Making the news today....

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

5 minutes ago, Vespasian said:

blimey, I'll mark the date on my calendar..

We used to agree more often....

 

Before you went a bit Radio Rental over Brexit.....

 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

29 minutes ago, felixthelogchopper said:

Or a problem of gross insensitivity on yours. It's so plainly inflammatory that I am surprised we are even having this conversation. While our opinions frequently differ, I thought better of you.

Perhaps my insensitivity (it's not like I've ever tried to conceal it (I may have tried to curtail it, but generally unsuccessfully)) is matched by what I might think of as your over sensitivity Felix?  But I don't hold that against you, I just celebrate the diversity of opinions.... 

 

I'd just as readily call my wife a baboon.   In this house it's perceived as something of a friendly good natured recognition of a clumsy or careless act.

 

I'll take your point though, I perhaps should readjust my choice of words on the expectation that an over sensitive PC warrior like Dianne Abbott might take offence, or someone might take offence on her behalf. 

 

I'll add it to the New Years resolution list.  I have tried that before.  I did one year resolve to not get into any emotional, heated, controversial discussions on AT.  Can't remember which year that was but I failed miserably, and considerably sooner than even I had anticipated.

 

(I guess the trouble is, it's no use having a discussion / debate with someone you agree with?)  

Edited December 17, 2017 by kevinjohnsonmbe

[felixthelogchopper]

1 minute ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

Perhaps my insensitivity (it's not like I've ever tried to conceal it (I may have tried to curtail it, but generally unsuccessfully)) is matched by what I might think of as your over sensitivity Felix?  But I don't hold that against you, I just celebrate the diversity of opinions.... 

 

I'd just as readily call my wife a baboon.   In this house it's perceived as something of a friendly good natured recognition of a clumsy or careless act.

 

I'll take your point though, I perhaps should readjust my choice of words on the expectation that an over sensitive PC warrior like Dianne Abbott might take offence, or someone might take offence on her behalf. 

 

I'll add it to the New Years resolution list.  I have tried that before.  I did one year resolve to not get into any emotional, heated, controversial discussions on AT.  Can't remember which year that was but I failed miserably, and considerably sooner than even I had anticipated.   

Please don't change it on my account. I think it's far more honest to see people's true opinions.

[Mick Dempsey]

41 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

It was 'of it's time.'  It's not of 'today's time.'

Of course it was “of it’s time” how could it not be?

 

We’re about the same age Kevin so you can’t pull the “you don’t know what it was like” card.

 

That doesn’t mean that it was OK then, it wasn’t ok then, I think we realised that, but sniggered along with the use of words.

 

 Calling Diane Abbot a baboon? Don’t like it Kevin. You’re far too smart not to have known exactly what you were saying.

 

 

 

 

[WesD]

15 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

Perhaps my insensitivity (it's not like I've ever tried to conceal it (I may have tried to curtail it, but generally unsuccessfully)) is matched by what I might think of as your over sensitivity Felix?  But I don't hold that against you, I just celebrate the diversity of opinions.... 

 

I'd just as readily call my wife a baboon.   In this house it's perceived as something of a friendly good natured recognition of a clumsy or careless act.

 

I'll take your point though, I perhaps should readjust my choice of words on the expectation that an over sensitive PC warrior like Dianne Abbott might take offence, or someone might take offence on her behalf. 

 

I'll add it to the New Years resolution list.  I have tried that before.  I did one year resolve to not get into any emotional, heated, controversial discussions on AT.  Can't remember which year that was but I failed miserably, and considerably sooner than even I had anticipated.

 

(I guess the trouble is, it's no use having a discussion / debate with someone you agree with?)  

It is hard to draw lines when so many words have so many meanings also delivery and reference are key to your perceived intended outcome. 

 

Ie I call my 2 and a half year old daughter a little monkey because she is going through the climb on/over everything stage I also call her a terror whenever she tips the toy box upside down rather than take the toy she wants out of the box. Both instances are in jest and comparative to the task she carries out. It’s a bit like stating you can swim like a fish, not offensive!

 

Your perceived outcome can also be misinterpreted, for what you see or say in a meaning of good manner/humour or can easily be misconstrued. 

 

Will we get to the point though where it will be easier to avoid conversation for fear of confrontation?

 

[billpierce]

We use the term fatty quite a lot as a friendly term in our house. Particularly at our fat cat.

I suffered badly as my 3 year old insisted on shouting this in a supermarket. And then shouted about how it wasn't rude, he is a fatty.........

[matelot]

I just wish political correctness wasn't just a white only thing...

 

Whitey beats themselves up about not offending minority groups. While in places like Pakistan and Egypt Christians are widely persecuted and in places like South Africa white farmers are routinely murdered and thrown off their land (which has been in their family for centuries).

 

The Middle East is quite racist. At the top of the tree are the local Arabs, then come the White Brits and Americans, then come the East Europeans, then the Asians and Pakistanis etc. At the bottom of the tree are Africans, seemingly the Arabic word for "slave" is the same as for "African".... We kid ourselves on if we think all races are into this "hold hands and sing koom ba ya".

 

Anyway, is whitey calling other races racist terms really the main sticking point to us all living together in peace? I'd suggest not....

[the village idiot]

8 minutes ago, matelot said:

I just wish political correctness wasn't just a white only thing...

 

Whitey beats themselves up about not offending minority groups. While in places like Pakistan and Egypt Christians are widely persecuted and in places like South Africa white farmers are routinely murdered and thrown off their land (which has been in their family for centuries).

 

The Middle East is quite racist. At the top of the tree are the local Arabs, then come the White Brits and Americans, then come the East Europeans, then the Asians and Pakistanis etc. At the bottom of the tree are Africans, seemingly the Arabic word for "slave" is the same as for "African".... We kid ourselves on if we think all races are into this "hold hands and sing koom ba ya".

 

Anyway, is whitey calling other races racist terms really the main sticking point to us all living together in peace? I'd suggest not....

The sticking point is when particular human beings assert that they are 'better' when the vast majority of the circumstances that led to their position were completely out of their control.

 

Living in peace is impossible whilst people cling to their luck through of a misguided sense of entitlement.

[matelot]

3 minutes ago, the village idiot said:

The sticking point is when particular human beings assert that they are 'better' when the vast majority of the circumstances that led to their position were completely out of their control.

 

Living in peace is impossible whilst people cling to their luck through of a misguided sense of entitlement.

Our entire asylum process is based on the idea that British culture is better than others.... When we give asylum to someone from Somalia/ Afghanistan etc there is a clear value judgement that we are doing do because British culture is better than Somalia/ Afghan culture... 

 

If Western culture isn't superior to African/ME culture why are so many people risking their life to get to Europe? Why did Zimbabwe fall apart when the White Man left?

 

It's a lovely idea that all people are equal, but it's clearly not true..... I think deep down we all know it...

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

1 hour ago, WesD said:

Will we get to the point though where it will be easier to avoid conversation for fear of confrontation?

You could argue (in the academic rather than confrontational sense, whilst not wishing to inflate academics nor denigrate confrontationists - just for equality purposes) the preceding few posts illustrate that we might have already....