# I am getting tired of the PC Police on this board. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 18, 2003, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016 "2003-05-18T05:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/61 "2003-05-19T02:38:44Z")
Well I guess you’ll just be really fucking tired then, considering all those threads you’ll feel so compelled to jump into and find a reason to correct someone. How do you keep your energy up to do that? Drink a lot of Gatorade? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/62 "2003-05-19T02:42:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > I’m with the OP on this one. As soon as I saw the title of the thread he references, I predicted that all responses would be ignoring the OP’s main point and harp on the reference to her being fat. Of course, my prediction was tiresomely correct. It’s quite sad how sensitive people are. Given that the OP’s rant about the other driver’s obesity and the wretched life that person must accordingly live kind of overwhelmed the business about the accident, is that any surprise? Some excerpts, if I may: > [@](#): > > …well, what did I see? Surely she was a member of the human race, though I now doubt it. > > It was a hugely obese, skanky, horrifically ugly woman driving a crappy red minivan. > [@](#): > > In the passenger seat was a equally fat but much younger woman I’d assume was her daughter. I caught a glimpse of several children in the backseat, undoubtedly misbegotten and doomed spawn who have a life of misery and human failure to look forward to. > [@](#): > > But why do these people BREED? This gigantic, glanduar-disadvantaged whore is going to begat many gigantic, glandular-disadvantaged spawn who will use their short, pathetic lives to talk aloud in movie theatres, harrass gas station attendents, collect welfare, serve prison sentences for drug usage, and drive away from car accidents. There was some stuff about a $500 accident there, too. But the OP of the linked thread seemed to be ‘about’ the accident in the same manner that WWI was ‘about’ the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/63 "2003-05-19T02:48:09Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by catsix \* Well I guess you’ll just be really fucking tired then, considering all those threads you’ll feel so compelled to jump into and \*\*find a reason to correct someone.\*\*Don’t worry on my account. If it’s clear from the very thread title that the OP’s head isn’t screwed on right, it doesn’t take any looking around. > [@](#): > > How do you keep your energy up to do that? Debating people I disagree with in the Pit really doesn’t take any more energy than doing the same in GD, really. Does twisting people’s words take a lot of energy? I doubt it, because you do so much of it. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/64 "2003-05-19T02:49:55Z")
Recoded - shoulda previewed. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by catsix \* > Well I guess you’ll just be really fucking tired then, considering all those threads you’ll feel so compelled to jump into and **find a reason to correct someone.** Don’t worry on my account. If it’s clear from the very thread title that the OP’s head isn’t screwed on right, it doesn’t take any looking around. > [@](#): > > How do you keep your energy up to do that? Debating people I disagree with in the Pit really doesn’t take any more energy than doing the same in GD, really. Does twisting people’s words take a lot of energy? I doubt it, because you do so much of it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/65 "2003-05-19T03:01:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by danceswithcats \* > \*\*In the first paragraph of the above quote, it is noted that a hypothetical moniker of “goat fucker” could not be proven or disproven. > > Therefore, it follows that statements relative to weight/size are also not able to be substantiated from the third person, e.g. neither provable or non provable. > > As such, unless you were witness to the alleged event, the OP causal to this new thread may or may not have issues of perception regarding size of his/her fellow citizens, the alleged MV accident, and views expressed regarding same. > > Beyond that, even IF the OP in your opinion has views and perceptions that are evil, that is his/her right. > > I may despise the position you take, the words you speak, and the platform you claim, but will give every measure of my person in defense of your right to so express yourself. \*\* Sorry, I’m having a **Justhink** flashback. What are you **talking** about? What I meant was that the person who says that the hit-and-runner was a goat fucker wouldn’t have been able to tell whether or not they really fucked goats in their spare time. One would hope that he would tell the truth about whether or not the hit-and-runner was obese. Are we not allowed to comment on any post now because the OP might be lying? I’d really like you to clarify your position, please. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/66 "2003-05-19T03:46:17Z")
