Why ? Has a sense of humour been added to the banned list ??? This place is getting awfully serious these days…:o
I don’t think that the topic was supposed to be funny, and I can’t actually decide if comments like shirt lifter were supposed to be either, especially as there has been no word from the author of those words…if I had written a potentially offensive comment and people had picked up on it, I would have made damned sure I put it into context, probably by saying something along the lines of.. “it was taken out of the context in which I meant it, apologies if I caused offense” etc etc. But nothing!
You have to recognise that comments, being read on here COULD be taken as offensive. Many users don’t know each other on here, and could walk past each other a thousand times a year in the street without realising. So how we can all be expected to KNOW that someone was only joking is beyond me, without context.
As for people coming on saying..”but I have lots of gay friends and talk this way to them.”, well that’s absolutely fine and dandy for you. Putting my head above the parapet, I admit, I am gay, and most of my mates are straight laddish guys, who also make such comments to me, and I brush them off because I know the context in which they are used, I know them, they know me. I would actually be pretty pi**ed off if I knew they were referring to any old random gay person as a shirt lifter because that person will not necessarily know the context in which they are using the terminology.
I think that it is probably difficult for many users of this forum to understand…for the reason that they are likely to be straight white men, funnily enough, one of the only groups on this earth who are difficult to insult, because for many years they have been considered the superior norm (I say superior to put it into context as to why there are derogatory terms around for women). So, if you fall into this category, then just think a little bit next time about what you say, joking or not, you may not understand the effect that such comments can have on people, as its probable that the shoe has never (and will never) be on the other foot!
I have to confess, now that the topic has been continually discussed, I think it would have been nice for a Mod to at least make comment about “being careful not to offend anyone” rather than certain mods suggesting that people are taking it too seriously.
Sorry if this seems a bit straight laced for some of you, I like a joke as much as the next person, I also dislike being insulted, the problem is, I can’t always tell with written words, from people I don’t know, what context is being used!
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