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Oh how ridiculous!?

Discussion in 'Watford' started by Scullion, Nov 6, 2019.

  1. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    It may depend more on the sound of the word rather than the actual object Frenchie. When I came to Germany I couldn't understand why one river could be masculine and another feminine - eg. der Rhein and die Elbe, and die Donau (Danube) - but then realized that, in that case, it had to do with the number of syllables.
     
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  2. Hornet-Fez

    Hornet-Fez Well-Known Member

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    #22
  3. yorkshirehornet

    yorkshirehornet Well-Known Member

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    This is true Fez.. Mme Yorkie had a document that outlined each designation and how the person liked to be denoted.. Eg not she or he..
     
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  4. Hornet-Fez

    Hornet-Fez Well-Known Member

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    Don't doubt it for a nanosecond. Our position is that we really don't care about their gender or sexuality: we'll call them by their preferred name or pronoun as they wish... however odd it might be to us, none of our business.
     
    #24
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  5. Toby

    Toby GC's Life Coach

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    It's down to how it sounds OFH. When a new word appears, people just associate a pronoun with it and when it sticks, the Academy Francaise (or one of those government bodies, can't remember which one) adds it to the French language.

    It happens a lot with English words that start to be used in day-to-day conversation, or new technology. I find it very interesting.
     
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  6. Toby

    Toby GC's Life Coach

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    1) I don't know any examples of that happening? A recent example would be homosexuality becoming more accepted, only 15-20 years ago some of the jokes or comments made would never be acceptable nowadays, but I can't remember anyone getting punished for it?
    2) Not really, but I doubt that's done in a racist way, and there is far less historical evidence of black people being racist towards white people...
    3) There's a difference between what people do in their own home and displaying Gollywogs in their front window or arguing that it's not a racist representation of black people. Also the number of cases like the one you suggest would be minimal.
    4) No, not at all. Sometimes you need to force changes through in society, and once they become mainstream people see the errors of their ways. Discrimination, especially against minorities, is cowardly and disgusting.
    5) Between them? Fine. On Twitter? No.

    I wasn't trying to make it political, but it's very much a certain section of society that hold these views. I won't delve into it further.
     
    #26
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  7. Scullion

    Scullion Well-Known Member

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    Perhaps Toby you could suggest a non PC title for the thread?
     
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  8. Scullion

    Scullion Well-Known Member

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    #28
  9. yorkshirehornet

    yorkshirehornet Well-Known Member

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    I imagine very small numbers of those how dont identify as male or female...
     
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  10. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    PC is centrally concerned with the use of language but what of non verbal examples of stereotyping of groups of people ? Surely these can be even more damaging. Just a light example - go into a cafe with a woman and order a cappucino and an espresso. In about 95% of cases the waiter/waitress /waitperson? will place the espresso in front of you and the cappucino will go to your lady friend - why ? In a more serious tone if a young boy of Afro Caribbean origins announces at school that he wants to be a football star or singer then it will receive more encouragement than if he says he wants to become a chess grandmaster.
     
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  11. yorkshirehornet

    yorkshirehornet Well-Known Member

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    Tory candidate ex bbc presenter.. Who said women should keep their knickers on... Is now beings pillared by labour spokesman.. Another good example...
    When it is not OK to say what you think be a it may I be pc.. We have problems
     
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  12. Hornet-Fez

    Hornet-Fez Well-Known Member

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    I think the problem here is the "look but don't touch" ethic that he doesn't seem to want to follow. Maybe he feels unable to... says more about him.
    There's a reason why in some places a woman is forced to wear a burqa and it's not to save the woman from herself.
    I don't really care how the woman dresses. Her body, her rules. Not mine to touch so I don't touch. Not difficult for a truly civilised man to understand or do.
     
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  13. HHTFC1

    HHTFC1 Well-Known Member

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    So here is the verdict....fair?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50404855
     
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  14. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    No it isn't fair. It says 'insulting by reference to race, colour and ethnic origin' but if it is without malicious intent, did not mention race in a derogatory way, and was accepted by the recipient, then it is the end of the story as far as I am concerned. Can I make no reference to race whatsoever ? If I say to my friend from Ghana ''Sorry I didn't see you in the dark'' is that racist ?
     
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  15. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    If you say to your friend...........................
    If you say it to your friend face to face he has the choice of laughing, or ending the friendship.
    Say it on any form of social media and you are asking for it to be made into an issue.
     
    #35
  16. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    That's fair enough Frenchie but there are a lot of grey areas here. Was what he said any worse than some of the things that our current Prime Minister has said in the past ? There is also the issue of cabaret in Germany which appears immune to PC, and freedom of the press as in Charlie Hebdo in France which often produced negative charicatures of Arabic or Semitic peoples, including Mohammed. This should be right across the board - is every joke which starts with Paddy and Mick suddenly punishable ? Even though the teller of it was in no way anti Irish. I do not think every reference to ethnic origins is wrong, it depends on the emotion behind it. Also some ethnic groups are better protected than others - negative words for Germans, French etc. appear to be ignored, just as the Roma are subjected to forms of abuse which, if directed to Jews, would cause a storm.
     
    #36
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  17. HHTFC1

    HHTFC1 Well-Known Member

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    Personally I feel that context needs to taken into account they are friends, and team mates and Mendy took no offence to it. No harm, no foul! IMHO
     
    #37
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  18. Scullion

    Scullion Well-Known Member

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    I had an Asian friend at Uni (who lived in Watford no less) and we always had a bit of banter, he was chocolate drop and I snow flake and it was taken in good humour. We have lost this along the way somewhere.
     
    #38
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  19. duggie2000

    duggie2000 Well-Known Member

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    Over 30 years ago as young Surveyor I was talking to a black foreman in the site huts on a day when work had been rained of
    At one point we somehow got to race relations and he said there could never be racial harmony in this country until I could call him a black.**** and he could call be a white **** without either of us being offended
    He then said if I wasn't already married he would be perfectly happy with me dating his daughter but, would not want us to have children because both blood lines would be diluted
    We have moved on a great deal on his second point but nowhere on his first
     
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  20. duggie2000

    duggie2000 Well-Known Member

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    I of course said I agreed with him on his first point but not his second
     
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