Poll: Was the response to Kobe Bryant's use of the word "******" appropriate?

[Xan Krieger]

The fine is absurd, all he did was insult someone, I'm sure people get lesser fines for running a meth lab. The guy who fined Kobe was clearly being a fucking ****** and should be called as such.

 

[SonicKoala]

It is a gay slur and always will be - that's the intent of using it as an insult, but the outrage is obviously overblown.
It's just a word, and rage produces rage.

I can't help but think that at some point in the Middle Ages, someone commented on how "******" was a unit of measurement for sticks, and always would be. With how commonly it's used to refer to people who aren't homosexual, it just seems as if it's becoming a vulgar term to call someone, such as if you were to call someone a "fuck face", or something else crude, but relatively meaningless.

 

[Kortney]

I think he should be fined for swearing at the referee. Not for saying the word ******.

If someone says ******, that doesn't mean them a homophobe. It has a completely different meaning. Let Louis CK explain for me:


Edit: Video has been ninja'd! Oh well!

 

[Sarge034]

I think the the reaction sounds appropriate. When an athlete displays poor sportsmanship, and puts his team and the sport to shame by shouting insults, that should indeed not go unpunished; if only because of the harm done to his team's public relations.

True, but it should not matter what the athlete said. He is catching particularly heavy flack for using this slur that most everyone has said multiple times during the course of their lives.

It is also fine that the fact that he used an insult is considered offensive by many is taken into the equation.

I'm trying my hardest not to sound like a troll right now, but isn't it the point of an insult to offend people?

 

[Arsen]

To some it's the equivalent of the word "******" towards a black man, only directed at gays. To others, it means the same as saying one of the following:

1. You asshole.
2. You idiot.
3. I heavily dislike you.
4. I am currently angry at someone for something I disagree with.

To put it mildly, there's a grey area here. Unless directed AT a homosexual I have nothing but doubt that it's going to be worth it's weight. Should he have said it? Probably not. Do we have the right to condemn a man for just using the expression in his own fashion due to momentary anger? No, we don't have the right to judge.

Even then the word itself contains multiple levels of ambiguity. It means whatever the person intends for it to mean. In this case it means one of the four I listed above.

Edit - Wait, he was FINED for saying it in the heat of the moment? That's incredibly messed up. I am sick and tired of the power words have in our society that should be given no political thought.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Now I don't think that he really was trying to be offensive to gays while using the slur, he was just really angry at the ref. Still he should be punished because of it, because it is still a homophobic slur. He can take hit to his bank account, he gets paid shit-tons of money to throw a ball around.

 

[Drake_Dercon]

I don't use retard unless I mean it literally. Someone who was actually diagnosed with MR. It is also completely different. The vast majority of people don't take that word seriously, whereas a ****** was the bundle of wood people used to burn witches. When you call someone a fag, you are telling them that they aren't even worthless. Given the amount of people that have killed themselves over such words, I consider it inexcusable and deserving of the fine (a pittance for a pro athlete). Given his justification, I'd say he isn't exactly innocent of its frequent use. I used to call things gay and after a conscious effort of about two months, I don't. It's not something that will just come up if you try to avoid it over several years. Hopefully he will think next time he wants to use a word that can essentially defined as hate speech just because his kind of pissed off.

 

[XenonZaleo]

It's overblown. Should he have said it? No. It's insulting. But they treat it like it's the new N-Word. It's not. It never will be. They're whole different issues, and I dislike them trying to equate them, which is what this is an attempt to do.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I think it's an over reaction on all parts. Basketball is a silly game that giant men play and inexplicably get paid too much for, the word ****** has basically been neutered of all meaning, and Kobe's a crybaby for complaining about a $100k fine. That's what percent if his annual pay, endorsement deal money, etc.?

No matter how much money you have got a 100k is a 100k, imagine what you can do with 100k! you can literately change people's entire lives with that kind of money. He's damned if he does dammed if he don't. If he did't complain then everyone would be like, ow that guys so rich he does not even know the value of money. Now he's being greedy cause he does care.

I mean if I get a pay rise I don't look down at a pound an be like, this is worth less to me . . .

