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Giant Bomb Thread 2: A thread on a popular internet message board

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I think I'm more upset about Brad's very genuine seeming saltiness over the game than Ryan dropping the real f-bomb.

I didn't get to watch the live stream so I'll have to watch the archive and judge for myself, but is that much different than the other Lantern Runs? If you go back and watch those there are plenty of moments were people get genuinely pissed off at each other/at the game while trying to get through it.
 
I hate the language policing and false outrage that so many people are adopting. Are people going to say shitty things? Yes. Rather than letting WORDS have such an affect on you, why not try and ignore it? It reminds me of the brainwashed children in 1984 when they saw an adult doing something they weren't supposed to.

We live in a world where stupid people say stupid things. Why allow that to have such impact? And more importantly, why allow it to turn into this game of who can gasp the loudest and shake their finger in the air the highest.

I watched a video of a man in India getting hit by a bus the other day. His guts were spilled all over the pavement and he was still alive. How has a single word from the english language taken top billing over some of the stuff that happens in the world?

Lets just grow up and quit acting like a species with perpetually hurt feelings.

Excellent post. It's sad, but this sort of thing will inevitably be a "big deal" every time it happens. Wish people could just grow up and shed the "Imma tell the teacher on you" attitude (note: I'm not saying that's what's going on in this thread).
 
I hate the language policing and false outrage that so many people are adopting. Are people going to say shitty things? Yes. Rather than letting WORDS have such an affect on you, why not try and ignore it? It reminds me of the brainwashed children in 1984 when they saw an adult doing something they weren't supposed to.

We live in a world where stupid people say stupid things. Why allow that to have such impact? And more importantly, why allow it to turn into this game of who can gasp the loudest and shake their finger in the air the highest.

I watched a video of a man in India getting hit by a bus the other day. His guts were spilled all over the pavement and he was still alive. How has a single word from the english language taken top billing over some of the stuff that happens in the world?

Lets just grow up and quit acting like a species with perpetually hurt feelings.

I was mainly addressing your choice of words. If you wanted to make an argument to this affect, it'd be better to post something like this instead of calling people 'babies' or scared 'soccer moms'. Name calling typically weakens arguments.

I'm not going to get up in arms about it or insist someone get fired or something, but I'm definitely not going to defend someone using the word "Faggot," frustration or not, or try to imply there's an acceptable, non-explanatory context with which to use it.

It speaks poorly of Ryan and poorly of anyone who defends it as no big deal, and an apology does nothing to curb my diminished opinion (which isn't really one of anger, just disappointment), and that's the last I'll say about the subject.

Word.
 
Rather than letting WORDS have such an affect on you, why not try and ignore it? It reminds me of the brainwashed children in 1984 when they saw an adult doing something they weren't supposed to.


I hate to be "that guy" but that's easy enough to say that if you're in a position of privilege and there aren't really any words designed to demean your specific situation derived from positions of oppression. Like, yeah, I believe that context is important and free speech is king, but saying people shouldn't be offended by things because they're "just words" is really silly.
 
I didn't get to watch the live stream so I'll have to watch the archive and judge for myself, but is that much different than the other Lantern Runs? If you go back and watch those there are plenty of moments were people get genuinely pissed off at each other/at the game while trying to get through it.

I looked for them on the site and on YouTube, but couldn't find them. Anyone have a link?
 
I'm not going to get up in arms about it or insist someone get fired or something, but I'm definitely not going to defend someone using the word "Faggot," frustration or not, or try to imply there's an acceptable, non-explanatory context with which to use it.

It speaks poorly of Ryan and poorly of anyone who defends it as no big deal, and an apology does nothing to curb my diminished opinion (which isn't really one of anger, just disappointment), and that's the last I'll say about the subject.
 
I hate to be "that guy" but that's easy enough to say that if you're in a position of privilege and there aren't really any words designed to demean your specific situation derived from positions of oppression. Like, yeah, I believe that context is important and free speech is king, but saying people shouldn't be offended by things because they're "just words" is really silly.
You shouldn't be offended.

