Calling a Kid the "C" Word

[Frybird]

I wish i'd live in an (internet) world where people could just look at something like that and say "Dude, not cool" and move on.

All the stupid outrages about everything makes people look like the idiots they are and most of the time hinder actual discussion about serious topics (up to and including everyone's favorite topic nowadays...the one that begins with an "S" and ends with "ism")

 

[likalaruku]

This is kind of...um.... plain old off-topic forum fodder & not something that should be headlining a video game-based website. Just sayin'......

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

B) SHE'S FUCKING 9! Do you make it an habit to go around insulting 9-year-olds?

Have you been on Youtube? 9-year-olds insult each other constantly! And they punch and kick each other, too. And they pee their pants. Children are disgusting, snot-nosed little bastards to each other and to adults. I don't know why exactly it's so bad that adults are berating children - especially on what is ostensibly a satirical, fake news outlet - but it actually does happen all the fucking time.

At least where I live. This could well be a case of prudish American standards. No sex, no swears, think of the children, etc.

 

[linforcer]

I hadn't heard of this, but I stand firmly with the Onion on this. The joke would have been obvious to me, and even if it had not, calling someone a ****, regardless of what society has chosen that means, to me sounds no different from calling someone a pineapple. You can tell she's not a pineapple and even if she literally was a pineapple, what would that really say about her?

 

[CryoSynth]

They can't all be winners; it's not so easy to tell if a joke is good or not before you put it out there.

The regrettable thing to me is that people aren't so much offended by the fact the girl was insulted but rather solely the word used. The sooner people get over their irrational outrage at a word on a page, the better off we'll all be.

 

[Seneschal]

Ugh. Tweet-comedy. I don't think it's wrong of The Onion to say it; I just wish it was funny. How is "ADORABLE CHILD = ****" funny? Does the whiplash of opposing themes colliding so violently cause one's diaphragm to spasm in a way that can be mistaken for laughter? Maybe. But not in tweet-format.

The Onion in particular should be familiar with the highly explosive properties of badly presented satire; few things tend to blow up in one's face quite so spectacularly. You'd think they'd minimize their risks and stick to the controlled environment of their own site (where I can honestly see the joke as part of a faux-headline and it wouldn't stand out at all) and avoid the limited, easily misconstrued format that is Twitter.

Also, MovieBob, you've put so many words in boldface that the article resembles comicbook dialogue.

 

[Daveman]

snip

Just FYI, on the C word in the UK, it's still very bad, still very much the worst swearword. There's no level above that. I think you're just mostly exposed to very swear-happy people from the UK what with the internets and all. But yeah, a lot of us say absolute filth and don't really care.

edit: oh shit, erm, on topic, I guess it was kind of funny. Bit surprised there's people in america that will go that far on a joke, especially relatively mainstream people. But yeah, you wouldn't do it to a 9 year old, but you're literally fine with it happening with other people. Needs pointing out what a stupid thing that sort of comment is.

 

[Legion]

NOTE: For my international readers, in the U.S. "the C word" (which I understand to be common to the point of casual use in the UK) is for whatever reason considered to be just about the worst anti-female insult one can utter.

No, you are wrong in regards to it being so frequent it is casual. By the kind of people who swear in every sentence, yes, but not amongst "normal" people. It is more or less considered the most offensive word you can use against somebody, and while the word is referring to a female body part, the insult is used against guys just as much as it is against girls.

You will hear the word **** censored on UK television even when fuck isn't sometimes.

 

[llyrnion]

Ah, Twitter... If only I liked /popcorn, I'd have guaranteed entertainment for hours on end. As Bob said, most things that look effortless (just watch Steve Vai play guitar) take eons of work to perfect to a level where their performers make it look effortless.

Anyway, poor choice of words, considering the kid's age.

 

[llyrnion]

Have you been on Youtube? 9-year-olds insult each other constantly! And they punch and kick each other, too. And they pee their pants. Children are disgusting, snot-nosed little bastards to each other and to adults. I don't know why exactly it's so bad that adults are berating children - especially on what is ostensibly a satirical, fake news outlet - but it actually does happen all the fucking time.

Yes, they do, This myth that "children are holy innocence, the best of the world, yadda yadda yadda" is totally BS. Children can be all this one moment, and then be the worst cruel bastards the next minute.

However, whoever wrote this joke is not a 9yo. As such, I hold him/her to a higher standard than I'd hold a 9yo. Which is why I think this was in poor taste.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.

You call nine-year-olds boys dickheads?

When I was 9 we were calling each other dickheads. Let's not pretend that all the kids are innocent little flowers, they know what swears are and are probably using them.

All kids are not innocent flowers, but that doesn't mean they've all been subjected to everything or thinks it's appropriate even if they say it. I probably didn't start using language like that until I was thirteen, and I went to school with kids who wouldn't say things like that for many more years if at all. I can tell you that if you had called me a dickhead or a **** at the age of nine you probably would have seriously hurt my feelings, I was a sensitive kid in a family that didn't tolerate swearing. Does that mean there was something wrong with me? I don't think so, because as a person, especially an adult, communicating with or talking about another person you should have the empathy to understand or at least consider their experiences and, if you're an adult talking to/about a child, you should be able to scale your language to their level.

I think the major difference here is that describing someone as a ****, "___ is a bit of a ****" is very different from actually calling someone a ****, "Hey ___ , You are a ****".

