Originally Posted by ioan

I'm not in any way racist... far from it, just that this doesn't make any sense. If is that offensive should not be use by ANYBODY.

Originally Posted by ioan

Explain to me why a black person can use the word "negro" whenever, and I can't because I'm white.

Originally Posted by sondjata

Tell you what ioan after you've had your ancestors shipped across the atlantic for about 3 months with minimal food and in "quarters" fit for a chihuahua, then getting off said ship in the caribbean and having strange people feel you up and split you up from your family (assuming you were so "lucky" as to have had them shipped with you) and sent on another ship to another strange a** country where another set of people felt you up before buying you and putting you to work in some hot ***** field from sun up to sunset. Not to mention the frequent beatings, poor food and liability to be strung up from a tree for such offenses as being well...black, whistling or god forbid trying to get out of your situation.

Oh and then the whole share cropping thing, the whole you can't sit, stand, drink, eat, piss or shyt, here, here, here or here. Nor can you go to school or live here, here, here or here and should you attempt to do so you will find such lovely things as burning crosses on your property assuming you haven't had your property burnt to the ground...

Do I need to go on?


Look, I don't really approve of the typical use of the word by those fitting the above discreption, but the mere fact that it needs to be explained to you means you really ought to bone up on the history of the country you're currently living in before passing some really bad argument as a case of lack of free speech.

Anyway, in the states at worst you have a fine from the FCC (or perhaps get fired from a private company). In Europe you so much as look at a Jew wrong and you can find yourself in jail (I'm exagerating of course). Whole pieces of literature and paraphernalia are "illegal" as it may offend a certain group or "cause" people to hate jews. I find that completely offensive.

Originally Posted by pycage

In conservative Catholic Bavaria, you can go to jail for blasphemy. This new law was introduced when M-TV aired the series Popetown, which was heavily attacked by the ignorant leading Christian right-wing party, here.
Usually I don't like M-TV, but for airing Popetown I want to thank them for having the balls to stand up against Jesus' bullies.

Originally Posted by Karel Jansens

I've always found that a bogus and possibly dishonest reasoning; if you go back far enough, everbody's ancestors have been persecuted, burned, hung, drawn and/or quartered, or even looked at in a funny way. I refuse to take responsibility -- or even worse: guilt -- for what my possible ancestors did to someone else's possible ancestors. There ought to be a statute of limitations on these things, and if there ever is one, it should have ended about a century ago.