Reply #45: hey, slinkerwink! please read

[ant]

I think there's a rule about calling people out, but I wanted to get your attention so we could continue this, because I do find it to be an interesting discussion. Even if it doesn't contribute to the decision, I don't think anything else on here will, either, so whatever.

Anyway, I wanted to respond to the post where you said, "by using your line of argument, we shouldn't ban the word "n*gger" here but we do."

Do we? I thought people just didn't use it so it wasn't an issue, which, as I said in a post to Velma, is quite telling.

But to be perfectly honest, I don't think we should have an outright ban on ANY words. This has always been my problem with politically-correct language. It gives racists and homophobes and sexists the language they need to hide who they are. It's what keeps guys like Lott in power. It adds to The Code they already have and lets them seep into polite society.

If someone refers to me as "latina" but is thinking "spic" - what good does that do me? Let the fucker call me a spic and then let the wrath of community justice fall upon him. If that justice doesn't materialize, well, then I know this is not my community and will go elsewhere. (And like I said, I'm feeling that way about DU right now, not because the word bitch is allowed but because of the way people react to legitimate concerns about the attitudes it reflects. There's just no concern at all for why women might be offended by this, and THAT'S offensive to me. It's like me being told that I'm "overreacting" to being called a spic.)

I prefer knowing what my status is. I don't want to enable those who look down on me by giving them the tools to hide their -isms.