But I would resent the idea that I would have to watch everything I say lest some faction suddenly appear and say, “That offends us!” Speech should not be hog-tied like that.
If the question is “Is the phrase ‘sacred cow’ commonly considered offensive in general American society today?” the answer, I believe, is “No.” I’ve seen and heard it used too often, in contexts where there’s no indication that it might be considered questionable or controversial (it appeared in a crossword puzzle I just did).
If the question is “Do Hindus (or any other group) consider the phrase offensive?” that’s up to them to answer. And if the answer is yes, and they do enough to educate the rest of us, then the answer to the first question may in time become “Yes” too. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that a word or phrase that used to be considered perfectly acceptable lost that status.
Fine with me. Let the allegedly “offended” entity speak up about it, rather than the self-appointed PC police.
Yet you think everyone should hog tie themselves re JW lest they offend?
:Sigh: Will you stick to the subject and not go off on tangents? Don’t put words in my mouth. :rolleyes:
No one is putting words in your mouth. We are on topic. You said we don’t have to care about being offensive to PC people. Problem is, you also demand we be politically correct when dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is a contradiction. He’s just pointing it out.
If any of those groups were homogenous, that rule would work just fine. In reality, what offends one in a group will not offend another. Even at the individual level, a phrase that offends in one situation will not offend in another. The reason people complain about “PC Language” is that in the majority of cases it is not a black and white issue (see, I likely just offended someone with that phrase ;)).
In all seriousness, though, your statement could easily carry offense by indicating that all people of a race, religion or sexual preference think alike.
Bill Maher feels that this sort of thing is what caused democrats to lose the election.
Are you a member of a religion that holds sacred cows to be sacred cows?
If not, aren’t you deciding for others when, and where, they should take offense at a casual reference to their religious beliefs?
Lately I’ve been worried that it is offensive to say “she’s the ____ guru around here” and similar. Seriously.
At what point is it decided that a word or phrase is offensive?
If one person finds it offensive? Ten? One hundred? One thousand?
And who is it that determines if and when a word or phrase becomes offensive. Who are the word police?
It seems to me that somebody somewhere is always going to be offended by something. Even ‘Tiny Houses’ have become offensive to some people, as well as tennis shoes.
http://heatst.com/culture-wars/barneys-600-dirty-sneakers-slammed-as-poverty-appropriation/
I think tiny houses are cool for some people, but that most people who want one are out of their minds. I think paying $585 for a beat up pair of tennis shoes is stupid, but who am I to tell somebody how to spend their money.
However, I don’t think either of those things are meant to be offensive to anybody. They are stupid trends, new ways for somebody, somewhere to make a profit.
I’m offended by the word cisgender. Is everybody going to stop using it because I am offended by it?
That depends. Do you have a high pressure P.R. firm on your side?
No, don’t have that kind of money.
and wouldn’t bother anyway because then I’d just be adding to the nonsense.