Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 6:20 pm
XD Steal away! I'm glad you liked it.
I see, yes, Risk and Civ very much as kissing cousins sort of thing. I'm really good at Civ right up until gunpowder, at which point I get bored and cease to want to do anything. I'm better at Civ 4 than 2, though. Never played III.
Whereas Risk I'm just generally bad at. I always listen to my boyfriend when he negotiates a non-aggression pact. Then he attacks my borders and we start yelling at each other.
XD Yes, true, it's a matter of perception. I think it's difficult to communicate with any sort of slang/insult lingo when the two sides are so completely different. Imus is an older white man, bit of a "good ol' boy" and the basketball players were young black woman. In that sort of situation you want to use caution and good judgment.
Strangers aren't always able to decipher your intentions, so it's best to put your best foot forward. I might find it wildly hilarious when my boyfriend and his best friend crack jokes about me being a "filthy halfbreed" and other such potentially offensive slurs against my heritage. Cracks about scalping, dirt and leather, smallpox, whatever. We can laugh at them and make those jokes because of our comfort level with each other. I know they don't seriously mean anything offensive.
However, if they were to make those jokes to a stranger that person might not understand. They may be offended by something I find completely harmless. Does that mean my friends shouldn't make those jokes? Absolutely not. They just should be aware of their audience. Your living room is a different situation than live radio.
But, yes, the apology circuit is a bit trite and annoying. I don't need to his nose rubbed in it.
And all the media attention was just ridiculous. If the comment offended you, don't listen to his show. Simple as that. Don't turn in into a public witch hunt.
ETA:
Interesting point, ziron. I live in Oklahoma which is predominantly white with a splash of red. Red necks, red dirt, red politics, and red people.
I have no frame of context for that sort of language being used.
Is it hypocritical to object so strongly to language that you use so casually? My gut instinct is to say yes. If you throw the n-word around like its nothing than is it all right just because you are black?
There's nothing else in the spectrum of PC to equate. Race is so strongly a hot button issue in America. Is part of that self-perpetuating? Is our awareness of racial lines holding us back? If everyone used the word would things change?
I think a large part of it is context. If I say "What's up, my bitches?" Or "Bitch you is crazy!" to my friends, than I should not be offended to have the same language used back to me, even from men. (This is a poor analogy, but run with it) However, if someone were to call me a "A bitch" than I could still be offended because I've just been insulted. It's not necessarily about the language itself but about me being insulted.
So it all boils down to context.