As a gay person i wasn't offended in the slightest but i am sure a lot of sheltered PC people were and that's sad to me, it's just a word and he clearly didn't mean FAGGOTS BURN IN HELL! but i guess it's ok for rappers and black people to drop N words no matter what the fucking context is but someone says gay or faggot you better duck under your table because a shit storm is headed your way.

it's 2012 get over it, it's a fucking word. You know how much shit i had to go through being openly gay through middle/high school? guess what? i didn't care, they are words and words don't hurt.

I'm not going to get up in arms about it or insist someone get fired or something, but I'm definitely not going to defend someone using the word "Faggot," frustration or not, or try to imply there's an acceptable, non-explanatory context with which to use it.

It speaks poorly of Ryan and poorly of anyone who defends it as no big deal, and an apology does nothing to curb my diminished opinion (which isn't really one of anger, just disappointment), and that's the last I'll say about the subject.
So what's your stance on comedic legends who use the word faggot all the time? unacceptable or its ok because its part of a "show"? people are far too goddamn uptight these days.
 
It speaks poorly of Ryan and poorly of anyone who defends it as no big deal, and an apology does nothing to curb my diminished opinion (which isn't really one of anger, just disappointment), and that's the last I'll say about the subject.

You can tell he immediately felt bad about saying it and apologized multiple times, including noting that what he did wasn't acceptable or excusable. If you can't accept a heartfelt apology (especially from someone with no history of this sort of thing) then that speaks poorly of you, I feel.
 
I hate to be "that guy" but that's easy enough to say that if you're in a position of privilege and there aren't really any words designed to demean your specific situation derived from positions of oppression. Like, yeah, I believe that context is important and free speech is king, but saying people shouldn't be offended by things because they're "just words" is really silly.

Not saying you shouldn't be offended. I question why we, as a society, have chosen to give the words this much power. If they're said, eyes get wide, mouths open... It truly feels like it's turned into a game. Heck, people have very lucrative careers now where they're professionally outraged.

I can't comment on what it's like to be a minority. Perhaps you're right and my place in the world doesn't give me the proper perspective.
 
You shouldn't be offended.

As a gay person i wasn't offended in the slightest but i am sure a lot of sheltered PC people were and that's sad to me, it's just a word and he clearly didn't mean FAGGOTS BURN IN HELL! but i guess it's ok for rappers and black people to drop N words no matter what the fucking context is but someone says gay or faggot you better duck under your table because a shit storm is headed your way.

it's 2012 get over it, it's a fucking word. You know how much shit i had to go through being openly gay through middle/high school? guess what? i didn't care, they are words and words don't hurt.

You should read my other post. I'm not offended personally. I just think it's really dumb when people try to tell other people they "shouldn't be offended" about words that clearly are offensive. Having personal boundaries is fine (like I mentioned, I hang around a gay couple who say it all the time) but there's no pretending that it's not an offensive word that people should just say at the drop of a hat.

Not saying you shouldn't be offended. I question why we, as a society, have chosen to give the words this much power. If they're said, eyes get wide, mouths open... It truly feels like it's turned into a game. Heck, people have very lucrative careers now where they're professionally outraged.

I can't comment on what it's like to be a minority. Perhaps you're right and my place in the world doesn't give me the proper perspective.

Funny story: we, as a cohesive society, didn't decide it was offensive democratically. Words are used by people in positions of power to demean people without power. There was never a summit on racial and sexual slurs where everybody decided things were and weren't offensive. Deciding that these words have no power at all now is effectively saying that racism, sexism, etc is no longer a problem, which just ain't true.

Anyway, yeah, like I said, this event didn't personally offend me, but there is something really ignorant about pretending that nobody should find it offensive.
 
So what's your stance on comedic legends who use the word faggot all the time? unacceptable or its ok because its part of a "show"? people are far too goddamn uptight these days.

Generally not a fan when it happens.

