# Ellen Cherry, please reconsider this warning **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 28, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-cherry-please-reconsider-this-warning/659532 "2013-05-28T10:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-cherry-please-reconsider-this-warning/659532/21 "2013-05-28T18:54:09Z")
Thanks **Ellen Cherry** for demonstrating what a good moderator would do. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-cherry-please-reconsider-this-warning/659532/22 "2013-05-28T20:55:37Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I’m willing to admit that I am not aware of the subtleties of Australian race relations. However, saying to someone you bet they were called a “white cunt” sounds like you’re calling them one yourself. If the phrase has particular, understood meaning in Australia (as cited above) then I can see how it would seem obvious to someone from there, and not to me. > > And yes “cunt” is quite a loaded term in the US, which is where I’m from and where this board is based. So I’m going to see it as an insult if the word is chosen specifically for use. And I concede that a person from Australia may not view it with the same drama that I would. > > Why don’t we just agree that there has been some cross-cultural misunderstanding here? I’ll downgrade my warning to a simple note, and suggest that in a discussion of insults, we should all be careful not to insult others in the process. Cheers I suggest that the term “white cunt” is analagous to the US terms “honky” or “cracker” - it has almost become the stereotypical insult used by aboriginals against whites. If this had been a discussion about US race relations, I’m not sure that I would have been pulled up at all if I had suggested that a poster alleging he had been called a far worse racial slur than ‘ape’ had been called a honky or a cracker. Having said that, I appreciate your response, and accept the decision. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-cherry-please-reconsider-this-warning/659532/23 "2013-05-28T21:08:33Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I’m willing to admit that I am not aware of the subtleties of Australian race relations. However, saying to someone you bet they were called a “white cunt” sounds like you’re calling them one yourself. If the phrase has particular, understood meaning in Australia (as cited above) then I can see how it would seem obvious to someone from there, and not to me. > > And yes “cunt” is quite a loaded term in the US, which is where I’m from and where this board is based. So I’m going to see it as an insult if the word is chosen specifically for use. And I concede that a person from Australia may not view it with the same drama that I would. > > Why don’t we just agree that there has been some cross-cultural misunderstanding here? I’ll downgrade my warning to a simple note, and suggest that in a discussion of insults, we should all be careful not to insult others in the process. This type of reasonableness is unbecoming of a moderator. You’re on thin ice, missy! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-cherry-please-reconsider-this-warning/659532/24 "2013-05-28T21:54:00Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Why don’t we just agree that there has been some cross-cultural misunderstanding here? I’ll downgrade my warning to a simple note, and suggest that in a discussion of insults, we should all be careful not to insult others in the process. IMO this is a classy move, **Ellen**. > [@Giraffe](#): > > New moderators should be directed to this post as an example of what they should be striving toward. Very well handled. I’ll second this notion and sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-cherry-please-reconsider-this-warning/659532/25 "2013-05-29T02:24:40Z")
Thanks, everyone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-cherry-please-reconsider-this-warning/659532.md?page=1)