# Stop claiming it was a joke, you piece of crap **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075 "2018-05-29T17:50:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/301 "2018-06-01T00:46:47Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I thought we got rid of you. I think another one grows back. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/302 "2018-06-01T00:52:56Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I think another one grows back. Or something. Just tell him you consider his replies a repercussion to your free speech! You are allowed to speak without repercussions! His disagreement is a clear repercussion! Repercussion: an unintended consequence occurring some time after an event or action, especially an unwelcome one. Repercussing like a motherfuck. ---
**Author:** ![Boacrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Boacrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boacrow)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/303 "2018-06-01T01:54:30Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > So you think you should have the right to go up to your boss, call him/her every racial and sexist slur you can think of, and suffer no retribution? > > Yeah, ok. I believe people are too sensitive about what people say. You can come up to me and call me anything you want, racist, sexist, I don’t care. It’s nothing more than words and when you are done, I’ll be no worse off than I was before. There are too many things out there to worry about the do matter for me to waste my time thinking about something someone said. I just don’t let these kinds of things bother me. When I wake up in the morning, I’ve got things to worry about that really matter. I’ve got bills to pay, work to go to (sometimes, I’m recovering from a crushed arm and I’m at physical therapy three times a week), I worry about what the dogs are going to destroy today, I worry about the weather because I work in a place with no heat and no air and it frequently gets into the triple digits in the summer inside, I worry about whether I’ll even have a job tomorrow, the list goes on. There’s no time to worry about what some idiot said in a tweet or on television. They have no effect on my life. Hell, I don’t even use Twitter and I usually watch movies if I watch TV at all. I don’t even know about these things unless someone at work tells me about them. How did your life change because of what she said? Did you get fired? Are you personally involved with the show? Were you in any way physically harmed by the actions of one dumbass that tweeted something stupid? My guess is the answer to all of these questions is no. As far as me saying something to my boss, I have said some pretty nasty things to him twice. Both times we both got over it pretty quickly and nothing was done. Other than that, I try to hold my tongue out of respect. He is a preacher and I respect his decision to be one even though I don’t subscribe to his doctrine. For the record, I’ve been with him for over 10 years now and the first time I lost my cool with him was within the first year I was there and I called him every hurtful thing I could think of. He really pissed me of that day. We both got passed it and we would help each other in any way possible. It’s just someone’s opinion. It doesn’t matter in the big picture. So what if she’s racist? The only person it’s damaging is her. I doubt that she has converted anyone to a racist lifestyle because of her comments. In the end, it’s just words. Words only have an effect if you allow them to, and it appears that a lot of people have done just that. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/304 "2018-06-01T01:58:50Z")
Ah yes. The old “racists are only hurting themselves” ploy. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/305 "2018-06-01T02:06:17Z")
> [@Boacrow](#): > > … In the end, it’s just words. Words … …packed really closely together with no structure. Paragraphs? Fuck paragraphs. What am I some kind of high school graduate, native English speaker? Speak English or get out! Write in right wing blockhead, fuck English, or get out!! Demanding English is for speaking only because writing is hard! ---
**Author:** ![Boacrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Boacrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boacrow)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/306 "2018-06-01T02:10:28Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > That’s an interesting definition of free speech you have there. > > Not accurate in any sense, but interesting. So are you saying that free speech is fine unless someone doesn’t like what you say, then you can’t say it? If you can’t say what you please, then you don’t have free speech. Do you mean that free speech means being able to say something without having to worry about legal trouble? People get sued all the time for saying things. free·dom ˈfrēdəm noun the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Now looking this over, I see that it says without hindrance or restraint. If someone gets fired for saying something, that sounds like a hindrance to me. There are plenty of people on this thread that think she shouldn’t have said what she said. In other words, she should have restrained herself. I think I hit the definition right on the nose. If she restrains herself, no free speech. If she is threatened with job lose or any other kind of retribution, that might hinder her from saying something. Again, no free speech. Unless you can say something _without hindrance or restraint_ you do not have the freedom of speech. Dictionaries are freely available and you can probably say that someone threatening to fire you isn’t restraining you or hindering you in any way. If that’s the case, just as an experiment, try it and see how easy it is to say something that you know will get you fired. I’ll await the results. My guess is, there’s absolutely no way you will do it. You will probably restrain yourself for fear of backlash and that is where free speech is lost. Here endeth the lesson. