"idiot"

[Scottyboi]

14 pages is quite good for what boils down a playground insult.
i think we've all done quite well here.
if this word offends you, grow up. i trust all of you have never offended ANYONE before? otherwise your arguments mean as little as the word idiot these days.
as for playground gags, did anyone ever 'read someone's palm'. you could see a good job, nice house and then gob in the palm of their hand for their swimming pool.

lmfao i forgot about that one!

 

[Fame Monster]

Remember "catch the girls, kiss the girls" at school. I loved that game. Unfortunately, that's why I lost my job as Maths teacher.

 

[Scottyboi]

Remember "catch the girls, kiss the girls" at school. I loved that game. Unfortunately, that's why I lost my job as Maths teacher.

hahaha

 

[wrongun73]

14 pages is quite good for what boils down a playground insult.
i think we've all done quite well here.
if this word offends you, grow up. i trust all of you have never offended ANYONE before? otherwise your arguments mean as little as the word idiot these days.
as for playground gags, did anyone ever 'read someone's palm'. you could see a good job, nice house and then gob in the palm of their hand for their swimming pool.

how very dare you use the term 'job' on this forum!
i'll have you know im a right lazy **** and find this offensive in the extreme.

 

[Pheonix]

Should never be used these days. No excuse.

i was out with my 21 years old son, who happens to have aspergers, there was a bit of banter going on and someone noticed my son wasnt laughing, one idiot said to him,''whats up idiot dont you find this funny?'' ''i replied he not a idiot he has ASPERGERS you prick'', !!! his mates turned to him gave him a few words,and he came over and appologiused, i just told him to fuck off!! the land lord said to the lad , get back over to your mates or your barred!!! since then the guy has said sorry each time ive seen him,.....i still think hes a prick, by the way..

Should've took his top set out pal

 

[macmanson]

I think we are all guilty of having used terminology that may be offensive to others and not thought of the consequences as we are unable to imagine ourselves as that person because we've never really had to. This is referred to as "social distance" (<a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_distance" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_distance</a>) and I don't think inherently implies that there is some malicious intent or sense of superiority, especially in younger people.

I can relate a couple personal points of view that can provide perspective. I was a chunky kid in elementary who got teased to a mild degree. Through my teens I became very athletic but grew a bit of a belly in my late 20s after I got married. I had step-kids about the age of 4 and 6 at this time who would call me "fat". I originally took it as a begrudging joke. However, I became angry with one of them during a bad day I had because I had taken offense to being reffered to as something I associated with being lazy and undisciplined. In reality all the kids were communicating was that I wasn't in shape relative to the physical condition they were in by using the word they most closely associate to that scenario. It was me that introduced the "harmful" intent on their part (Freud's theory of Transference) by transferring the feelings (lazy, undisciplined) I felt during the times in childhood to them. I apologized to the kids and explained to them the notion of tact adding to their psychological development.

The psychological maturity of an individual depends on their environment they've grown up in, so to this person the comment about being a idiot might not have seemed like bad manners because he's never been put in a situation where he's been forced to think about what it would be like to handicapped due to not having anyone in that position in their life to relate to.

I came from a small town where the use of politically incorrect terminology was pretty commonplace. Being a Canadian, the closest terminology I can relate would be the use of the word Gretzky which in my time was used to refer to someone who was a dumbass. For those that don't know, Wayne Gretzky is considered the best player of all time in the NHL and did a public servance anouncement for down's syndrome kids in the 80s which you can see here:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FpZDtEbAWM[/youtube]

This commercial spawned the use of the word Gretzky in this negative respect. However, as you can see from this link http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gretzky, the word has at least 4 seperate meanings depending on the social context in which it is used.

From a personal point of view, I come from the school where you temper your language to your audience, but I also don't think that people are intending to personally insult me for the most part so I wouldn't automatically assume someone was and would probably take their word if they apologized.

For those that would argue I haven't experienced it, I also have a gay brother who I love no differently since we found out. However, that doesn't stop me from calling my buds "gay" meaning it in a "lame" context as I do. Even the gay brother uses the gay word in that context. However, I've had to throw some 'bows in his defense for people who've insisted on calling him names because of his orientation. We are an odd creature as people and I think if we all just took as a basic premise that all people strive to do good we'd have less misunderstandings.

 

[cockneycarparkm32]

I think we are all guilty of having used terminology that may be offensive to others and not thought of the consequences as we are unable to imagine ourselves as that person because we've never really had to. This is referred to as "social distance" (<a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_distance" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_distance</a>) and I don't think inherently implies that there is some malicious intent or sense of superiority, especially in younger people.