Sure, $100k is a lot of money, but what do you think Kobe would do with it? Buy another "I'm sorry I raped a girl" diamond necklace for his wife? When a man makes more in one year playing a stupid game than most of us will make in our lives, I have no sympathy for him losing 1% of his annual income to something stupid like a hot tempered snap at a referee.

 

[icame]

Punishment is too harsh, but he should be punished.

On another note: I wonder if people offended by this kind of thing realize that that word seems to be used more often in my school the the word 'the'.

 

[The Gnome King]

If the call was bullshit, then yes it was appropriate. Then again, I don't consider "******" a homosexual slur in this situation. Rather, I feel he used the word the same way I use it when playing fighting games online against spamming pricks.

So if white people started calling each other the N-word and meant it as a general insult instead of a slur against blacks, that should be cool? On TV? Regardless of it possibly offending many blacks?

Because I mean if I call someone a "stupid N-word" and they're not black, I'm not using it as a racial slur - so that's OK, right?

I will never understand why people want the "right" to be insulting and cause pain to others. And I'm probably glad about this.

Except ****** has always been an insult against black people. People call each other ****** all the time and they don't mean gay. It's the same deal with bastard. Used to be an insult for children born out of wedlock.

Black people call each other the 'N' word all the time and it's not meant to insult each other, it's them reclaiming the word. You need to take context into account, which people seem to (try and) claim they are too dense to do.

For example - not an insult:
"Adding baking soda to the soil will retard the growth of that plant."

Insult:
"You're being a retard."

See the difference?

Let's try it again:

Two black people, clearly friends, talking.

Not an insult:
"Hey N***a, what's up?"

Clearly an insult - swap one of the black people for a white person, who says:
"You're a N***a, so I don't have to listen to you."

Context. We learned about context clues in elementary school.

At least, I hope most of us did.

When using the word "fagot" to insult somebody, it's hurtful to the homosexual community. Just like using the word "retard" is to insult somebody, as it hurts those with developmental challenges.

Or, you can just stick your fingers in your ears and say that you have the right to be as ignorant and hateful as you want in your choice of insults. You're right - you do have that right. Just expect sanctions by the larger community if you choose to use these words on TV or in public and you're a public figure.

 

[Syntax Error]

"fucking tightly bound sticks" is offensive?

EDIT:
@the above poster: It's called N-word privileges. Which basically means if you're not black you can't use it. Even if you're referring to your black bestfriend. But meh, I'm from the other side of the world, so what do I know?

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Haters Gonna Hater on a Professional African American Basketball Star

-End Sarcasm-

I want to punch him in the face...but thats personal

 

[The Gnome King]

*indignant wall of text*

Look. Right now you're sheltered, young, and used to being able to say and do what you want to say and do. I get it. Hopefully one day you grow up and realize it is less about your "rights" to say what you want and more about wanting to protect the "rights" of others against what they perceive as hate speech.

I, personally, never used to have a problem with using the word "retard" as a casual insult. I grew up, learned from a lot of people with developmental challenges that the word is hurtful to them - and so I stopped using it. Period. The word has various meanings - for example, as a verb, such as, "Adding a chemical to the soil will retard the growth of the plant, don't do that." That is clearly not an insult. Telling somebody that they are "a retard" when what you mean to say is that they are being crass and acting unintelligent is an insult, to both the person and to the community of the developmentally challenged.

Perhaps one day you will have children and one of them will end up being a homosexual - it could happen. And perhaps one day your child will come home in tears, or wanting to commit suicide, because they were called a "f'ing fagot" one too many times. Perhaps then you will learn it's more about the intent and what the word means TO THOSE WHO ARE BEING HURT BY IT and it's less about the right to say whatever we want, whenever we damn well please.

Hopefully as you mature you will come to realize it's all about this:

The bottom line is that if you know something is offensive to people you probably shouldn't do it. Period.

Why we have to have arguments about how HORRIBLE political correctness is when it all boils down to not hurting people, I'll never understand. If you find out that a word is that hurtul to even, say, 0.05% of the community, isn't it worthwhile to stop using that word to... well, hurt?

Again - a really, really good rule of thumb:

The bottom line is that if you know something is offensive to people you probably shouldn't do it. Period.

Argue that all you want; but in the end I have a feeling we'll just have to agree to disagree. I, for one, don't enjoy causing other people pain. I tend to avoid it when I can. Not using a word is such a simple thing for me to do.