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/307 "2018-06-01T02:12:09Z")
> [@Boacrow](#): > > I believe people are too sensitive about what people say. You can come up to me and call me anything you want, racist, sexist, I don’t care. It’s nothing more than words and when you are done, I’ll be no worse off than I was before. There are too many things out there to worry about the do matter for me to waste my time thinking about something someone said. I just don’t let these kinds of things bother me. When I wake up in the morning, I’ve got things to worry about that really matter. I’ve got bills to pay, work to go to (sometimes, I’m recovering from a crushed arm and I’m at physical therapy three times a week), I worry about what the dogs are going to destroy today, I worry about the weather because I work in a place with no heat and no air and it frequently gets into the triple digits in the summer inside, I worry about whether I’ll even have a job tomorrow, the list goes on. There’s no time to worry about what some idiot said in a tweet or on television. They have no effect on my life. Hell, I don’t even use Twitter and I usually watch movies if I watch TV at all. I don’t even know about these things unless someone at work tells me about them. How did your life change because of what she said? Did you get fired? Are you personally involved with the show? Were you in any way physically harmed by the actions of one dumbass that tweeted something stupid? My guess is the answer to all of these questions is no. As far as me saying something to my boss, I have said some pretty nasty things to him twice. Both times we both got over it pretty quickly and nothing was done. Other than that, I try to hold my tongue out of respect. He is a preacher and I respect his decision to be one even though I don’t subscribe to his doctrine. For the record, I’ve been with him for over 10 years now and the first time I lost my cool with him was within the first year I was there and I called him every hurtful thing I could think of. He really pissed me of that day. We both got passed it and we would help each other in any way possible. It’s just someone’s opinion. It doesn’t matter in the big picture. So what if she’s racist? The only person it’s damaging is her. I doubt that she has converted anyone to a racist lifestyle because of her comments. In the end, it’s just words. Words only have an effect if you allow them to, and it appears that a lot of people have done just that. A few more blocks of text like that one and we can stack 'em up and build that wall that Trump is always going on about. ---
**Author:** ![Boacrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Boacrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boacrow)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/308 "2018-06-01T02:14:55Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Well, maybe that’s what free speech is _to you_, but the framers of the First Amendment seem to have had other ideas: > > Bolding mine. What exactly were their other ideas? Not abridging freedom of speech? That’s exactly the same idea friend. I just didn’t use the same language. I’ll make sure to do it next time though. How’s that? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/309 "2018-06-01T02:17:26Z")
> [@Boacrow](#): > > What exactly were their other ideas? Not abridging freedom of speech? That’s exactly the same idea friend. I just didn’t use the same language. I’ll make sure to do it next time though. How’s that? [Hello, you’ve been referred here because you’re wrong about the first amendment.](https://www.popehat.com/2016/06/11/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-the-first-amendment/) [XKCD: Free Speech](https://xkcd.com/1357/) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/310 "2018-06-01T02:19:45Z")
> [@Boacrow](#): > > So are you saying that free speech is fine unless someone doesn’t like what you say, then you can’t say it? If you can’t say what you please, then you don’t have free speech. > > Do you mean that free speech means being able to say something without having to worry about legal trouble? People get sued all the time for saying things. > > free·dom > ˈfrēdəm > noun > the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. > > Now looking this over, I see that it says without hindrance or restraint. If someone gets fired for saying something, that sounds like a hindrance to me. There are plenty of people on this thread that think she shouldn’t have said what she said. In other words, she should have restrained herself. I think I hit the definition right on the nose. If she restrains herself, no free speech. If she is threatened with job lose or any other kind of retribution, that might hinder her from saying something. Again, no free speech. Unless you can say something _without hindrance or restraint_ you do not have the freedom of speech. Dictionaries are freely available and you can probably say that someone threatening to fire you isn’t restraining you or hindering you in any way. If that’s the case, just as an experiment, try it and see how easy it is to say something that you know will get you fired. I’ll await the results. My guess is, there’s absolutely no way you will do it. You will probably restrain yourself for fear of backlash and that is where free speech is lost. Here endeth the lesson. Thanks for schooling us on your ignorance. Will there be an advanced class? (That’s a joke. I \*know \*there will be) Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of consequences. It \*does \*mean the gub’mint won’t stop you from saying things. But it will (hopefully) try and stop you (any you) from doing illegal things you may have talked freely about doing (or have done). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/311 "2018-06-01T02:21:40Z")
> [@Boacrow](#): > > If she is threatened with job lose or any other kind of retribution, that might hinder her from saying something. Again, no free speech. Unless you can say something _without hindrance or restraint_ you do not have the freedom of speech. How would that work, in practice? Imagine that some people work for me. Imagine I want to walk up to one of them and say: _here’s a list of things I’d fire you for; I hereby threaten you with job loss._ Imagine, too, that I’ve already decided to fire another one, such that I would like very much to walk up to that individual and say: _you’re fired_. In the system you want, can I say those things without hindrance or restraint? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/312 "2018-06-01T02:22:26Z")
