@MNHQ So this morning I reported a poster who was asked not to make a specific comment which many Irish people and people of Irish descent find offensive - namely that the term "Irish Potato Famine" is a term many Irish find offensive. Instead of accepting that fact, the poster doubled down TWICE, suggesting "Okay. "The French Foie Gras Shortage." Would you prefer that?" The deaths of a million people from starvation is obviously really funny. When it was explained again why it was offensive they fell over themselves to apologise as any decent person would do carried on with "Next time, I'll try "tuber famine."" You could not possibly get more deliberately offensive than that. Here is what MNHQ had to say about it:
We’ve reviewed the post, and while we appreciate that this is a sensitive historical topic, particularly for Irish people, we don’t believe the OP was mocking the tragedy of An Gorta Mór/The Great Hunger itself. Rather, they seem surprised by the strength of feeling about the terminology used, and their tone appears more defensive than deliberately offensive.
We understand why the phrasing and subsequent comments could have come across as flippant or dismissive, especially in a context where users have explained the impact of such language. We'll keep an eye on the thread, and if things escalate or become more personally inflammatory, we’ll step in.
More broadly, we allow some leeway around historical phrasing. especially where terms like “Irish Potato Famine” are still used in many mainstream sources.
Really? Someone who DELIBERATELY doubles down on an offensive comment wasn't mocking the deaths of one million people? And Marie Antionette was presumably advising on cook books when she said "let them eat cake"???
And suddenly the star goady posters are taking an "interest" in Irish history....
@MNHQ So now if something appears in a "mainstream source" that makes it correct? There's a hell of a lot that appears in the "mainstream sources" that isn't correct. And if people do not speak up then that continues to be the case. People are speaking up and you aren't listening. Change happens because people listen. I recognise that is a rapidly diminishing return on this site, but if the moderators aren't listening, then I think we have our answer. MNHQ supports racism and offense provided it skirts within the lines of not getting you in a court of law, and you don't give a shit how many people it harms or hurts provided the money continues to roll in.