# BrainGlutton, wtf? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 28, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399 "2015-07-28T15:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/141 "2015-07-30T04:41:11Z")
Octopus, voice of reason, must chime in. Distasteful attempts at humor don’t make BrainGlutton despicable. It just makes him distasteful at that point in time. Is s/he(it) consistently distasteful I don’t know. Personally I don’t find rape to be funny. Not even prison rape jokes. Here’s something that may be useful as an example of effective communication. > **[Diversity, Equity, Access & Inclusion | University of New Hampshire](https://www.unh.edu/diversity-inclusion/)** > > The University of New Hampshire is committed to building and nurturing an environment of inclusive excellence where all students, faculty, and staff can thrive. Note the stuff when talking about fat people. Or the retarded. Note how this guide illustrates the proper way of expression. Same can be said about those who tell tasteless jokes. Attack the joke you don’t have to tear down the person. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/142 "2015-07-30T07:24:07Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Octopus, voice of reason, must chime in. Distasteful attempts at humor don’t make BrainGlutton despicable. It just makes him distasteful at that point in time. Is s/he(it) consistently distasteful I don’t know. > > Personally I don’t find rape to be funny. Not even prison rape jokes. > > Here’s something that may be useful as an example of effective communication. > > [Diversity, Equity, Access & Inclusion | University of New Hampshire](http://www.unh.edu/inclusive/bias-free-language-guide) > > Note the stuff when talking about fat people. Or the retarded. Note how this guide illustrates the proper way of expression. Same can be said about those who tell tasteless jokes. Attack the joke you don’t have to tear down the person. I can’t offhand think of a single sacrosanct topic or single taboo phrasing, including your examples and the ones in your cite, that I would consider comedy-immune, and sometimes tearing down the person is the perfectly appropriate course of action. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/143 "2015-07-30T07:38:39Z")
I’m skimming over octopus’ cite and it’s like every cliché university level politically correct writing guide condensed into one. They have “African American” as a preferred form but “Africa” itself is problematic if it fails to recognize that the continent of Africa consists of many distinct countries. Personally, I think “black” is a perfectly good adjective, in circumstances where such is needed. It at least has the virtue of brevity. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/144 "2015-07-30T09:48:10Z")
[Quote=Rune] Ok, well what damage was done by BG? [/quote] > [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I died. So you’re saying there was an upside? Am I doing this right? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/145 "2015-07-30T11:08:48Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Here’s something that may be useful as an example of effective communication. > > [Diversity, Equity, Access & Inclusion | University of New Hampshire](http://www.unh.edu/inclusive/bias-free-language-guide) New Hampshire has a college? How cute! Who woulda thought? Are you an alumnus (did you go to school there)? ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/146 "2015-07-30T14:38:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > New Hampshire has a college? How cute! Who woulda thought? > > Are you an alumnus (did you go to school there)? Started out as an agricultural school if memory serves. That speech guide could be a parody. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/147 "2015-07-30T15:00:35Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Octopus, voice of reason, must chime in. Distasteful attempts at humor don’t make BrainGlutton despicable. It just makes him distasteful at that point in time. Is s/he(it) consistently distasteful I don’t know. > > Personally I don’t find rape to be funny. Not even prison rape jokes. > > Here’s something that may be useful as an example of effective communication. > > [Diversity, Equity, Access & Inclusion | University of New Hampshire](http://www.unh.edu/inclusive/bias-free-language-guide) > > Note the stuff when talking about fat people. Or the retarded. Note how this guide illustrates the proper way of expression. Same can be said about those who tell tasteless jokes. Attack the joke you don’t have to tear down the person. When I click on this link I get “access denied”. Check your privilege! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/148 "2015-07-30T15:18:49Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > That speech guide could be a parody. No, it’s real. Conservative-ish websites are currently falling over themselves to pan its usage guide because it recently decided that “American” is offensive because it should refer to denizens of the American continents rather than just USA people, or something. I can’t say I disagree (with those panning this idea). ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/149 "2015-07-30T16:10:29Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > [Diversity, Equity, Access & Inclusion | University of New Hampshire](http://www.unh.edu/inclusive/bias-free-language-guide) That is the most retarded thing I have ever seen. If this becomes a serious thing I am moving to North Korea because it will be a more free country. > [@Gyrate](#): > > So you’re saying there was an upside? > Am I doing this right? In Heaven we have free lollipops and taco Tuesdays. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/150 "2015-07-30T16:12:36Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > In Heaven we have free lollipops and taco Tuesdays. If you’d been a Pastafarian there would be stripper factories and beer volcanos. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/151 "2015-07-30T16:44:14Z")
I think I’ll start a GQ thread on the naming of the United States of America when I get back to my desk and do some preliminary research. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/152 "2015-07-30T17:30:04Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No, it’s real. Conservative-ish websites are currently falling over themselves to pan its usage guide because it recently decided that “American” is offensive because it should refer to denizens of the American continents rather than just USA people, or something. I can’t say I disagree (with those panning this idea). I meant that it was so bad it could be a parody–Poe’s Law. Alas, I know it’s all too real. (North American–for all the term’s inaccuracies–can come in handy in some conversations, just as cis-gender does in others. Most people don’t have those conversations.) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/153 "2015-07-30T18:13:45Z")
When I click on the link for the “bias-free language guide”, I go to their home page, and a search there finds no results. Have they taken it down? I was going to sue them for not having a Braille version. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/154 "2015-07-30T20:41:27Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > If you’d been a Pastafarian there would be stripper factories and beer volcanos. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/155 "2015-08-04T20:53:38Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > …Bryan Eckers, Vinyl Turnip and elucidator can pull it off… Oh, **Vinny** pulls it off all the time… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/156 "2015-08-04T20:58:34Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Oh, **Vinny** pulls it off all the time… Always carry a few tissues. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/157 "2015-08-04T21:33:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > When I click on the link for the “bias-free language guide”, I go to their home page, and a search there finds no results. Have they taken it down? [Yes](http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/07/29/university-president-offended-by-bias-free-language-guide). Apparently it was created by some “community commissions” without the university administration’s knowledge (though presumably with their funds). It had no actual authority; it was just a “resource”. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399/158 "2015-08-05T20:58:02Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I mean, who hates Ivana Trump that much? My recollection of her is as a vaguely pointless celebrity based on her association with The Donald, which in itself is a bad enough punishment for whatever sins she may have committed. Did I miss a memo in which she was revealed to have committed genocide or drowned several dozen kittens or something? This part of your post made me realize exactly how much I miss [Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks](https://screen.yahoo.com/trump-divorce-cold-opening-000000571.html). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brainglutton-wtf/726399.md?page=7)