> [@Boacrow](#): > > You can come up to me and call me anything you want, racist, sexist, I don’t care. It’s nothing more than words and when are done I’m … Do you know what racism actually is? It’s like any social construct. It’s a fiction that people create and get others to believe and act on. Words are the way that gets done. Not only words to spread belief in the fiction but words that are used to reinforce it like a weapon and an instrument of oppression, like lynching or housing or hiring discrimination or segregated water fountains and toilets. It’s wonderful for you that you can afford to ignore it. But for most people it makes sense to recognize that the words are part of the machine that keeps our white supremacist system in place. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/313 "2018-06-01T02:22:38Z")
ninja’d better by Chimera ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/314 "2018-06-01T02:32:05Z")
**Boa-crow,** if I posted a picture of your preacher next to a picture of John Wayne Gacy and asked, “What’s the difference?” Would that be a fireable offense? Should I lose my job because of that? At my current job, anyone says the “n”’ word and they’re fired. And we don’t have any African American employees at our branch. This is due to general decency and everyday ethics. ---
**Author:** ![Boacrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Boacrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boacrow)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/315 "2018-06-01T02:34:27Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Commandment 3: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. > I did not realize that “fuck” was God’s name. > > Ever think about telling these racists that you find their speech offensive? If one of these louts called your sister a whore, would you just smile and not get offended also? First, I’m not sure how you glossed over the ‘goddamns’ that came right after the ‘and’ at the end of fuck. The God part of that word is typically taken as the lords name in most of Christianity. Sorry you didn’t know that but hopefully now you do. As far as telling the racists that I find their speech offensive, I don’t find it offensive. I don’t look at it that way. They have their opinion and telling them I don’t like it won’t change it. It also won’t change my views just from hearing it. What it does do is let me know right away whether I want to socialize with them or not. I am not responsible for them or their views, therefore it’s not my place to worry about it. I’m responsible for me and me alone. Would I get offended if someone called my sister a whore? No. Not unless their words suddenly transformed her into one. The fact is that people say things to hurt people all the time. When people say things to hurt people, they do it because it’s the only tool they have to try and make people feel bad. If the people do feel bad afterwards it’s because they gave those words power. You can say the word whore in church without offending anyone, but if you direct the word at someone, suddenly things change. It’s not the word. It’s spelled the same, said the same, so what is it? It’s the perception of the word. If you perceive it as being hurtful it will be. Go ahead, call my sister a whore. I really don’t care. She won’t change in the least. Calling her a whore certainly won’t make her one, but you can try anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/316 "2018-06-01T02:36:00Z")
God’s name isn’t “God”. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/317 "2018-06-01T02:36:55Z")
After reading these posts by our dear new friend **Boatcrew** it seems clear there is a bridge somewhere with billy goats roaming freely to and fro. Hurrah for the billy goats! ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/318 "2018-06-01T02:41:40Z")
> [@Boacrow](#): > > First, I’m not sure how you glossed over the ‘goddamns’ that came right after the ‘and’ at the end of fuck. The God part of that word is typically taken as the lords name in most of Christianity. Sorry you didn’t know that but hopefully now you do. > > As far as telling the racists that I find their speech offensive, I don’t find it offensive. I don’t look at it that way. They have their opinion and telling them I don’t like it won’t change it. It also won’t change my views just from hearing it. What it does do is let me know right away whether I want to socialize with them or not. I am not responsible for them or their views, therefore it’s not my place to worry about it. I’m responsible for me and me alone. > > Would I get offended if someone called my sister a whore? No. Not unless their words suddenly transformed her into one. The fact is that people say things to hurt people all the time. When people say things to hurt people, they do it because it’s the only tool they have to try and make people feel bad. If the people do feel bad afterwards it’s because they gave those words power. You can say the word whore in church without offending anyone, but if you direct the word at someone, suddenly things change. It’s not the word. It’s spelled the same, said the same, so what is it? It’s the perception of the word. If you perceive it as being hurtful it will be. > > Go ahead, call my sister a whore. I really don’t care. She won’t change in the least. Calling her a whore certainly won’t make her one, but you can try anyway. What if someone told you they were going to pimp out your sister and make her a whore. Are those still just words, free from consequences? ---
**Author:** ![Boacrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Boacrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boacrow)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/319 "2018-06-01T02:43:23Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Perhaps you and I define ‘offensive’ differently. > > To me, if one is unaffected by it, if it is no more meaningful than a fly dying across town, it can hardly be _offensive_. For it to be offensive, you kinda have to be … _offended_. Right? I wouldn’t be. I was merely offering them the opportunity to use whatever tactics they deemed offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Boacrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Boacrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boacrow)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075/320 "2018-06-01T02:46:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Being denied the benefit of my attention is a penalty, no matter how you slice it. > Enjoy your penalty! 🙂 It’s only a penalty if it bothers me and it doesn’t. I don’t feel any differently without your attention. I guess it really isn’t much of a penalty huh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-claiming-it-was-a-joke-you-piece-of-crap/815075.md?page=17)