In the end we can’t really know what another person is feeling. But if people say to me that slurs against groups of people are offensive to them, I take them at their word. Since I am the offending person, I would not be a very good judge of whether or not _they are oversensitive_ or _I am insensitive_. I don’t believe in censorship of anyone’s views. I do believe in speaking out when I feel hurt. I also take a stand against indulgence in stereotyping because it often damages people by perpetuating myths. For myself, I won’t want to **ridicule** people about a subjects that are particularly painful to them. (I know that I have sometimes.) But I will speak to the issues that I see. When we disagree, speaking up about it doesn’t mean that we are trying to police your thoughts; we couldn’t even if we wanted to! And only administrators and moderators can police our words. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/67 "2003-05-19T07:08:28Z")
**CuriousCanuck** When people are equating fat bashing with what the Jews or gay people have gone through, then I think the battle is lost. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/68 "2003-05-19T07:18:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben Hicks \* > Actually, you’re wrong. If someone calls someone else fat and then some kneejerking sociopath like **Mockingbird** calls them an intolerant piece of shit (or whatever) then I (once I’ve recovered from the temporary blindness caused by overexposure to unintentional irony) would think far worse of **Mockingbird** than I would of the person who originally provoked him by using “fat” as an insult. Really? Consider these two statements: “Hitler was an asshole” “I hate Jews” Which is worse? There is a _world_ of difference between the tone of a statement and the content of the statement. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/69 "2003-05-19T07:39:25Z")
If a super model had run into this guys car, would he have brought appearances into his insults against her? ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/70 "2003-05-19T07:54:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blalron \* > If a super model had run into this guys car, would he have brought appearances into his insults against her? My God! She had the most perfect breasts I’ve ever seen! What car? ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/71 "2003-05-19T07:56:18Z")
Here is my ass: ( | ) It is very fat. ---
**Author:** ![NTChrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@NTChrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NTChrist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/72 "2003-05-19T08:18:00Z")
I am with the OP (CCanuck, and of the cited thread) on this one. If there’s anything I hate more than a bewildered person behind the wheel, it’s a fat bewildered person. I hold a special place in my organ-o’-hate for hit-and-runners. Combining all three should’ve produced a Pit thread so vile and e-violent toward the offending driver that we should have been speculating on the stench coming from her undies, because she was soo fat, that she fell into the “Too Fat to Wash” catagory. I’m having trouble feeling sorry for the heavy people on this board when they read a fat insult and feel that it is directed at them. **Some people NEVER pass up the opportunity for a little righteous indignation.** ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/73 "2003-05-19T08:20:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blalron \* > \*\*If a super model had run into this guys car, would he have brought appearances into his insults against her? \*\* Yes,- the\< ditzy blonde bitch\> title would have been applied. Or,\< big titted, self righteous whore\> could have been used alternatively. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/74 "2003-05-19T09:55:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\ ***CuriousCanuck** When people are equating fat bashing with what the Jews or gay people have gone through, then I think the battle is lost. :rolleyes: \*\* I so agree. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/75 "2003-05-19T10:15:41Z")
As do I. Also, I found it hilarious that **blowero** was guilty of the comparison, not to mention Godwin’s Law, in the post immediately following **Rick’s** observation. There’s that unintentional irony again. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/76 "2003-05-19T11:27:26Z")
Have it your way: The pain of the Jews and Arabs has been greater than mine. The pain of the African Americans has been greater than mine. The pain of gays who are bashed, or worse, is greater than mine. The pain of people who have been disfigured is greater than mine. The pain of **many** people who have been discriminated against is greater than mine. **At what point does discrimination become okay to you?** Do you know what all of these catagories have it common? I can think of four very important things: 1. At one point or another in history, it has been “okay” in the minds of much of society to discriminate against all of these groups of people – even encouraged. 2. All of these groups have finally said _enough_! We are not going to listen to you crassness when speaking of us as a group and still remain silent. 3. All of these groups have been discriminated against in earning a livelihood. 4. All of these groups have had to make a point of their humanity. If you tell someone here to “eat shit and die” you can be banned. If this constant barage of insults isn’t **hate speech** ," then there is no hate speech. And there is selective enforcement of the rules of the pit. I STILL don’t believe in censorship even though some of you are just singing a different verse in a Joe Cool song. And some of the moderators might want to reconsider their seeming indifference. I would at least like to hear a little more input than just agreement that it is all our own fault. I make it a point not to report anyone’s post to a moderator. But I will report my own post in hopes that maybe a moderator or administrator will at least address the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/77 "2003-05-19T11:32:40Z")