I can relate a couple personal points of view that can provide perspective. I was a chunky kid in elementary who got teased to a mild degree. Through my teens I became very athletic but grew a bit of a belly in my late 20s after I got married. I had step-kids about the age of 4 and 6 at this time who would call me "fat". I originally took it as a begrudging joke. However, I became angry with one of them during a bad day I had because I had taken offense to being reffered to as something I associated with being lazy and undisciplined. In reality all the kids were communicating was that I wasn't in shape relative to the physical condition they were in by using the word they most closely associate to that scenario. It was me that introduced the "harmful" intent on their part (Freud's theory of Transference) by transferring the feelings (lazy, undisciplined) I felt during the times in childhood to them. I apologized to the kids and explained to them the notion of tact adding to their psychological development.

The psychological maturity of an individual depends on their environment they've grown up in, so to this person the comment about being a idiot might not have seemed like bad manners because he's never been put in a situation where he's been forced to think about what it would be like to handicapped due to not having anyone in that position in their life to relate to.

I came from a small town where the use of politically incorrect terminology was pretty commonplace. Being a Canadian, the closest terminology I can relate would be the use of the word Gretzky which in my time was used to refer to someone who was a dumbass. For those that don't know, Wayne Gretzky is considered the best player of all time in the NHL and did a public servance anouncement for down's syndrome kids in the 80s which you can see here:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FpZDtEbAWM[/youtube]

This commercial spawned the use of the word Gretzky in this negative respect. However, as you can see from this link http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gretzky, the word has at least 4 seperate meanings depending on the social context in which it is used.

From a personal point of view, I come from the school where you temper your language to your audience, but I also don't think that people are intending to personally insult me for the most part so I wouldn't automatically assume someone was and would probably take their word if they apologized.

For those that would argue I haven't experienced it, I also have a gay brother who I love no differently since we found out. However, that doesn't stop me from calling my buds "gay" meaning it in a "lame" context as I do. Even the gay brother uses the gay word in that context. However, I've had to throw some 'bows in his defense for people who've insisted on calling him names because of his orientation. We are an odd creature as people and I think if we all just took as a basic premise that all people strive to do good we'd have less misunderstandings.

Superbia in posting , I think everyone has experienced it in one form or another, I remember when I was a kid coming from an Irish family during the 70`s when the IRA were leaving bombs in pubs ect. We had to endure the F*** off home Paddy. The bullying from the local kids, kids can be cruel. I watched my old man turn so bitter and angry even to the point were he couldnt stand an Irish joke on the TV. We had an incident with local EDL types and one of the neighbours rang the police. When they came they said to my Dad "What have you started now Paddy". quick as a flash my old man replied "how did you know my name was Paddy, anyhow there as bunch of fella`s...blah blah blah...." Right there , Right then my old man claimed back the insult......I remember the coppers face, it was a picture. My old man changed to a degree after that , he`d personally won a small battle. After that the reference "sticks and stones will break my bone ,but names will never hurt me" was a kind of Mantra that repeated all that particular summer. Oh! and along came the Pakistani`s and the Blacks for the uncouth to wave the big stick at. Thanks to Irish comics who have reclaimed an insult ,same way Black people and the N-word,and Paki`s ,I grew up with people who used the word amongst friends but would never use it in the company of strangers,Kids will always be cruel ,some people grow and learn at different levels and stages.

 

[colinbellsboots]

when anyword is knowingly ment as an insult, is it not wrong?
when it is clearly ment as a joke, i have absolutly no problem with it, im forever calling myself a daft bastard! as do some very close friends, we know its ment in jest, but we dont hesitate,to pull each othe up ,if its meant as an out and out insult.
any word is ok as long as its not AN OUT AND OUT INSULT!, not hard is it?

 

[macmanson]

when anyword is knowingly ment as an insult, is it not wrong?
when it is clearly ment as a joke, i have absolutly no problem with it, im forever calling myself a daft bastard! as do some very close friends, we know its ment in jest, but we dont hesitate,to pull each othe up ,if its meant as an out and out insult.
any word is ok as long as its not AN OUT AND OUT INSULT!, not hard is it?

I would agree as, my post was regarding the use of the word "idiot" in general. None of us were actually there for your incident, so we wouldn't have gotten a feel for whether this person meant to be insulting or not based on their body language, actions, etc like you would have.

If someone is simply being a proper ass, then a pop in the mouth usually goes a long way towards straightening them out. Mind you I don't care what people call me, as long as it's not late for dinner. :) However, I'm more quick to defend my close friends and family from these types of people.

 

[SWP's back]

Remember "catch the girls, kiss the girls" at school. I loved that game. Unfortunately, that's why I lost my job as Maths teacher.

I have just spat coffee at my screen.