ESPN Fires Employee For Jeremy Lin Headline

[corianderstem]

Eat a bag of boobs, LeMel.

All right, I have to go to choir rehearsal. I will try not to substitute any Latin religious text with "eat a bag of dicks."

It's been glorious discussing profanity with you all on this fine evening.

 

[LemonMelon]

Eat a bag of boobs, LeMel.

Now that's a niche insult if I've ever heard one.

Enjoy choir rehearsal, asshole.

 

[maycocksean]

Indeed.

Have a pleasant evening!

 

[corianderstem]

That was a legitimate laugh out loud moment. Ha!

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Fuck.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

This thread got fun!

So why hasn't "MF" gotten even so much as mention tonight. Geez!

Go for the deep cuts over the crowd pleasers, blah, blah, blah.

Damn hipsters .

The "MF" word definitely works. It's not one I use, but done right it can halt a conversation/argument pretty quickly.

As far as I can tell, "go suck/eat a bag of dicks" is a dude-to-dude phenomenon (I can't imagine how a female would respond to that), which could limit its usage somewhat. In that context, the image is somewhat homoerotic until you really work through the logistics of it.

Right. It's generally supposed to be another "gay"-type insult.

I don't think most women would take too kindly to someone saying that to them. My guess is a man who says that to a woman is risking being slapped across the face.

Well, let's face it - I don't call anyone assholes to their faces, usually in response to some politician or celebrity who's done or said something incredibly assholish. That's the only time I swear at someone, really. (Although I have had people yelling at me on the phone at work and had some choice words to mutter about them after hanging up.)

This is me, too. I'd NEVER have the guts to say these words right to the faces of the people I'm using them towards. I say them in the safety of friends and family, after the person I want to insult walks away. Like I said, I rarely curse offline-I feel more at ease writing/typing out my insults rather than trying to say them out loud. It always surprises my friends when they hear me cuss.

Cursing someone out in your head is fun! I use that method most often at work if I'm dealing with a pain in the ass customer. Polite smile and tone as I try and deal with them, but in my head I'm finding all sorts of ways to tell them to fuck off.

(Customer service employee of the month, yeah!)

I usually go with "asshole", or "dumbass", or the ever-fun "dipshit" if I'm insulting someone's intelligence (the last of those I save for someone who really pisses me off. Like, say, Santorum ). I've heard a lot of the other ones people brought up here, but I've never used them myself, fun as some of them may be. Otherwise I revert to the usual "moron"/"idiot" sort of insult.

 

[mobvok]

I've been trying to steer away from dick, asshole, or pussy because they're a bit over generic/cliche. Bitch is meaningless- am I your bitch or am I being a bitch? Am I too weak-minded or too strong-minded?

When I'm really marinating in someone's stupidity, I reach for something like "you are truly a god damned idiot".

Anyway, the real objective out of all this I'd hope would be to make sure all headline writers are aware that some common phrases like "gypped" both can have intentional/unintentional racist aspects, and that they are cliches you lazy morons think of something better.

 

[cobl04]

Just wanted to add my two cents.

I use "cunt" all the time with my (male) mates. Thailand was just a constant stream of swear words and insults, for two straight weeks.

quite honestly, i'd rather it weren't used in hip-hop.

really? Wasn't it all about reclaiming the word or something? I honestly can't name that many hip-hop songs (outside of De La Soul) that don't use the word "nigga". I can't imagine hip-hop without it. I'm always listening to it, and a lot of my friends do as well, so it's become part of our vernacular.

I think the thing a lot of people forgot when people use these words is that in a lot of cases there is no malicious intent. It's like when Kobe called the ref a faggot. Does anyone really believe he was making a derogatory statement on the ref's perceived sexuality? It was a heat-of-the-moment outburst. I'd find it hard to believe whoever wrote the headline did so maliciously. And I think it's telling that this was a huge story the world over, but Lin just shrugged his shoulders at it.

People need to stop being offended on behalf of others.

Hey, let's talk about our favorite euphemisms for breasts! Steved would appreciate that.

I haven't seen him in ages. Thank goodness.

 

[Jive Turkey]

so it's become part of our vernacular.

That's kinda fucked up, dude. Even putting aside any offensiveness or whatever, there are few things more pathetic than a bunch of skinny white kids running around calling each other nigga. -5 points for Friggin Cobbler

 

[BVS]

It's like when Kobe called the ref a faggot. Does anyone really believe he was making a derogatory statement on the ref's perceived sexuality?

Um, YEAH, that's exactly what he was doing. It was meant to be derogatory, as in only a gay man would make such a call.

 

[cobl04]

I don't think so. Pretty easy to say something you don't mean in a situation like that.

That's kinda fucked up, dude. Even putting aside any offensiveness or whatever, there are few things more pathetic than a bunch of skinny white kids running around calling each other nigga. -5 points for Friggin Cobbler

I more meant repeating lines from songs or skits, like "y'aint got no yeezy nigga!" we don't actually greet each other with "yo nigga!"

But I should probably stop, before I dig a deeper hole.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I realize how idiotic this sounds, but I feel like when someone says 'fag', it isn't necessarily meant as a homophobic slur; it's meant more like jerk or ass. But when someone says 'faggot', it's meant the other way

 

[Jive Turkey]

I more meant repeating lines from songs or skits, like "y'aint got no yeezy nigga!" we don't actually greet each other with "yo nigga!"