You can call me uptight all you like, but from what I can tell, the only person getting would up here is you. I said my piece quietly and calmly. You appear to be freaking out like a cat dropped in water.
 
It just sounds like it was a "brain-fart" moment. We all have those.

He used a stupid word and then immediately apologized for that. Calling for him to be fired is extremely silly.
 
I said my piece quietly and calmly.

Well... not really, right? I mean, you came in and judged everyone who was willing to forgive Ryan for what was clearly an accident. I mean, you didn't use capitals or anything, but it's rather cowardly to just come in, drop something like that and be all 'well, that's all I'm gonna say about it'. You make it clear you don't even want to debate it, you just want to shake your head at us.
 
I'm not going to get up in arms about it or insist someone get fired or something, but I'm definitely not going to defend someone using the word "Faggot," frustration or not, or try to imply there's an acceptable, non-explanatory context with which to use it.

It speaks poorly of Ryan and poorly of anyone who defends it as no big deal, and an apology does nothing to curb my diminished opinion (which isn't really one of anger, just disappointment), and that's the last I'll say about the subject.

Maybe you already are aware of this, but in case you aren't, I do want to make something clear. Many people grow up in completely different linguistic environments. I, and many other people, grew up in an environment where the words "fag" and "gay" were constantly used by their peers from a young age, and where they were used primarily just as generic insults. I remember being rather surprised to learn sometime late in elementary school that these words even had anything to do with sexual orientation. When you hear a word extremely commonly, which initially has the connotation of "generic insult," it can take a while to completely erase these words from your vocabulary once you realize that they aren't socially acceptable, even if you make the utmost effort to do so. In moments of intense emotion, your emotions might get the better of you, and you might let the word slip, even though if you were thinking clearly you'd never even consider using the word.

Of course, as I learned later in life, many other people grew up in an environment where these words were rarely ever spoken, and where everyone knew from the moment they learned the words that they were disparaging remarks about someone's sexual orientation. To these people, it's easy to hear someone else use the word and immediately assume that they are a hateful or bad person, because they don't understand the linguistic context of that person's formative years.

Obviously, Ryan had no intention of being offensive, or even of saying the word, but in the heat of the moment, it slipped out. He was extremely apologetic, and I can bet you he's feeling like shit about it right now. Anyway, I think it's a bit silly to think less of someone for making an honest mistake in this context. Fact is, we assign meaning and context to every word in our personal lexicon, and these can vary from person to person. It can often be extremely difficult to erase the meaning that you have assigned, or to erase the word altogether, and it shouldn't necessarily be seen as a personal fault when you fail to completely readjust your personal lexicon despite trying very hard to do so. Hope that all made sense.
 
Blog post inc. Think he's going to have to write some lines too?
NRC89.png
 
Maybe you already are aware of this, but in case you aren't, I do want to make something clear. Many people grow up in completely different linguistic environments. I, and many other people, grew up in an environment where the words "fag" and "gay" were constantly used by their peers from a young age, and where they were used primarily just as generic insults. I remember being rather surprised to learn sometime late in elementary school that these words even had anything to do with sexual orientation. When you hear a word extremely commonly, which initially has the connotation of "generic insult," it can take a while to completely erase these words from your vocabulary once you realize that they aren't socially acceptable, even if you make the utmost effort to do so. In moments of intense emotion, your emotions might get the better of you, and you might let the word slip, even though if you were thinking clearly you'd never even consider using the word.

Of course, as I learned later in life, many other people grew up in an environment where these words were rarely ever spoken, and where everyone knew from the moment they learned the words that they were disparaging remarks about someone's sexual orientation. To these people, it's easy to hear someone else use the word and immediately assume that they are a hateful or bad person, because they don't understand the linguistic context of that person's formative years.

