and knocking out the lantern he had.

He was an officer in the Polish army reserves, and grabbing his pistol he made short work of them.

Then the war broke out, he fought, got captured (another movie like story). After the war, the Russians assimilated Poland, and he had a death warrant on his head. So he escaped.

So yeah. They were some hard folk back then.

What was the point of this thread?

Oh yeah swearing.

It depends with me, depends on company. Alexander may think that its only words and formulated breath, but words have meanings, and its the meaning behind the word that is offensive.

I will never swear infront of old people, as a sign of respect. Same with anyone I am unfamiliar with. The same goes with people I dont know, I HATE hearing poor language from people I dont know.

For swearing to be publically acceptable only adds to the moral degradation that is facing our society.

 

[DM Cross]

It depends with me, depends on company. Alexander may think that its only words and formulated breath, but words have meanings, and its the meaning behind the word that is offensive.

I will never swear infront of old people, as a sign of respect. Same with anyone I am unfamiliar with. The same goes with people I dont know, I HATE hearing poor language from people I dont know.

For swearing to be publically acceptable only adds to the moral degradation that is facing our society.

I watch a few words, at least out here in the all-members and guests posting areas, out of respect for the rules and the people who wrote 'em.

Meaning has no meaning if you just don't care, though. Which I don't. People can come up to me and speak clearly, politely, and considerately, or they can come at me swearing every other word.

Same thing, as far as I care. I'll respond however they came to me. No biggie either way, after all, if they swear and are "offensive", what do I care?

What if it's my parents?
What if it's my friends?
What if it's my teacher?
What if it's my boss?

I don't care. Still just a bunch of words. And if they can dish it out, they'll either take it back, or get pissy about it in which case, I'll walk away. I don't care what they think, after all

A lot of people mistake this for trying to be a tough ass. I'm not trying to be anything, I just find it a lot less stressful and better for my blood pressure (Har har?) to not care about little things like the kind of language a person uses with me. That's all Nope, doesn't make me "tough", or "bad". Makes me ME.

Ta da.

 

[Red Beard]

The meanings of words ALWAYS has meaning, whether you care or not. How you are affected by it is another thing.

The meanings and choices of words have a distinct impression on people, and whether you care/like it or not, it helps people form an opinion of you.

I find "me being ME' a cop out.

Whether or not you care, you should always strive to maintain a decent morality in your actions. (Even if you're clinically insane )

It eventually rubs off on people, and slows the cancerous like spread of degradation on our fairly self orientated society.

I am NOT saying "love everyone". Thats impossible, and I rarely like anyone I meet, but I am always polite. Contradictory? I dont think so.

Not caring about what people think is an wonderful characteristic, I have an excellent reputation (in real life) for burning bridges. But, thats no excuse for inappropriate language.

I kinda think that swearing is kinda like writing stories in second grade, try not to use 'and', 'when', 'it', 'but', and 'then'.