**blowero** > [@](#): > > Really? Consider these two statements: > > “Hitler was an asshole” > > “I hate Jews” > > Which is worse? > > There is a world of difference between the tone of a statement and the content of the statement. In the paragraph preceding the statement you chose to quote I _did_ state that I believed there were varying shades of bigotry. At the top of the totem are things like anti semitism and religious bigotry. This is because these have devastating real world consequences on an unimaginable scale. Sizeism, in my opinion, ranks near the bottom just below “heightism” but above “Huge-donkey-sized-trophy-cup-handle-earism”. Someone who professes to hate Jews is perpetuating a mindset which has cost countless lives throughout the ages and is still responsible for unthinkably brutal slaughters of attrition even today. Someone who has a thing against fat people is, at worst, being too superficial. However, having said that I still look with distaste on such displays as that of **DavidB** in a recent GD thread in which he snidely attacked **Sionnach** , a neo-nazi under the guise of attempting to debate in good faith. **Even when attempting to point out the bigotry of neo-nazi’s one should strive to be polite and reasonable**. I can honestly say that if I had been a fence sitter, unsure of my stance on Nazism and related issues, I would have been completely turned off by the liberal position _solely because of the deplorable way DavidB presented his “arguments” and because he acted like a rude asshole in that thread._ In other words, I would have sided with **Sionnach** inspite of the fist sized holes in her arguments _purely because it would have given me pleasure to prove someone as rude and nasty as DavidB wrong._ Don’t like it? Tough titty, that’s human nature for you. The very existance of this thread is proof of that. In case my position is still not clear, **Mockingbird** was RIGHT to call in **Keith Berry** on his superficiality. He held the moral highground but he threw it away like a hot potato by being an asshole. Had he (and 1 or 2 others but especially he) been civil then this thread would probably not exist. There wouldn’t be so many people fighting in **Keith Berry’s** corner and So in answer to your question, I believe that “I hate Jews” is a more offensive statement because of its sociopolitical implications (like “Nigger” or “Gook”) than “You’re an asshole”. However, if you’re trying to prove someone is intolerant then there are very few statements one can make which are more counterproductive than “You’re an asshole”, or, in **Mockingbird’s** case “You’ve now set the bar so low I don’t think slugs could get under it. The grave you’ve dug for yourself is now at nine feet. You are a month past your freshness date and your IQ still hasn’t surpassed your shoe size. Now… find your rock and crawl under it.” Doesn’t exactly engender sympathy for one’s position, does it? ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/78 "2003-05-19T11:35:51Z")
**Zoe** , the problem with your argument is that it can be used to put even the tiniest and most petty forms of discrimination on par with that of anti semitism and suchlike. Clearly not the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/79 "2003-05-19T12:56:24Z")
if she’d been called a tall bitch, nobody would’ve batted an eyelid. If she was called a skinny bitch it would’nt even be noticed. Take it from me, a skinny man, who notices these things but really doesn’t take it personally. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016/80 "2003-05-19T13:18:33Z")
Seeing this thread became a clone of the other one, and let me repost my summary on how absurd it is to equate the horrors faced by the victims of racial discrimination, religious bigotry or gay bashing with the discrimination faced by obese individuals: > [@](#): > > It is not that the same abuse, say an insult delivered verbally, about one’s gender, race, religion, or weight have different values of instinsic “wrongness” (although given the historic impact of racism, religous bigotry and horrors of gay bashing an argument certainly could be made- however it is clear from the quoted sections that was not what I said), it is simply that to compare the impact of the systematic, organizied and entrenched discrimination faced by entire generations by racism, religious persecution and sexual orientation is a slap in the face to the victims of the innumerable murders, tortures, rapes, beating, and systematic disenfranchisement of even the most basic civil rights. Further, it removes any credibility for those making such an argument. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-getting-tired-of-the-pc-police-on-this-board/176016.md?page=5)