Please rate the following on your personal offensiveness meter...

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve been wondering how offensive certain things are in relation to others. Please rate the following in terms of how offensive they are to you. You can do his by ranking them, putting them in “offensiveness groups” (i.e. Offensive Enough To Make Me Violent, Offensive Enough To Make Me Yell, etc.), or numerical rating, etc.

Note that I separate out the “races” because it is clear that some people find making fun of white people more tolerable than others. Maybe there are other distinctions as well.

Please include everything below in one overall offensiveness system (i apologize for the lack of organization)
Using a slur against blacks (nigger, etc)
Using a slur against asians (yellowskins, chink, jap, etc.)
Using a slur against hispanics (i have no idea… chico?)
Using a slur against nationals (frog, kraut, etc.)
Using a slur against native americans (dirty injun?)
Using a slur against whites in general (cracker, etc)

Making negative racial or ethnic stereotypes/jokes against each of the above (i.e. blacks are brutish, hispanics are dumb, indians are crooks, etc).

Making a neutral racial or ethnic stereotypes/jokes against each of above (i.e. blacks like jazz, hispanics are all religious, asians are math-oriented, etc.)

Making a positive racial or ethnic stereotypes/jokes against each of above (i.e. blacks can sing well, hispanics are good lovers, asians are good at math and science)
Making fun of or insulting fat people (tub o’ lard, etc)… Note this includes jokes and such
" " " women (bi*ch, skank, whore, etc.)
" " " men (bastard?)
" " " gay men (cock sucker, etc.)
" " " gay women (dyke, etc.)
" " " retarded people (dunno about these)
" " " handicapped people (cripple?)
" " " psychologically troubled people (nutcase?)
" " " ugly people (turd-face, etc)
" " " geeky people (nerd, etc.)
" " " country-ish people (redneck, hick, etc)
" " " christians (fundie?)
" " " athiest or wrong religion (heathen, godless, devil-worshippers etc.)
" " " poor people (welfare bums, etc)
" " " rich people (yuppy?)
" " " uneducated people (plebe, ignoramus?)

That’s all I can think of. If a certain type of group insult is a distinct case for you, feel free to rate it in some way.

2

Why? Offensive is offensive. What’s the value of evaluating just how bad words are?

Are you looking to build the perfect insult? Or trying to evaluate just how bad you were slurred last night?

3

1-10 rating system, 1 is the least offensive, 10 is the worst.

blacks 2
asians 2
hispanics 2
nationals 4
indians 3
whites 2

3

1

1

fat people 5
women 1
men 2
gay men 5
gay women 5
retarded people 2
handicapped 2
troubled people 6
ugly people 5
geeky people 5
nerds 8 (nerds are our future)
rednecks 2
christians 1
wrong religion? 7
poor 7
rich 2
uneducated 4

I find anti-semitism, by which i mean serious anti-semitism like the kind Hamas believes in, not minor jokes like the ones told on south park, to be really offensive. Jewish people have been harassed for their entire history but they have made endless contributions to humanity in the sciences & politics. Jonas Salk invented the cure for polio, preventing millions of anti-semites in the middle east from getting a serious illness and nobody cares. stuff like that i find bothersome.

4

On a scale of one to ten, one being apathetic.

Slurs against blacks : 5
Slurs against asians : 5
Slurs against hispanics : 4
Slurs against nationals : 5
Slurs against native americans : 4
Slurs against whites in general : 3 (I’m white. Go figure.)

Negative racial or ethnic stereotypes : 10

Neutral racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Positive racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Insulting fat people : 8 (I’m overweight and touchy about it)
Insulting women : 8
Insulting men : 5
Insulting gay men : 5
Insulting gay women : 5
Insulting retarded people : 8 (Sister’s retarded)
Insulting handicapped people : 8 (…and severely handicapped)
Insulting psychologically troubled people : 4
Insulting ugly people : 2
Insulting geeky people : 1 (I’m a geek)
Insulting country-ish people : 2
Insulting christians : 2
Insulting athiest or wrong religion : 2
Insulting poor people : 4
Insulting rich people : 1
Insulting uneducated people : 2

5

(thanks for formatting that, Aesiron.)

On a scale of one to ten, one being apathetic.

Slurs against blacks : 2
Slurs against asians : 2
Slurs against hispanics : 2
Slurs against nationals : 1
Slurs against native americans : 2
Slurs against whites in general : 5

Negative racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Neutral racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Positive racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Insulting fat people : 1
Insulting women : 1
Insulting men : 1
Insulting gay men : 2
Insulting gay women : 2
Insulting retarded people : 1
Insulting handicapped people : 1
Insulting psychologically troubled people : 1
Insulting ugly people : 1
Insulting geeky people : 1
Insulting country-ish people : 1
Insulting christians : 1
Insulting athiest or wrong religion : 1
Insulting poor people : 1
Insulting rich people : 4
Insulting uneducated people : 1
I’m not easily offended. I want a thread where we rate which insults are funnier instead of how offensive they are.

6

Ack, I can’t believe I forgot the Jews! Thanks for sharing that, and thanks to those who’ve responded so far.

