I don’t usually read the pit, except when I’m really bored, and I make a habit of not posting there. However I stumbled over this particular thread.
The thread started with this:
Then, presumably after consulting the pit rules, RR added this:
Miller replied :
However, Septimus said:
And Miller replied:
I don’t get it. Is the warning for use of the word Trannie? But RR used the exact same word, and was within bounds. Is it because a trans person is allowed to say the word, but nobody else is?
What if two Dopers of color were to address each other as “Nigger,” in the pit or elsewhere. Is that also permissible?
I on the other hand do 100% understand the moderation. It is a slur.
However, I would recommend leniency because Ronald Raygun had just used the term. I think septimus was likely copying that usage, assuming it was acceptable because the trans person in the thread had already used it.
I mean, he directly copied even RR’s unusual spelling. I don’t think someone who knew they were using the slur would have done that.
I’m not saying it shouldn’t have been moderated. But, if the Warning was based on assuming it was intentional, that maybe strongly worded Note would be sufficient.
If it’s a zero-tolerance policy, then fine. I don’t object to that. I just don’t think that septimus was trying to make a bigoted comment. At the very least, maybe a more thorough explanation for the problems with that word would be warranted.
What has board policy been on this type of word in the past? Online, we don’t really know who anyone is. Do we follow the irl rule? It seems to open up the possibility of a troll claiming to be (say) a black person in order to throw the n- word around. And even if someone is really a black person, how would someone new to the board know that? They will just see someone using the n- word and wonder wtf this place is.
I seem to recall someone recently banned for calling Michelle Obama that. Kind of hard to search for other uses, though, given that a search seems to show more than a thousand uses (the limit of the search engine) where most of them are talking about vehicle transmissions (with the “tranny” spelling, not the “trannie” used by Ronald Raygun and septimus.)
In the context it was clearly not meant as a slur.
The warning was out of line. At most a note explaining why ithe word was okay in the op but not okay in his post supportive of the op and building on it.
I sometimes slip up and use a slur word to be cute or sarcastic.
But in this case I simply did not know it was a slur word. I live in “an Asian jungle”, haven’t visited North America for 19 years. SDMB is my major cultural contact with Americans.
I copied OP’s use of the word. Anyway, my own contribution to that thread had nothing whatsoever to do with any gays — mine was all about the political need for Ds to unify against Rs.
I am quite confused; I figured it was “I supported SenorBeef in that thread, so I submit to having my balls licked also. Send a gorgeous lesbian please. Airfare not included.” that drew the note and not the use of the word trannie.
Sorry for not getting to this thread earlier. I saw it last night, shortly before I accidentally knelt on my glasses, which made me pretty much useless until I got to an optometrist this morning.
So. The warning was for the use of the word “tranny,” which is considered a slur by most trans people. Context does matter in these sorts of cases: a transwoman using it self-referentially is different from a cis person using it to argue that trans rights are unimportant or not worth fighting for. Coupled with the disgusting “send a lesbian to lick me,” opening, and the post read as strongly homophobic to me, and the use of “tranny” in that context seemed much more of an intentional jab.
However, I’ve since read septimus’ posts arguing that he was unaware of the implications of the term and was using it in ignorance, not malice. Considering what I’ve seen of his other posts, this seems credible to me, and so I’m rescinding the warning.
Thanks! It really is true that I’m very out of touch with American culture; SDMB is my major source of such info. You guys often mention actors, singers, memes, etc. I’ve never heard of.
There are a very very few Americans who also live here in Nowheresville. Most of them are at least as weird as me!