Discussions on difficult subjects

[Conn6orsuper117]

Yesterday was a mega shit day. My Grandpa (mamasuper's father) has finally passed away after being bedridden for 3 days, he had cancer and recently discovered shingles on his back. He didn't go down without a fight (he's always been a fighter, especially in service during the Korean War) but sadly after a 3 year battle, he couldn't no more.
The last time I talked to him was over the phone the night before, he couldn't even speak but all I got was an enthusiastic "Hmmm-mmmm" when he heard me and my sister over the phone. I wanted to come to support him but my mom insisted I stayed behind. He's with grandma now, and hopefully finally at peace.
God speed, grandpa! I miss you.

[Bosco]

sorry Conn6or, never easy to lose a loved one. I hope you and your Mom can find solace that he won't suffer anymore.

[Csar]

Oh Connor, I am so sorry to hear that. My deepest condolences. A little surprising, though, that your Mom didn't let you go see him.
May he be at peace and in beautiful place.

[Conn6orsuper117]

Oh Connor, I am so sorry to hear that. My deepest condolences. A little surprising, though, that your Mom didn't let you go see him.
May he be at peace and in beautiful place.

Mom told me he was in extremely poor shape since the last time we saw him 4 weeks ago (he lost much more weight and his nostrils were starting to tear so he was wearing a bandaid when we saw him). She didn't want us to be heartbroken at the sight of him, and to remember him the way he looked when we last saw him.
I still wanted to go though to support him.

[MadPooter]

My condolences to you and your family Connor.

[MadPooter]

How to go about talking about the BLM response to the Jussie Smollett trial.

https://blacklivesmatter.com/statement-regarding-the-ongoing-trial-of-jussie-smollett/

For those not in the loop, Jussie Smollett (was) a fairly well-known actor, who for whatever reason decided to fraudulently create a hate crime where he was the victim.

In doing so, he insulted, disrespected and disregarded every victim of a hate crime. He was going to point the finger at whatever innocent bystander happened to be rounded up by police should the investigation have gone the way he wanted.

After the facts came out and it was clear that he had faked a hate crime, he was charged numerous times with a few crimes related to the act, including filing a false police report, and felony disorderly conduct.

And somehow, the spokespeople behind the BLM movement call him "a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom."

This was a cowardly, heinous, malicious act. This was not courageous at all. I cannot support this, and I fear that the conversation about race relations in the United States has just taken a very unfortunate turn.

[sandelic]

This article covers timeline of this whole sorry mess pretty well

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47317701

What one can say with certainty is he did nobody, not black community or gay people, any favours.

Btw, I've never heard or seen that guy until he started popping up on news sites year ago.
It's my understanding he's some sort of actor and singer?
Oh yeah, and pretty narcissistic, it seems. 

[MadPooter]

Whoopi Goldberg, host of The View on America's NBC, just got suspended from hosting because she said that the Holocaust wasn't about race, it was about groups of people fighting each other.

She apologized later in a tweet and stated that the Holocaust *was* actually about race, and that she was sorry if she hurt anyone.

The apology was insufficient, apparently.

What's strange is that, from what I understand about the Holocaust, literally millions of people died and it had nothing to do with their race. Sure--the "white Aryan" race was the foundation of the Nazi party, the idea that "white" European ancestry was superior, much in the same way that some wizards in Harry Potter decried "half-bloods" and persecuted "muggles."

But it wasn't *all* about race. That's an absolutely accurate statement, and one close to what Whoopi said. People were persecuted and killed for all sorts of reasons--I think that the queer community probably has a basis for offense here, actually. White, blue-eyed, blonde-haired Aryans were killed not because they were a different "race," but because they were gay.

I can understand the offense, I suppose--people will get offended at just about anything. But somehow people demanded more, because someone without a history degree, or any other sort of academic specialization or credentials, said something in an off-hand comment that did not strictly align with the narrative of the Holocaust, which may or may not be accurate depending on whom you ask.

I think the response to Whoopi Goldberg's comment was ignorant. And I think that all we're doing is promoting ignorance.

But let's go ahead and fix racism by firing talk show hosts.

[MadPooter]

Someone asked me if I was stupid on Reddit. In response, I asked them if they were fucking retarded.

My account was suspended for 3 days.

I deactivated my account.

[Conn6orsuper117]

Someone asked me if I was stupid on Reddit. In response, I asked them if they were fucking retarded.

My account was suspended for 3 days.

I deactivated my account.

Several subs have very douchy mods, i regularly browse codzombies reddit and im genuinely convinced the mods single me out, as every video and post i make in the past 3 weeks have been removed "for disturbing guidelines and uncivil behavior," like bitch, what am i doing?
You know what you did.
No i dont!
Well you did, we're just not gonna tell you.

The only subs where the mods are cool are the fairly underground subreddits, like SSX, Rct even the chemical brothers sub (though the moderator bot is kinda annoying, as it tends to shadowban newcomers)

[MadPooter]

The reasons that I was given was that my behavior was considered either "harassing" or "bullying."

Harassment is, by definition, repeated conduct over a span of time aimed toward an individual with the intent of causing them distress or anxiety.

Bullying is, by definition, trying to "harm, intimidate or coerce" someone through behavior aimed at them.

Reddit mods understand "harassment" as one unfriendly instance of communication between you and another user.

Reddit mods also understand "bullying" as responding to an insult directed at you with offensive language.

[Bosco]

Context will probably give more of a picture here, but dude... you're better than this.

Don't look at the this from a legal standpoint and justify yourself by breaking down definitions and whatnot. You're hardly being punished and if anything, your retort was tasteless. Sure you're not the original offender and it sucks to be reprimanded, but is your reddit reputation so important that you much challenge a dimwitted comment towards you?