As to the question of why I’m asking for people’s opinions on this, I think I’m trying to understand what kind of reactions people will have when certain remarks are made by myself or people I know or even strangers in the street. I have a few friends who like to make fun of everything complete with offensive language and stereotypes and have gotten in trouble a few times with it. I’m just curious to see what types of jokes are likely to draw trouble and what isn’t.

One thing I find intriguing is that none of the first three responses finds neutral and positive racial stereotypes to be all that offensive. Maybe all hispanic people really are kings (or queens) of the sack :slight_smile:

7

Nothing is really offensive, unless it is intended to cause offence or hurt.

2c worth

8

I do not find any of it particularly offensive as such. more stupid ya know.

If you are dumb enough to judge people as anything but individuals, well…all I can do is laugh at the ignorance.

9

on a scale of one to ten, one being apathetic.
adding to the scale…
1 apathy
2-4 discomfort at the idea
5-7 would take action to stop it if in a position of authority
8-9 would take action to stop it, even if it wasn’t my job to do it
10 may consider physical violence to stop it.

Slurs against blacks : 7
Slurs against asians : 5
Slurs against hispanics : 5
Slurs against nationals : 5
Slurs against native americans : 5
Slurs against whites in general : 5

Negative racial or ethnic stereotypes : 8

Neutral racial or ethnic stereotypes : 3

Positive racial or ethnic stereotypes : 2

Insulting fat people : 3 (There is a level of choice in being overweight)
Insulting women : 5
Insulting men : 5
Insulting gay men : 7
Insulting gay women : 7
Insulting retarded people : 8
Insulting handicapped people : 8
Insulting psychologically troubled people : 7
Insulting ugly people : 2
Insulting geeky people : 1
Insulting country-ish people : 1
Insulting christians : 5
Insulting athiest or wrong religion : 5
Insulting poor people : 2
Insulting rich people : 2
Insulting uneducated people : 2
The problem with the survey above is that each insult could vary in serious ness greatly. I am dyslexic but enjoy dyslexia jokes, so would rate such as 1. On the other hand almost any insult could rate 10 if it was made in a sufficiently nasty/demeaning fashion.

10

on a scale of one to ten, one being apathetic.
adding to the scale…
1 apathy
2-4 discomfort at the idea
5-7 would take action to stop it if in a position of authority
8-9 would take action to stop it, even if it wasn’t my job to do it
10 may consider physical violence to stop it.

Slurs against blacks : 2
Slurs against asians : 2
Slurs against hispanics : 2
Slurs against nationals : 2
Slurs against native americans : 2
Slurs against whites in general : 3

Negative racial or ethnic stereotypes : 2

Neutral racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Positive racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Insulting fat people : 1
Insulting women : 5
Insulting men : 5
Insulting gay men : 7
Insulting gay women : 7
Insulting retarded people : 10
Insulting handicapped people : 10
Insulting psychologically troubled people : 4
Insulting ugly people :8
Insulting geeky people : 1
Insulting country-ish people : 1
Insulting christians : 1
Insulting athiest or wrong religion : 1
Insulting poor people : 1
Insulting rich people : 1
Insulting uneducated people : 1

11

I don’t personally find any of these to be offensive (I’m not easily offended), but I can appreciate where people would. I don’t really use them. I do wince whenever I hear a woman referred to with the c-word, though. I’m usually offended by that. It’s odd, because back when I was in Jr. High, to call a girl that among friends meant that you thought she was hot. 20 years later, older is wiser, I suppose.

12

Thankfully, I am very rarely around people that insult others due to their race or ethnicity. I would let them know that I disapproved and I would avoid hanging around with them.

I remember a thread regarding people that are overweight. I imagine this to be one of the more frequent insults that I hear. I confess that I do not speak up about an insult in this category.

I hear students sometimes refer to something as being “gay”. I am not convinced this is intended to be a derogatory comment that is connected to sexuality. I am unsure of the history of this slang term in terms of an insult. I am not comfortable with it and find it offensive but I do not speak up about it, consistently.

I think there are so many other opportunities to have fun and laugh without insulting others. I think people that engage in this kind of humor are pretty ignorant, unsophisticated, and basically lacking in character.

13

on a scale of one to ten, one being apathetic.
adding to the scale…
1 apathy
2-4 discomfort at the idea
5-7 would take action to stop it if in a position of authority
8-9 would take action to stop it, even if it wasn’t my job to do it
10 may consider physical violence to stop it.

Slurs against blacks : 5
Slurs against asians : 3
Slurs against hispanics : 5
Slurs against nationals : 1
Slurs against native americans : 2
Slurs against whites in general : 1

Negative racial or ethnic stereotypes : 2

Neutral racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Positive racial or ethnic stereotypes : 1

Insulting fat people : 1
Insulting women : 1
Insulting men : 1
Insulting gay men : 4
Insulting gay women : 4
Insulting retarded people : 5
Insulting handicapped people : 5
Insulting psychologically troubled people : 3
Insulting ugly people : 1
Insulting geeky people : 1
Insulting country-ish people : 1
Insulting christians : 1
Insulting athiest or wrong religion : 1
Insulting poor people : 1
Insulting rich people : 3
Insulting uneducated people : 1

14

Windwalker, I think you may have too much time on your hands :). I tend to agree with Pergau and Nocturne. It’s not so much offensive as it is inappropriate, unless one is on the receiving end. I quash any such comments in my office environment, regardless of the intent. It’s such a staggering waste of time to devote so much effort into hating a group of people based on physical characteristics, when it’s so much more fun to taunt people because of their political or religious beliefs.

