Well, I think the point is, for example, if some big fat guy cuts you off on the highway and you yell, "YOU FAT FUCKIN' SLOB!", that really isn't an indication you hate fat people, is it?

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Freedom is our Strength.

One of those things are NOT like the other. #2017

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

That's because you're not fat. #2017

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Freedom is our Strength.

I think it would be pretty clear that you find being fat as unacceptable and worthy of scorn.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Who cares about exploring root cause, let's just label people racist!

Interesting times indeed.

I'm pretty sure that isn't the case though. People that are angry are trying to say the most hurtful thing possible. The person yelling that might even be married to a fat person. Maybe his or her mother is fat. Maybe he himself is even fat.

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Freedom is our Strength.

Interesting psychological question. What does our go-to expletive/name calling choice mean about us?


Wonder if Sarley calls people breakfast blogging morons

Why is fat used as a bad thing? It's not just a randomly chosen word. It's a way to demean another human being by a supposed negative characteristic. Racial slurs are more extreme versions of that.

To put it another way, if a white guy cuts me off am I yelling at him for being a dumb cracker? Why not?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

You know, or that you're mad that dude cut you off on the highway and you're saying something personally inflammatory to him as some sort of revenge.

"I dislike very much what you just did and want to inspire similar feelings in you by saying vitriolic things leveled at you personally!" is a lot more logical of an explanation than "I'm choosing this moment in time to remind you that your way of life and personal presentation is offensive to me and isn't sustainable for our long-term societal health, much less yourrrrrrssss!".

Don't you think?

If you don't want to be labeled a racist then don't use racial slurs. Not a hard concept.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

You might be depending upon the bone structure of his face and the F150 he's driving.

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Freedom is our Strength.

As I argued last week, people are too quick to label someone "racist" in today's world.

That said, if we don't label this guy as racist, I'm not sure that the word itself has any meaning. This is not the same as calling someone fat or a bitch when they cut you off in traffic. He had to go log onto facebook, use that word, insinuate that there's an entire list of those types of people, and then say "yeah, I said it" as though it's something he's been harboring for years. I couldn't imagine what he says in private. And he's free to do that. But if ever there was someone who met the definition of racist, it's him.

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Who are we talking about here? That shithead fire chief?

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Freedom is our Strength.

Hyper-technically, because "cracker" isn't an effective slur/pejorative. Words like "hilbilly", "hayseed" and "redneck" are much more apt derogatory terms to use, but of course none carry the weight of other terms used against other people (for obviously far larger and historical reasons).

The point is that if you're pissed off enough, you'd try to make it as personally derogatory as possible, and how derogatory you get is proportional to how angry you are.

I feel like the words you scream out in anger are the ones you probably want to say more often but dont because of the pussification of America.

I thought so unless I missed something.

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You just made his No-Good Cracker list

I didn't go that far back in the thread just now.

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Freedom is our Strength.

I think the discussion has pivoted more towards discussing what possible motivations someone could have for using a racial slur or other pejorative towards someone, and whether that use is a mitigating factor in declaring them "[]-ist".

I've been told that my favorite is fuck. My go to insult (in traffic) is "stupid ass bitch". That replaced "fucking burrito" which had a long run.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Are you sexist or homophobic? Or are those just things you say in the heat of the moment?

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Freedom is our Strength.

I just think it's unfair to label him as a racist. Do we really know whether there's racially based hate in his heart without a full fledged empirical investigation of his heart? This kind of outrage just seems like another case of the left flagrantly violating procedural fairness.

That's the point though. You are using those words because of the reason they are demeaning based on who the person is. "Cracker" is not an effective slur because it only denotes a white person. The others are because of the negative connotations of poor, uneducated, country folk. You can't use the term and not be making a statement about how you feel about those types of people. The same theory exists when you are using a term that describes every person of a certain race. If that is your go to slur when you are angry it isn't just because you are angry and looking for anything. It's because of what you think of the word and target.

Now, people make mistakes when angry and one action may not be an accurate portrayal of them in general but it still is a racist thing to do.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The overwhelming majority of the time that person literally can't hear or see what you are saying. You're essentially yelling it at yourself.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I didn't know bitch was gender specific but I am a recovering homophobe.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

The overall problem I have with the word "racist" is you're basically determining what is in someone else's "heart" (for lack of a better, less corny term). As you have stated here, people say things for various reasons. And ultimately, I don't even know if it matters. The word has just been weaponized to kill conversation. Trump is a great example. I have no issue with anyone thinking he's racist or whatever. I don't know that we could really determine that unless he literally came out and said something like "white people are superior to all others" or he actually called for the limitation of civil liberties to certain races or he used racial slurs to condemn an entire group of people (like the fire chief did). Trump certainly might be racist (and again, I have no problem if someone thinks he is - he has certainly not earned any benefit of the doubt), but I think a lot of the shit he says is for political reasons and because he's an idiot. But ultimately, why does it even matter? The effect of his words are the same whether he really understands them or not. They are damaging and stupid. It's just a semantic debate to argue over whether he is "racist." If you think he is racist, there is a likelihood you think he is a bad, ignorant person, and the end result is the same either way - you think he's bad for the country. I certainly think he's bad for the country, and I honestly don't think it's even worth discussing whether he's racist or not unless he literally comes out and starts denigrating other races or calling for the elimination of rights for American citizens. The word is just overused.

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Right. And when you're yelling "Fucking burrito" you aren't really thinking about the guy's sexuality. In fact the guy might be a big hetero stud like leash in his pickup truck and you probably should be yelling "Fucking Cracker!" instead.

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Freedom is our Strength.

what the hell are we talking about here? there are not a lot of rules in life to remember. Drop the N word online and you're going to get fired is one of them.

same deal with the F word above. you think your company wants to be the target of some activist group's scorn? no they do not.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

I sold it and drive a cuck company car now. Thanks for the reminder.

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Might as well put this here

Allegedly, some right wing opponents of Antifa have been running Boston Antifa twitter to try and make Antifa and the left look bad. (As if they need help) and they got caught because the tag showed it was posted from Russia.

Anyway, I love the reply at the bottom