Sticks and stones, brotha

[Wolkenkrabber]

Well I'm not gonna tell you off pooter other than to suggest that this might be more of a "what really grinds my gears" thread subject.
However the words of the great Sir Alex Ferguson spring to mind: "It's always the one who retaliates who gets punished".
He found this out as a player and later as manager of Manchester United, he would advise his players to watch out for the referee: "if you get fouled and you retalite, you will probably be the one who is punished by officials".
I'm not saying it's right, it is alas, just the way it tends to go. You have my sympathies.

[MadPooter]

I understand where people are coming from. Unfortunately, people don't understand where I am coming from.

I embrace and I value freedom of speech. Period.

Notwithstanding actual hate speech, I do not believe someone's offense should be valued above someone else's ability to speak.

I certainly don't believe that because someone ignorantly believes they *should* be offended by someone else's speech that the offending speaker should be silenced.

I believe that we can and should consider the speaker's intent in word choice and usage, and I believe that we as a society can understand that words have multiple meanings, and that meanings can change over time, especially when people use words in certain contexts that depart from original meaning.

If you are offended by the words "fucking retarded," you're coming from an ignorant place. While it might be difficult to hear, let me take a minute to explain my position and why I believe this to be the case.

Presumably people that get offended by the words "fucking retarded" are offended because they believe that somehow pejoratively it is insulting to individuals that can be described as having "special needs," or being "developmentally disabled," "intellectually disabled," or, more officially, "mentally disabled."

Assuming this is the case, which seems the only likely explanation, if for the last 12 years we have referred to an individual actually described in the above paragraph by 4 different terms, the last of which being the official designation by the U.S. government, and all of those terms are different than the term "fucking retarded," why do people insist that the words "fucking retarded" refer to an individual that is mentally disabled?

Why can't the words "fucking retarded" be defined by its use on the Internet to describe someone who is being willfully ignorant and believes that their ignorance should be extolled on others as though it were a virtue? Why can't we understand that when we use the words "fucking retarded" that we are not describing someone who is mentally disabled, but rather as an insult to describe behavior that displays an absence of logic or rational thought?

As to the choice to get offended by the phrase "fucking retarded," would people have the same reaction if I were to have asked if an individual was a "fucking imbecile?" Would people get upset if instead of using the phrase "fucking retarded" I had replaced it with "fucking moron"?

Both "imbecile" and "moron" both were, at one point, clinical terms to describe an individual which we would now describe as "mentally disabled," but no one bats an eye at someone using either of those two words because no one chooses to understand that they should be offended because of their use.

People are going to choose to be offended by a lot of things--honestly I cannot keep track of it all. What we say today won't be okay to say tomorrow, and I do not believe it is constructive to try to keep a list that shifts with the whims of the masses to determine who gets to speak and who does not, according to the words they use without consideration of the message of what they're saying.

Suffice to say--if you believe that we should silence someone simply because they offend someone else, I'm pretty sure you know how I would describe your belief.

[Bosco]

You talk a big game with free speech, but Freedom of speech means nothing without empathy. And I suppose that's what has us devided here. 

You can call me a fucking retard, and I won't care.  Quite frankly, you're probably not wrong. But also note I think you're a fucking retard for bringing this "inconvenience" to light.

Thing is, the consecutive wording of FUCKING RETARD is just about as triggering as any racial or strikingly demeaning insult (like calling a women a cunt or whore). These things aren't said without offending. That doesn't mean that I don't think they can't be said, but I fully understand that they typically come with consequence.

[MadPooter]

Thank you for the discussion. I apologize if you felt my tone is directed toward you, Bosco. I'm trying to characterize my experience on a more general level and probably failing to tailor my words in a way that might be both persuasive as well as exhibiting empathy.

I think you're right in that I can't disregard people's feelings entirely if my goal is to effectuate communication. However, it's a tough balance to strike, and it becomes increasingly frustrating when people might value one group's feelings while disregarding another.

I disagree with your characterization of "inconvenience." Reddit is a site that I have been using for over a decade, and the decision to stop using the platform was one that was not idly made. I have been observing conversations being stifled on that platform in certain subreddits for the past few years with growing concern, but I was always willing to ignore instances of shutting down conversations with the idea that if you didn't like one subreddit, you could simply create your own and have your own conversations there.

That site now apparently has algorithms searching through user comments in an effort to shut down anyone that might run afoul of people's feelings, and it is very clear that feelings are being emphasized more than communication. It doesn't matter what subreddit you're in--this is a site-wide policy.

Now, you can't just start your own subreddit on that site anymore; you still have to abide by whatever feelgoodery laws popular culture currently understands so you can say the right words to avoid stepping into the verboten.

Anyway, it seems increasingly clear that I am in the minority, but part of my personality is that I tend to be a contrarian to a fault. Nonetheless, it is my hope that people will realize the wider impact of policing speech with the goal of trying to keep people's feelings from being hurt.

No one wins when we get into a competition about who is more offended. Because everyone is offended by everything.

[Bosco]

I should have taken in account your previous post about Whoopi's suspension. I see the theme you're going for here, and I'm ultimately on your side.

I still think the reddit thing is a little petty, but I can understand your swelled frustration.

I also commend your passion for being comprehensible and transparent as possible.

[ThePumisher]

damn you russia

[Zesty]

I seriously really hope that any of the fans living near Ukraine or in Ukraine are ok right now. Things are really escalating quickly and lets all pray that this doesn't worsen. Let's also be aware of the families and all the civilians that are living during these attacks. So, stay safe all of you Chemical Brothers , sisters and siblings and let's hope this doesn't go to shit.

View this post on Instagram

(in case you want to know what's happening atm)


Zesty

[Stefan]

Vladimir Putin is a fucking shithead. That's not news, but it cannot be stated often enough.