# Protesting the Warning I was given **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 29, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981 "2012-08-29T00:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/101 "2012-08-30T18:08:20Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Ok, so which part of Canada is it ok for us to make fun of? [Florida](http://www.npr.org/2011/02/18/133864976/in-fla-its-a-great-time-for-canadian-homebuyers). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/102 "2012-08-30T19:05:56Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Let’s tweak that a little. > > You punch your friend in the arm and cause extensive bruising and tendon damage. > > You break your other friend’s arm. > > Does this make the bruising and tendon damage perfectly okay? What part of “obnoxious and annoying behavior” is synonymous with “perfectly okay” in your world? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/103 "2012-08-30T20:11:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Perspective would indeed serve you. When someone is making the claim (even jokingly) that everyone from an area is incestuous, that’s nasty, and it’s bigotry. What else could it possibly be? Plain ol’ humor. I would not be offended in the least if something similar had been said about my home state, RI, or my adopted state, CA. Joke away. I’ll give you some material to start with if you need some. That’s my perspective. Now, I can understand why the mods don’t want those types of jokes in GQ. But that doesn’t make them “breathtakingly ugly”. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/104 "2012-08-30T20:13:07Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Why? > > A minor wrong is still a wrong, even if it’s not as wrong as a big one. And both were dealt with as being wrong. The minor one was dealt with less harshly. I’m glad we agree. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/105 "2012-08-30T21:21:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Plain ol’ humor. I would not be offended in the least if something similar had been said about my home state, RI, or my adopted state, CA. Joke away. I’ll give you some material to start with if you need some. Probably because RI and CA are not used as synonymous with stupidity and backwardness and poverty in mainstream culture, you wouldn’t mind. It might be plain ol’ humor, but it’s bigoted humor. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/106 "2012-08-30T21:28:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Probably because RI and CA are not used as synonymous with stupidity and backwardness and poverty in mainstream culture, you wouldn’t mind. It might be plain ol’ humor, but it’s bigoted humor. Well, you don’t know much about RI, and how it’s viewed by people from MA. 🙂 Of course each state has different stereotypes. Of course I didn’t mean to imply that a WV joke would work for CA or vice versa. Sheesh… I can understand when you get upset when posters in GD make a very serious attempt to paint Southerners as stupid. But if you can’t take a joke, I think you are the one who needs a little perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/107 "2012-08-30T21:28:15Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Probably because RI and CA are not used as synonymous with stupidity and backwardness and poverty in mainstream culture, you wouldn’t mind. It might be plain ol’ humor, but it’s bigoted humor. New Jersey is synonymous with organized crime, yet I don’t hear them whining about bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/108 "2012-08-30T21:47:14Z")
You don’t? I recall some whining about _The Sopranos_, a fictional series about organized crime, and _Jersey Shore_, a particularly heinous example of actual organized crime with millions of victims. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/109 "2012-08-30T21:58:09Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > New Jersey is synonymous with organized crime, yet I don’t hear them whining about bigotry. Not just that. We had a thread not that long ago saying they heard all the jokes but wanted to know if Jersey was really such a shithole. I’ve dealt with it all my life. Ribbing someone for regional differences or stereotypes is not nearly on the same level as demeaning them due to their race. And as a New Jerseyan I reserve the right to make fun of Pineys. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/110 "2012-08-30T22:03:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Well, you don’t know much about RI, and how it’s viewed by people from MA. 🙂 I wouldn’t be surprised if RI has a reputation for permitting incest. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/111 "2012-08-30T22:42:21Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised if RI has a reputation for permitting incest. Coincidentally both RI and NJ are two of the few if not only states in which there is no incest statute. ---
**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 30, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/112 "2012-08-30T23:05:21Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > So if this word is a slur, shouldn’t we ban it from dictionaries? And we should ban Huckleberry Finn from libraries too. The Chicago Reader doesn’t publish dictionaries or _Huckleberry Finn_, so I don’t think this has anything to do with the discussion. In any event, Colibri noted in the post you appear to have been responding to that use of the term was verboten _because it was not related to the thread_. You could say it in _this_ thread, or one about racial slurs, or whatever, and it would be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/113 "2012-08-30T23:30:56Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > You don’t? I recall some whining about _The Sopranos_, a fictional series about organized crime, and _Jersey Shore_, a particularly heinous example of actual organized crime with millions of victims. Indeed–and if folks are regularly making posts suggesting that everyone from Jersey is a mobster, that’s an obnoxious and annoying thing to do. > [@Loach](#): > > Ribbing someone for regional differences or stereotypes is not nearly on the same level as demeaning them due to their race. Indeed, and maybe I should have said that over and over and over again in this thread. [edit: with the caveat that we’re talking about demeaning folks for their race who have traditionally faced racist oppression; constant jokes about white people can get old, too, but are about on the same level, or less harmful, than anti-South jokes.] ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/114 "2012-08-31T00:17:41Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Coincidentally both RI and NJ are two of the few if not only states in which there is no incest statute. I think NJ has incest with a child illegal by being sexual abuse. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/115 "2012-08-31T14:08:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The Chicago Reader doesn’t publish dictionaries or _Huckleberry Finn_, so I don’t think this has anything to do with the discussion. I’m disappointed that you can’t see why it relates exactly to the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/116 "2012-08-31T14:19:16Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Coincidentally both RI and NJ are two of the few if not only states in which there is no incest statute. I’ll take _Best States for Family Reunions_ for 1000 Alex… ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/117 "2012-08-31T14:45:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Coincidentally both RI and NJ are two of the few if not only states in which there is no incest statute. If you had a sister like mine there would be no need. ---
**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 31, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/118 "2012-08-31T14:47:13Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > I’m disappointed that you can’t see why it relates exactly to the discussion. I’m disappointed that you thought it did. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/119 "2012-08-31T15:49:42Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I think NJ has incest with a child illegal by being sexual abuse. As is sex with a child who is not related. Nobody said child just incest. And NJ has no incest statute. The only provision made is in the age of consent in which it is 16 unless there is a family relationship and then its 18. I’m not quite sure what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981/120 "2012-08-31T20:01:52Z")
What, you expect me to write coherently? 😉 Let’s try that again – see if I can avoid tripping over my own words. Incest is often covered in both criminal law (go to jail) and in family law (lose the kids). As far as I know, NJ does not have a criminal incest law, but I belive [incest is still set out as a from of abuse under its family law](http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=37586077&Depth=2&TD=WRAP&advquery=incest&depth=4&expandheadings=on&headingswithhits=on&hitsperheading=on&infobase=statutes.nfo&rank=&record=%7B3621%7D&softpage=Doc_Frame_PG42&wordsaroundhits=2&x=0&y=0&zz=). I think you hit the nail on the head with consent at 16 not applying if it is a family member. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protesting-the-warning-i-was-given/632981.md?page=7)