Obviously, Ryan had no intention of being offensive, or even of saying the word, but in the heat of the moment, it slipped out. He was extremely apologetic, and I can bet you he's feeling like shit about it right now. Anyway, I think it's a bit silly to think less of someone for making an honest mistake in this context. Fact is, we assign meaning and context to every word in our personal lexicons, and these can vary from person to person. It can often be extremely difficult to erase the meaning that you have assigned, or to erase the word altogether, and it shouldn't necessarily be seen as a personal fault when you fail to completely readjust your personal lexicon despite trying very hard to do so. Hope that all made sense.

And what better way to learn to dump words out of your "generic insult" vocabulary than being chastised for saying them?
 
Wow. This got out of hand. Ryan obviously has no beef with homosexuals. Slip of the tongue. Still a terrible word but yeah. I don't know.
 
And what better way to learn to dump words out of your "generic insult" vocabulary than being chastised for saying them?

I think the point linko was making is that even if you have learned not to use words like that in your life, they can sometimes slip out. I don't think Ryan is going around and using "fag" as a generic insult.
 
And what better way to learn to dump words out of your "generic insult" vocabulary than being chastised for saying them?

Oh, absolutely, you should be chastised. But there's a difference between chastising, and thinking that someone is a worse person because of a mistake they made.
 
And what better way to learn to dump words out of your "generic insult" vocabulary than being chastised for saying them?

Supposing he puts a blog post up, and taking into account how he immediately recognized his mistake and apologized, what else can he do? He seems genuinely contrite; what more should we expect?
 
Supposing he puts a blog post up, and taking into account how he immediately recognized his mistake and apologized, what else can he do? He seems genuinely contrite; what more should we expect?

Uh, yeah, I know. I'm not saying Ryan is bad. Read all of my posts. I'm responding to the posters who seem to be amazed that people could possibly be offended by slurs.
 
Not saying you shouldn't be offended. I question why we, as a society, have chosen to give the words this much power.
Because they are connected to issues a lot of people decided are a problem, i.e. homophobia. It's not OK to be a homophobe, so it's not OK to use language designed to demean gay people. It's not that hard to connect the dots.

Comedy is a whole other matter.
 
"I don't use it in my personal life, no place for it professionally."

I always find people who say that funny. If you don't ever say it, it's not going to just slip out accidentally.
 
"I don't use it in my personal life, no place for it professionally."

I always find people who say that funny. If you don't ever say it, it's not going to just slip out accidentally.

Have to disagree with that. My best friend makes a habit of never cursing, but there are rare moments that they do slip out.

Not saying this is the case now, but it happens.
 
My Worst Moment - Ryan
Ladies and gentlemen, during tonight's Lantern Run, I made a terrible mistake with my language, one that I immediately recognized as hurtful, embarrassing, and just categorically inappropriate both personally and professionally. Giant Bomb has certainly been known to "work blue", but that kind of language simply has no place on Giant Bomb--and, frankly, in the world at large--not now, not ever. I was shocked myself when it came tumbling out, and instantly felt like the worst piece of shit in the world. Context is meaningless, because that word comes with too much of its own hurtful baggage to ever possibly justify.

I want to be crystal clear here: I'm saying this not because of some corporate mandate or some fear for my job. I'm saying this because it's important to me personally that I acknowledge the significance of what was said, and to own it. I feel miserable because that's not me, and it's horrifying to me to think that someone would take that awful outburst as some sort of implicit approval to use that word. That shit is just indefensible. As such, the archived version of the Final Lantern Run will be edited, though I wanted to make sure that this message got out there first, and that people know that this isn't a cover-up.

All I can ask for now is forgiveness for my gaffe. If you can't manage that, I understand, and hope that you can at least give me a chance to prove that I am better than what you saw of me in that deeply regrettable moment of frustration.
 
"I don't use it in my personal life, no place for it professionally."

I always find people who say that funny. If you don't ever say it, it's not going to just slip out accidentally.

I try not to swear but I slip things out sometime. People get emotionally unstable and find it hard to control themselves when they're incredibly frustrated.
 
If you haven't seen the old lantern runs, you should. Watching now and it's great listening to these four bang their heads against a wall like this.
 
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