Reply #78: She's explaining something to you.

[noamnety]

She's saying that even when its offensiveness is being discussed the history of the word is so vile, that for many people it's a trigger all by itself - so it's best to avoid using the word itself directly.

If I'm discussing rape over in the feminist forum, I don't post a photo from a rape in progress - it's the reality of what happens, but also it's a trigger for people, and it's not necessary. In one of our discussions over there, I posted a few links to stories about prostitutes and what their lives are like - someone there said that one of them in particular needed a warning on the link. I screwed up there, it was after the editing time so I couldn't fix it, but I didn't argue the point. I apologized, explained it was too late to edit, and next time, I'll know.

If you look at the first posts in this thread, they were similar politely worded requests.

"I don't want to see that word on this site.

I can't imagine how it feels to those who've had it used against them as a weapon, but common sense says it's really not something we need around here. "

"Thank you. Neither do I."

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A more appropriate response from you would have been to edit if you were still able, or if you weren't, at least understand their point of view and let them know you'll avoid using the word in the future.