Calling a Kid the "C" Word

[Kargathia]

The severity of 'c***' is a regional thing, most parts of the UK consider it to be one of the strongest swearwords around ( though none consider it to be quite as bad as in the US, to my knowledge), but there are a couple of areas in the southeast where it is used as casually as you have heard.

Which adds another argument as to why it was a poor choice of words: the audience certainly was not exclusively American, and they ended up constructing wordplay around a word with vastly different interpretations. Bad idea.

As to the article itself, whilst the article is correct in that the Onion should have made it clearer that it was a joke, people really need to take the context into account before they get mad, especially on the internet.

Do remember The Onion is not exactly universally known (to the point where foreign newspapers semi-regularly get burned sourcing them for news), and extremely few people can be bothered wiki'ing every random dipship on twitter.
Poe's law also is fully in effect here - I can throw a random bet that this wasn't even the worst thing said about her on the internet.

 

[Kyber]

I have to say, i hate "the C-word", and i don't mean ****, i have no problem with it, but the fact that people use words like "the F-word", or "the C-word". I know i'm quoting CK Louis here, but saying the word like that does not make it better, because you're putting the word in the listeners head, which is the same as just saying it.

OT: Most kids are cunts, if this one isn't, then maybe they were wrong by saying that she was, even if it was for satire. I don't think it required an apology though, because The Onion is, well The Onion, by presuming they were serious, shows that you may have never encountered a news article by The Onion before.

 

[Ashannon Blackthorn]

This is when I really wish George Carlin was alive.... I'm sure he'd have some awesome things to say about this. Probably using the work **** like a period... or maybe a comma...

 

[Fasckira]

Here's my question: Was she a ****?

I ask this because honestly, if she behaved in a way that would classify her as a ****, then in my opinion there is no problem saying it.

A) No she didn't.
B) SHE'S FUCKING 9! Do you make it an habit to go around insulting 9-year-olds?

Meh, I know some 9 year olds who are right cunts. Likely wouldn't tell them though as thats just mean.

I don't think the c word is that big a deal, it's not like the n word where there is a long standing history that the word brings up.

**** and ******. Just say it, we can be pretty mature about these things and discuss them in this kind of setting.

This video is pretty relevant:

 

[Norix596]

No malice, terrible judgement - need to be responsible and very carefully consider when your stuff is a lot closer to "the line" than normal.

 

[mgirl]

Wait wait wait wait wait.

The 'C word' commmon to the point of casual in the UK??? From my experience you couldn't be more wrong there! At least not where I live. People might say it, but it's considered one of the worst words you can use. And the only people that use the word casually are the kind of idiots that think using bad swear words makes them cool.

 

[Something Amyss]

If you cannot figure out why the word "****" has such a vitriolic meaning in the states, you need to do a little more research.

Though the reaction is kind of hypocritical, given how sexist personal insults tend to be.

 

[Something Amyss]

**** and ******. Just say it, we can be pretty mature about these things and discuss them in this kind of setting.

Inclined to agree. It riles me a little when I hear people say "the N word" because it means that people are admitting we cannot discuss something as adults in a neutral setting.

 

[Loonyyy]

Maybe if people realised it was The goddamn motherfucking Onion, rather than reacting to a Poe, we'd have some sense from it.

I mean, really. It's the Onion. Anyone who's following them SHOULD KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. Anyone who isn't can find out easily enough. Behind Stewart and Colbert (And The Chaser for Australians), they're the best known for this stuff. Any journalist who reports on this without this clarification should no longer be a journalist. This should only be a thing amongst bored inbred housewives in the dark recesses of Facebook, and should never reach the light of day. Because it's just stupid.

The fault of this is not the Onion. If they prefaced it with *Satire inbound*, it loses the point. If they go with something weaker, it's no longer absurd. It's the same shit all the other outlets are putting out there, and you can't parody that by doing the same thing. The fault of this is stupid people. Stupid people everywhere. Stupid people who don't think about the media in the slightest. Which, if you think about it, is exactly what The Onion tries to change.