15

OK, I’m confused. Why are slurs or insults against one race, religion, or creed any more offensive than a slur/insult against another? By definition, a slur or insult is offensive, no?

I find them all offensive. Equally so and equally wrong.

16

0 to all. Offensive speech is still protected speech under the Constitution.

I have a choice whether or not I react to the words used against me or others, and have learned that a strong response tends to gratify the speaker, in that he/she ‘knows’ that they were successful in offending.

Another case where less is more, IMHO.

17

Context is everything, baby. As a rule, I do not play around with stereotypes unless I’m talking with people who could be shoved into that stereotype. This is a pretty hard and fast rule. I can’t remember every breaking it - although common sense says I must have.

That is, I only make gay jokes around gay men, only make “beaner” remarks among relatives, only call women bitches and hos and so forth when women are in the group.

18

Well it’s clear from the responses on here that some people feel differently… I mean, even in pop culture, it seems ok to make cruel jokes (say in movies or TV) against nerds for being nerds, but not ok to make similar jokes against blacks for being black.

I know that some folk (such as yourself) try to view all forms of group discirimination/disparagement as equal, but I don’t think very many people have such a perfect distribution of what gets under their skin.

I think that I should have instead of separating by group, I should have done it by examples, as not all insults against a group are created equal.

19

I am opposed to all stereotypical thinking – including my own, when I catch myself at it.

Although groups are obviously persecuted, pain is an individual thing and can’t be judged by anyone else. If someone is sensitive about being called a fill in the blank, I try to avoid doing that – unless it is to make a point about how labels can hurt.

I do agree that people have more choice than some might think about whether they are offended or not. Sometimes the problems go beyond offense, however. When others discriminate against you by refusing to hire you, for example, I don’t think it makes any difference what stereotype or prejudice they are responding to as long as the person applying is capable of doing the work well. And that’s why I tend to speak up about prejudices that may not be so obvious to the person speaking.

Good thread, Windwalker!

20

On what type of scale? 1-10? 10 being the most offensive?

10–Using a slur against blacks (nigger, etc)
10–Using a slur against asians (yellowskins, chink, jap, etc.)
10–Using a slur against hispanics (i have no idea… chico?)
9–Using a slur against nationals (frog, kraut, etc.)
10–Using a slur against native americans (dirty injun?)

5–Using a slur against whites in general (cracker, etc)

I AM white and I have no idea why it doesn’t offend me nearly as much as to hear minorities being put down, to hear terms like “honky, cracker, white trash”.

10–Making negative racial or ethnic stereotypes/jokes against each of the above (i.e. blacks are brutish, hispanics are dumb, indians are crooks, etc).

8–Making a neutral racial or ethnic stereotypes/jokes against each of above (i.e. blacks like jazz, hispanics are all religious, asians are math-oriented, etc.)

8–Making a positive racial or ethnic stereotypes/jokes against each of above (i.e. blacks can sing well, hispanics are good lovers, asians are good at math and science)

9–Making fun of or insulting fat people (tub o’ lard, etc)… Note this includes jokes and such

5-10–women (bi*ch, skank, whore, etc.) Depends upon what the word is. the “C” word? that’s a 10, the “B” word? not so bad.

??? men (bastard?) I don’t find most terms that men use like this to be that offensive, men themselves seem to shrug them off so much and not care (popular culture). What I find offensive are the “gee men are so helpless around the house” type attitudes. Like the “Where is your mother” JCPenney’s ad.

??? gay men (cock sucker, etc.) I don’t have much knowledge of this lifestyle, I have a few gay friends, but they “seem” to have a very “water off of a duck’s back” attitude about such things.
8–gay women (dyke, etc.), I really hate this word. It’s so …dismissive (can’t quite pull up the word I really want). Again, I don’t know why this would bother me more than a slur against a gay man, I have only a few lesbian friends (none of whom fit the “dyke” profile), but it just bugs me.

??retarded people (dunno about these) ??handicapped people (cripple?)I don’t see this very often, at least in my neck of the woods. It doesn’t seem terribly prevelant anymore.
??psychologically troubled people (nutcase?)
?? ugly people (turd-face, etc)
1-- geeky people (nerd, etc.), These seem to be terms of almost admiration anymore, thanks to Bill Gates and his ilk.
1 country-ish people (redneck, hick, etc)
3 christians (fundie?)
3 athiest or wrong religion (heathen, godless, devil-worshippers etc.)
3 poor people (welfare bums, etc)
3 rich people (yuppy?)
3 uneducated people (plebe, ignoramus?)
(the above low scores weren’t just because I personally don’t see that a lot, but also because not having a lot of personal experience with those types of slurs, I just didn’t know).