# Why did I get an official warning for supposedly insulting Forrest Gump? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 5, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995 "2017-10-05T02:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/101 "2017-10-05T19:07:43Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Here would be my argument as to why retard might not be hate speech when used in certain contexts but would be in the context used by the OP. > > First, even the OP recognizes that calling someone a retard is generally meant as an insult. When the OP is called a retard tomorrow or someone calls another person a retard in the pit, it is because of some action or attitude that the insultee took that was disliked by the insulter. Now when the OP used the word retard to describe Forest Gump, it was not due to any actions or attitudes of Forest Gump, it was due to who he was. So using this insulting word to describe Forest Gump’s mental imparement effectively insults all other people who are mentally disabled. This is what makes it hate speech. Are there any other words that are permissible when used as an insult against a person “because of some action or attitude,” but hate speech when used about a person? If this is indeed that standard (and no offense, but I’d like to hear this from the people that can hand out warnings. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/102 "2017-10-05T19:18:49Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I have never used “libtards,” to refer to liberals, but I would like to know if I can start without risking a warning. So their silence on this point is significant. If any X-tard construction is directed toward a poster in GD or Elections, I will moderate it for personal insults. That could be a note or a warning, depending on context. There will be some grey area about group insults or off board people vs. those towards posters, but I don’t think that needs to be fully fleshed out here more than it already has been. As for silence on the issue of hate speech - it’s being discussed. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/103 "2017-10-05T19:27:48Z")
Thanks, **Bone**! I would love to see variants of “-tard” used as insults or dismissive descriptions of folks with developmental disabilities excluded from the board. Sure, they’re used frequently on the internet, but their use is invariably douchey, and I’d like this board to be better than reddit and 4chan. If this incident is modded as a note rather than a warning, I could see that, but ideally moving forward it’d be unacceptable around here. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/104 "2017-10-05T19:41:19Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > As for silence on the issue of hate speech - it’s being discussed. This statement should have been made about, oh, post #10 or so of this thread, which would have precipitously reduced the back-and-forth. Or maybe not, given some of the posters involved in that back-and-forth. :rolleyes: As for the term “retard”: it’s like what Hermione Granger says about “mudblood”. “It’s not a term one usually hears in civilized conversation.” Yet, as a high school teacher, I can say that the term is quite common, used regularly by students, and not just by those who are lower “class” or otherwise unclear on the idea of proper language for daily conversation. Nor is the demographic that uses it limited to those who are “conservative” (as opposed to “liberal”) in their thinking. This whole “hate speech” thing has GOT to be treated with a bit more careful thought than shown by the moderator in this instance. We can all be clear that using the term “nigger” to refer to someone who is “black” is inappropriate _per se_ (though please note that the demographic of those who are “black” has appropriated the term and uses it freely…). But just because this is true doesn’t mean that ANY and EVERY derogatory term used for some demographic of people should be eliminated on the basis that it is “hate speech.” Unless, of course, this Board wants to become a place where only that which is “correct” and “proper” gets used in discussion. At which point I, who cannot imagine wanting to use such derogatory terminology, will exit stage left, having no interest in a Board where such thought control becomes reality. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/105 "2017-10-05T19:51:07Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > As for silence on the issue of hate speech - it’s being discussed. Awesome – thanks much. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/106 "2017-10-05T19:52:24Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > It doesn’t matter whether it’s inside or outside the Pit, because hate speech isn’t allowed in the Pit either. And, you won’t get modded for calling someone off-board or some fictional character a c\*\*\* in the Pit or outside the Pit, because c\*\*\* isn’t hate speech. > > So, you can’t call a poster a c\*\*\* anywhere, even inside the Pit. You can call a fictional character a c\*\*\* anywhere, even outside the Pit. You can’t use hate speech even inside the Pit. > > Is “retard” hate speech? If so, that’s a new rule and, in any case, couldn’t be used in the Pit. Or, is it an insult, like “asshole”? Then, it can be used anywhere, but only inside the Pit to refer to another poster. Or, is it a special word like “c\*\*\*”? Then, it can be used anywhere, but never to be directed at another poster. > > What’s the rule? The rules appear to be whatever a particular mod feels like on a particular day. But that’s fine because they do this for free. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/107 "2017-10-05T19:59:48Z")
