Whilst swearing on MN is ok, there are some words that are simply not acceptable.

[mamazon]

Please, before posting could you just do a brief speel check to ensure you have not used a word that is socially unacceptable.

Whilst we are all adults and as such we wont all faint at the use of words such as fuck/shit etc there are some words that simply are not to be used.

really. there is never any need to use some words.

I doubt very much that anyone here would even dream of including words like nigger/queer/paki etc etc in a post.
We all accept that they are offensive and wrong.

Please could we have a similar stance given to words that are offensive to those who have disabilities (or just those who are not ignorant morons) please.

I am specifically thinking of words such as "retard" "spaz" "mong"

all of which i am noticing with increased frequency on the boards of late.
Whilst MN is getting much better at deleting such offensive posts, if we could just make it clear that such vile use of language is wrong then hopefully we can prevent the need.

I don't think whether something is offensive or not depends on whether the 'subject' is offended.
It's pretty bad behaviour to use someone's disability as a term of abuse or insult, whether or not a peson with a disability is offended.
What kind of cunt would do that - even if no-one was around to be offended?

It's an argument the makes the 'victim' the problem.

onagar sorry but you are defending the indefeasible.
maybe in your world taking the piss out of disabled people is ok, most people know it is wrong.

We've had this thread before (recently) and, as I remember, it went on for about 300 odd posts. Most people agreed that 'spaz' etc aren't acceptable words. However, it went off into some weird realm of pedantry and PC-ness, with people saying it was deeply offensive to use all manner of words. It got silly.

minnie, that is the trouble, imo you have to be careful not to add to many words.
for example, epi is offensive, but fit isn't(how can it be as it means so many things........fit young bloke being one)

is it not possible for Tech to put a programme in that changes those words?

abhor words op cites,agree with sentiment but realistically mn can do limited amount.this is a posters report it issue

stewie, that is true, but we are not talking about people using it in the medical context, i mean who would?
if I post oh dh is on tegretol retard, that is not offensive as it is the name of the medicine he is on, my me saying oh (insert name) is a retard, that is offensive.
i aint hard.

SGM, I take your point.

What on earth does "epi" mean?

I think that to say that because it may be acceptable somewhere else that it must be allowed on mn is ridiculous. Especially in a globally-minded community, shouldn't we take care not to offend each other?

I am American and live in Texas (as un-PC as a place can get) and I find myself offended regularly. Retard, spaz and the like are very common. Although, when I've questioned people they are ignorant of the origin of "spaz". Questioning "retard" just gets me a sheepish "sorry". And believe it or not, I hear the "n" word in casual conversation.

However, before joining mn it never occurred to me that casual use of the word "Nazi" was offensive. I once posted something like " my sil thinks I'm a food Nazi" and was roundly scolded. I haven't used it since. I was embarrassed to have offended so many people however unintentionally, but I'm thankful to have been educated.

I didn't know the orirgin of "moron" either. Ugh. Another satisfying word down the drain.

I hate bastard too, because it was aimed at me as a child, and it was meant to be offensive for sure. It's not the same now as then thank God. Society is different on the whole. But it still makes me recoil.

2shoes you said to me >>maybe in your world taking the piss out of disabled people is ok, most people know it is wrong

the word fit

the word spastic

you seem to want to deliberately misread what I am saying onegar, yes we have been on threads together before, and I well remember you delightful views.
if you can't understand the difference between the 2 words, then I am sorry, I can't think of a simpler way to explain it.

Whilst I admit to finding the words mong,spaz and retard rather offensive, we have to acknowledge that lanugauge is not a static organism. It is constantly evolving with each new generation.

As an example, the words bastard, fucking and cunt were deeply, deeply offensive as recently as fifty-odd years ago. But they were taken up by a new generation and have quickly passed into common parlance. Indeed, they are often used with something of a flourish.

I personally find the word cunt abhorrent. Why any woman would want to use a highly derogatory description of the female genitalia is beyond me. However it seems to be fairly regularly used on this site and users are rarely pulled up on it.

By all means, point out to someone that their language offends you. But remember that you may also be using offensive words yourself.