 

[Tumedus]

I agree with Bob on one point, the joke was poorly told. If you have to explain a joke, it failed. And if you are going to go for a joke like that, you have to commit. They were a bit too tentative and, oddly, that is part of why it came off as even more insulting.

That said...

I don't care if she is 9 years old, she is not exempt from humor, insults, or anything else that the world might throw at her. If you are afraid your child cannot handle the real world, its called "sheltering" for a reason. You keep her locked away from it. If you are going to let your child act, and thus expose her to more public scrutiny than virtually any other profession, she better damn well know how to handle insults, no matter how crass, on the internet. I guarantee you in a few years, especially as a female actress, its going to get a lot worse.

Further, I don't care if it was a poorly told joke, it was still a joke. All the indignation from everyone, especially the "we must protect the children" bullshit, just makes me want to side with the Onion more. If anything, I think it just gives evidence that the joke is worthy of being told; it just needed to be told right. And perhaps the spectrum needed to be broadened to satirize all the knee-jerkers as well.

 

[The Hungry Samurai]

If you ask me, the only thing The Onion is guilty of is not understanding how twitter and the Internet works. I sincerely doubt Wallis would have ever even heard the joke much less be hurt by it, seeing as the onion isn't exactly including 9 year old girls in their demographic and if any of the media brought it to her attention in a way insinuating it was an insult then they're the ones who owe her an apology.

The Onion can easily craft a joke like this, this article was linked on their site, AT THE BOTTOM OF THEIR APOLOGY http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-slapped-a-crying-child-and-called-him-a-******-a,31361/ They just can't do so in 140 characters. Not in today's society.

 

[Fasckira]

Maybe if people realised it was The goddamn motherfucking Onion, rather than reacting to a Poe, we'd have some sense from it.

Im assuming that all those flinging their poo at The Onion over this probably don't actually follow The Onion on twitter but instead have seen the retweeted message from someone who has.

I think the only real "bad" part about this whole thing is the fact that The Onion deleted their tweet. Sure, they can tweet later on saying they're sorry if they feel they overstepped the mark but I hate it when people cover up like that.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Wait wait wait wait wait.

The 'C word' commmon to the point of casual in the UK??? From my experience you couldn't be more wrong there! At least not where I live. People might say it, but it's considered one of the worst words you can use. And the only people that use the word casually are the kind of idiots that think using bad swear words makes them cool.

It's casual in the sense that it isn't a specific slur. It's a normal swear word. Take "******". That is a racial slur and if you use it (in the right context) people will think you are a **** (hurr hurr) in the UK or US. In the US the word **** has a similar status, it's a specific gendered slur that used in the right context marks the user as being a misogynist arsehole. The UK usage doesn't have the additional stigma attached to it, so while not something to use in polite company it is still "acceptable" in casual use. Hell, I've heard it said on radio 4 in the evening, although admittedly in a slightly roundabout way.

 

[Kinitawowi]

We decided that the c word was going to be really bad, and so it is.

Bam. Nail on head.

The most valuable lesson my father ever taught me is that being offended - by anything - is a choice. **** is, at the most fundamental level, just another four letter word. Like "milk". Or "only". The fact that certain subsets of society have decided to declare it the most mind-blowingly offensive word in human existence is little more than an attempt to socially enforce censorship; it's a safe bet that somebody is devoting their life to petitioning governments to enforce a total legally enforced ban on the word's use (the watershed is just the start, then video games, then any mass media, then the internet, then See You Next Tuesday variants, then Thoughtcrime), a slippery slope that I'm sure most of us want to avoid.

But yeah. I don't give a flying fuck about the rest of the world's reaction to this tweet; society gains very little from somebody being offended on somebody else's behalf. I'd be interested in Wallis's response (if I had any idea who she was before this story broke), but frankly it's not the rest of the world's business.