**[Moderating]** On further consideration, and after consultation with other mods, I have rescinded the warning. **Shagnasty** ’s use of the term was still offensive and inappropriate, but it did not rise to the level of a Warning. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/108 "2017-10-05T20:07:10Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > If any X-tard construction is directed toward a poster in GD or Elections, I will moderate it for personal insults. That could be a note or a warning, depending on context. There will be some grey area about group insults or off board people vs. those towards posters, but I don’t think that needs to be fully fleshed out here more than it already has been. This wasn’t insulting toward anyone on or off the boards - Forrest Gump is an imaginary person. I don’t understand the reluctance towards giving a list of forbidden words as constituting “hate speech”. Everyone understands that “n_gger" or "k_ke” or “f_g" are hate speech. If "r_tard” is also hate speech, just say so. “I’m giving you a ticket for speeding.” “What’s the speed limit?” “I’m not saying, because if I said 65, people would drive 64 1/2.” “So, was I doing 64 1/2?” “You were speeding. Don’t do it again.” :smack: Regards, Shodan ---
**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:** [October 5, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/109 "2017-10-05T20:07:41Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Is “libtard,” now off the table? I thought it had been for [several years:](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18290822&postcount=34) > [@tomndebb](#): > > Moderating > > > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > > . . . Freeptards . . . > > Do not create or use words employing the insulting suffix -tard in this forum [GD]. > > [/Moderating] Clarification of the forum “GD” added. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/110 "2017-10-05T20:21:34Z")
Cowards. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/111 "2017-10-05T20:44:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **[Moderating]** > > On further consideration, and after consultation with other mods, I have rescinded the warning. **Shagnasty** ’s use of the term was still offensive and inappropriate, but it did not rise to the level of a Warning. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/112 "2017-10-05T20:47:06Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The issue isn’t at whom the “hate speech” is directed, it’s whether or not the term qualifies as hate speech. It’s not OK to say “The new Star Trek movie was OK, but I’m not getting why they had to make Sulu a fag”. Sigh. People, there is no such thing as “hate” speech. That’s a politically correct, made-up bullshit concept so that some people can get all righteous and indignant over something somebody else said. It’s speech, period. Deal with it. If it twists your shorts into a knot, perhaps you need to get a grip on reality. Remember the old saying about sticks and stones? If somebody says something, such as in your example of calling Sulu a fag, then you simply decide how much value you want to put on that person’s statement…and then move on with your life. Political correctness is killing us as a society. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/113 "2017-10-05T20:52:04Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > It’s speech, period. Deal with it. If it twists your shorts into a knot, perhaps you need to get a grip on reality. > … > Political correctness is killing us as a society. On behalf of those of us that love rich irony, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/114 "2017-10-05T20:54:38Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/115 "2017-10-05T20:55:46Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Are there any other words that are permissible when used as an insult against a person “because of some action or attitude,” but hate speech when used about a person? > > If this is indeed that standard (and no offense, but I’d like to hear this from the people that can hand out warnings. Hey, I’m not saying that this is the standard, in fact I’m not sure one way or another whether the OP deserves a warning, I’m just offering my own two cents about why I find insulting someone by using the term retard (slightly) less offensive than calling the mentally handicapped retard. As for other examples, I suppose if bought a radio that broke two days after I bought it I might say, “Aw, what a gyp” But if someone said that he’s got to be careful when he goes to Romania because of all the Gyps there, I would find it offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/116 "2017-10-05T20:59:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **[Moderating]** > > On further consideration, and after consultation with other mods, I have rescinded the warning. **Shagnasty** ’s use of the term was still offensive and inappropriate, but it did not rise to the level of a Warning. Thank you! There is some justice left in the world. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/117 "2017-10-05T21:03:27Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > On behalf of those of us that love rich irony, thank you. Hoist by his own petard? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/118 "2017-10-05T21:12:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **[Moderating]** > > On further consideration, and after consultation with other mods, I have rescinded the warning. **Shagnasty** ’s use of the term was still offensive and inappropriate, but it did not rise to the level of a Warning. ::applause:: ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/119 "2017-10-05T21:30:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **[Moderating]** > > On further consideration, and after consultation with other mods, I have rescinded the warning. **Shagnasty** ’s use of the term was still offensive and inappropriate, but it did not rise to the level of a Warning. Congrats on your consideration of the issue. Well done. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995/120 "2017-10-05T21:46:22Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Sigh. > > People, there is no such thing as “hate” speech. If you think that, you’re on the wrong message board. From the [registration agreement](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/faq.php?faq=vb3_board_faq#faq_sdmb_rules), which you agreed to when you signed up: > [@](#): > > Hate speech, insults, and purposely inflammatory remarks (i.e., trolling) will not be tolerated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-get-an-official-warning-for-supposedly-insulting-forrest-gump/797995.md?page=7)