But I should probably stop, before I dig a deeper hole.

I guess that's a little better.... I guess.... but still, would you say it if there was a black man in the room?

 

[Jive Turkey]

as in only a gay man would make such a call.

Well, I don't think he put that much thought into it, but I would agree otherwise

 

[BVS]

I don't think so. Pretty easy to say something you don't mean in a situation like that.

The word is meant to be a cut down, correct? So ask yourself why?

Is he really just calling him a 'bundle of sticks'?

 

[BoMac]

Friggin' Cobbler. Why did Kobe use that word? Why not call the referee an idiot, or something along those lines? I think you need to ask yourself that before making comments like that.

 

[Irvine511]

I realize how idiotic this sounds, but I feel like when someone says 'fag', it isn't necessarily meant as a homophobic slur; it's meant more like jerk or ass. But when someone says 'faggot', it's meant the other way

i can use fag and so can my gay friends so long as we are amongst other gays, but if a straight person uses fag, i'm punching them in the nose. and i'd never use it in front of the straights. it is weird how that works.

and the idea of young white Australian men calling each other "nigga" is just ... well, i know how you mean it and i guess that's the beauty, in a way, of capitalism.

 

[Jive Turkey]

i can use fag and so can my gay friends so long as we are amongst other gays, but if a straight person uses fag, i'm punching them in the nose. and i'd never use it in front of the straights. it is weird how that works.

And that's completely reasonable. Im just addressing intent, but punch away

 

[cobl04]

I just don't think in the heat of that moment Kobe's thought process was "that ref just fouled me. He looks like a homosexual. I bet that's why he called it. What a faggot". I think he blurted the first word that came to his mind. Replay that situation and he might have said idiot. Lord knows I've said things without thinking I've immediately regretted.

I could certainly be wrong though.

I guess that's a little better.... I guess.... but still, would you say it if there was a black man in the room?

Well if we were rapping hip-hop songs, I guess. Tens of thousands of white people shouted nigga at Kanye's gig.

 

[BoMac]

I just don't think in the heat of that moment Kobe's thought process was "that ref just fouled me. He looks like a homosexual. I bet that's why he called it. What a faggot". I think he blurted the first word that came to his mind. Replay that situation and he might have said idiot. Lord knows I've said things without thinking I've immediately regretted.

I could certainly be wrong though.

Or that is his go-to response when frustrated or pissed at someone is to call them that.

 

[LemonMelon]

That's kinda fucked up, dude. Even putting aside any offensiveness or whatever, there are few things more pathetic than a bunch of skinny white kids running around calling each other nigga. -5 points for Friggin Cobbler

If it were a bunch of fat white kids, it would be funny though.

 

[Irvine511]

I just don't think in the heat of that moment Kobe's thought process was "that ref just fouled me. He looks like a homosexual. I bet that's why he called it. What a faggot". I think he blurted the first word that came to his mind. Replay that situation and he might have said idiot.

this is exactly the problem, though.

 

[BVS]

I think he blurted the first word that came to his mind.

But why is this the first thing that came to his mind, and why does he think it's a cut down?

 

[cobl04]

I think I'll just quit while I'm behind.

 

[yolland]

I realize how idiotic this sounds, but I feel like when someone says 'fag', it isn't necessarily meant as a homophobic slur; it's meant more like jerk or ass. But when someone says 'faggot', it's meant the other way

I understand what you mean in the sense that if we were sitting around having a discussion about slurs, I'd find 'faggot' harder to force out than 'fag,' because I associate the former much more strongly with virulent homophobes. (I assume they favor it because it's a more aggressive-sounding word, there's something almost like a glottal stop in there, but I really don't know the history of that.) But ultimately the problem is that a term meaning 'homosexual man' (and associated with violence) is being used as an insult at all, regardless of which aspect of the person's character is consciously being deprecated. For similar reasons I'd feel uncomfortable around a group of men who were calling each other 'cunt,' even though (since that usage is pretty rare in the US) I can't claim to know what exactly it typically means in the mind of a man using it that way.

 

[Irvine511]

I think I'll just quit while I'm behind.

no, no -- don't worry. i'm not mad or upset and you haven't done anything wrong. what i'm saying is that it's a broader problem when we are searching for a word that means dumb or stupid and have nothing to do with homosexuality and our brains arrive at a homophobic slur.

 

[Irvine511]

also, i read the ESPN guy's apology today, and i guess i was a little harsh at first. he does seem really contrite and enormously embarrassed.

 

[coolian2]

no, no -- don't worry. i'm not mad or upset and you haven't done anything wrong. what i'm saying is that it's a broader problem when we are searching for a word that means dumb or stupid and have nothing to do with homosexuality and our brains arrive at a homophobic slur.

i've always wondered why fantastic words like dumbass, idiot, and the like don't get used more. equally as effective and more fun to say.

i usually say fucking before any of them as well, so it has extra impact.

 

[cobl04]

no, no -- don't worry. i'm not mad or upset and you haven't done anything wrong. what i'm saying is that it's a broader problem when we are searching for a word that means dumb or stupid and have nothing to do with homosexuality and our brains arrive at a homophobic slur.

This I completely agree with.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Well if we were rapping hip-hop songs, I guess. Tens of thousands of white people shouted nigga at Kanye's gig.

Oh, those wacky whites