As for The Onion's actions afterwards... unfunny jokes are unfunny jokes, but apologising because somebody was offended is pure cowardice - and you will never be funny if you're not going to be brave. Yes, Twitter is not the best forum for this joke - most people wouldn't be aware it was even intended as a joke if it wasn't for "The Onion" at the top of it, and even that wouldn't be a guarantee, especially after that header's lost in the worldwide crapflood of retweets. But this is the world now. 140 characters can have phenomenal power. They can destroy relationships, bring down governments and start revolutions. But as has been noted, you've got to pick the right 140 characters, and the sort of stream-of-consciousness stuff that pervades on Twitter doesn't necessarily cut it.

 

[mgirl]

It's casual in the sense that it isn't a specific slur. It's a normal swear word. Take "******". That is a racial slur and if you use it (in the right context) people will think you are a **** (hurr hurr) in the UK or US. In the US the word **** has a similar status, it's a specific gendered slur that used in the right context marks the user as being a misogynist arsehole. The UK usage doesn't have the additional stigma attached to it, so while not something to use in polite company it is still "acceptable" in casual use. Hell, I've heard it said on radio 4 in the evening, although admittedly in a slightly roundabout way.

Whilst I understand the whole stigma thing, The idea that it's a word thats casual and common in use in the UK, or at least throughout the UK, is completely wrong. With pretty much everyone I've ever met, people are happy to use pretty much every other swearword when they're with friends, excluding racist slurs, but I hardly ever hear the word '****' said out loud, and when someone does use it, there's usually a pause as most people dont feel comfortable using it. Hell, I don't even like writing the word. Then again, that could be a regional thing in itself.

 

[Mouse One]

The Onion can easily craft a joke like this, this article was linked on their site, AT THE BOTTOM OF THEIR APOLOGY http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-slapped-a-crying-child-and-called-him-a-******-a,31361/ They just can't do so in 140 characters. Not in today's society.

Yep, that's exactly the type of joke they were making. Like Colbert pretends to be a brainless right wing commentator, the Onion frequently pretends to have articles written by idiots who hang themselves with their own words. Clearly, from the number of people posting here who are asking "What did the girl do that made the Onion call her the c word?", a large percentage of people don't get that-- even in comments on an article that explains the joke.

Clearly, it was a bad joke because it spectacularly failed. But it was aimed at the media commentary about award ceremonies, not the girl.

 

[axlryder]

I think the joke itself is funny. I even chuckled initially. Unfortunately, I iterated the same point as Bob when I first heard it. If the object of your joke isn't likely old enough to even understand why your joke isn't really making fun of them, then it's probably crossing a line. It's not the most offensive thing The Onion has ever said, but it's also using a very specific little girl as the base of its joke, and that requires a bit of finesse.

 

[Susan Arendt]

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.

If they had called a 9-year-old boy a "dickhead," the reaction would've been the same, I promise you.

I seriously doubt they would have been this up in arms.

Then again we did get an example in how thin skinned and over sensitive some folk are a couple of weeks ago in the reel physics comments

You think people wouldn't have flipped out about someone calling Haley Joel Osment a "dickhead" the year he was nominated? Sorry, but I simply disagree with that.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

I think that it would have benefited from being a full article. Being familiar with the Onion, I can get what they're going for, but I don't really know why they have a twitter account; 140 characters isn't really enough for good satire.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Every time I see "C word" I die a little inside.
because dick and dickhead are perfectly acceptable and they are exactly the same thing.

The extent of the hateful things you're allowed to say about women is held down by a Glass Ceiling. A Glass Ceiling that we'll have to break through if we ever want to see any true gender equality!

Why doesn't the burden of proof ever lie with the audience (Not necessarily to "get the joke" but) to at least differentiate between a joke and a statement made with real malice.


Apologizing for a joke also caries the unfortunate implication of suggesting there was something there worth apologizing for.