The latter is in almost all circumstances unacceptable for an adult to say to a child, as regardless of intention the child is probably going to be extremely upset by this. While the former (which is what the onion did) is an expression of their feelings, that is not actually being directed at the child. Which might still be seen as crude and offensive, is nowhere near the level of walking up to a child and just saying "You are a ****"

 

[deathbeforedecaf]

It was a badly made joke, if it needs explaining you need a re-write.However it was not one that was any more offensive than thousands of jokes the Onion has made in the past. What annoys me is the the outrage over this whole thing,Its out of proportion and over the top. Yelling and screaming at the latest outrage to our sensibilities until the next outrage comes along next week. Its just sad, there's not much thinking going on

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

They shoulda used a different word.

They used the one that is so obviously over the top, no one in their right mind should have taken it seriously. The fact that they used THAT word is what makes it so obvious. I don't see a problem with this. But it's business as usual. People are jumping in front of the nonexistent offensive bullet. If people weren't so goddamn sensitive about EVERYTHING this would not be an issue. This should not be an issue. How obvious does a joke have to be in order for people to get it and not be offended by it? Jesus!

People don't seem to understand that the only reason swear words have any power is because they take them seriously. Ignore the swear word and you've taken away all of it's power. It's meaningless shit. Get that in your heads already.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Sounds like a gamble that didn't quite pay off. I still think its in bad taste to call a 9 year old a ****, especially on a broadcast twitter feed. Had this been in a stand up act in a private club, then it would be the storm in the teacup some folks wanna make it out to be. However, if as some of you point out, she's a public figure and fair game, so too are their comments about her.

 

[surg3n]

The C word is the worst huh... I'm from the UK, and I hear people say it all the time, it's akin to calling someone a little shit over here really, but I still hate it. Thing is, Americans pronounce it completely differently - when I hear an American say it, it sounds much harsher - like they pronounce it with real venom, giving it the weight it probably should have. Also, we don't just call someone a c*** - it's usually like:

You little ****
You horrible ****
You unimaginable ****

Put this way, if I heard a mother call her child a little ****, it wouldn't even raise any eyebrows with most people. We are so desensitised to swearing anyway... we tend to refer to that 'region' as a fanny, when we call someone a fanny in Scotland, it's practically a term of endearment - if someone makes fun of us, we'd call them a 'cheeky little c***' - and nobody is offended.

When an American uses it straight - well to me it sounds harsh as hell I think.


One other thing I hate, is when girls do that V tongue thing - I mean do they even know what they are doing?
Are they calling people a p-licker or something?, because they're doing visual insults completely wrong.
If a girl did that to me, I'd just have to ask if it's an insult, a request, do they have barbeque sauce on their fingers, or are they just plain retarded. Visually, we can call someone a dick (middle finger), call them a wanker (wank hand gesture), call them whatever... and women can call someone a p-licker, but I have no idea why they think that's an insult, isn't that counter-productive... men don't call women cocksuckers do they! - we don't insult someone by suggesting they do exactly what we want them to
I'm thinking that people should at least understand the implications of the insults they blindly throw around.

 

[rbstewart7263]

bob youve gotten pretty good at discussing an issue thoughtfully without jumping on the ole. "this is bad and your bad if you dont agree" bandwagon that so many do.

I suppose this will lead to more discussion of whats right whats wrong should rape jokes be told yadayadayada.

 

[wearesoneutralthatithurts]

" Say whatever you like, but if what you say is hurtful or leads to actual harm be prepared for repercussions, be they legal or (preferably) in the form of shame and societal shunning by your peers. "

*Facepalm*

If saying something gets you punished by the justice system because it was mean (but not slander or something like that), then you don't have free speech. Free speech protects you from legal consequences from your speech, this includes civil courts. That's why slander is considered not to be free speech and someone trying to sue someone else for calling them a **** would be laughed out of court.

Okay so free speech allows you to insult, harass, silence and shun people, to call out for violence and hate against other people.
sorry, that isn't free speech, that is being an ass hole and trying to defend it because its okay for you.(and all the other people need to man up or whatever rude comment people get which dare to feed offended by a word which was intended to hurt them...)

why is it so hard to be decent to other people? cant understand it, sorry. so I am happy for the law in my country which says that you can say nearly everything you want except if you insult and harass people or of you try to be hateful and use language in a way which brings people to be violent against other people-I live in Germany and the history shows that words can lead to deeds. bad deeds. (except this law that say you aren't allows to show swastikas because some dumb judge wasn't able to see whether its displayed because someone wants to advertise national socialism or as a statement against nazis. (but this gets better. and think that holocaust denying is forbidden wont help because dumb people will believe in this bullshit whether its legal or not)

the German people were against boycotting Jewish shops and doctors and lawyers because they thought:f** it, that are friends and good people.
5 years of propaganda and anti-jewish laws and exact the same people destroyed shops, raided households and have beaten people to death on the streets or set them on fire (in my home town they killed a young boy and stuffed people in the synagogue and set the building on fire and watch them burn to death while the fire brigade only cared about that the houses of "Aryan" people dind´t ignite.

after only five years of propaganda. I don't compare calling a 9 year old girl a **** for no apparent reasons (except being an asshole) to this-I want to say that words aren't just words you can shrug off. Its more. Its the meaning, its the intention to hurt and destroy which is inherited in these kind of words and can only overseen in very special situations (between friends)


so, yeah, words can do harm because they can implant the thought of hate and of superiority and all this bs into peoples minds. it worked. every big outburst of violence had people which initialized hate with words and sentences. and i bet my ass that it works today too...




so- its good that they did apoplogize. i think there are enough people in this word which like to insult and hurt people-we dont need more of that kind, we need generous, compassionate people. not meanies.

 

[Galletea]

The joke would have worked much better if they'd just called her a *****. It would have been more of a joke and less of a reaction inciting shocker.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.

The double standards of sexism have existed for as long as I can remember lol, I don't see things changing anytime soon.