> "several months ago" when Friedland used the N-word during a meeting with Netflix public relations staff during a discussion about "sensitive words."
Wait, did I understand correctly that he quoted the word "nigger" instead of saying "n-word" when talking about words used in comedy and this is considered taboo?
I'm not a native speaker, so please bear with me: is this really considered not acceptable?
Opinions differ on the matter. While I think you should be able to quote the word, I understand that not everyone feels the same way, and so I never say the full word because I don't want to unintentionally offend anyone. I don't feel strongly enough about my opinion to say the word regardless of other people's opinions.
Genuine question: is this attitude held by most Americans or is it just the hypersensitive tech scene in California? I think I'd go mad living over there if this is really how people think.
To be clear, I hate racism. It's disgusting. But I also hate people being overly keen on getting offended on behalf of everyone else.
This seems ridiculous, given the context. They also have loads of content with the same word used by characters that are racist, yet it doesn't make those films themselves racist.
I'm from Europe and living in the US for the past 4 years.
I use the word "nigger" a lot, in conversation, with other whites. I use it in puns or as a joke/self-deprecating humor or quoting movies like Pulp Fiction.
I live in NY, so a lot of (smart) people are ok with it and get the context. There are however plenty of exceptions that react with horror and disbelief and such rigidity of thought that it makes me think they've been completely and utterly programmed to react in this way.
Like others said, it's just a word and its use is contextual and subjective. I refuse to limit my means of expression because a certain word is considered offensive or Démodé. Note that this is not a problem in most northern European countries I've been in (I'm from Sweden).
You really can't function well in society by risking large amounts of social capital on saying things that could potentially offend large groups of people (even if only when contextually mis-interpreted).
Obviously, doing this when you're in a position of power means you're risking a lot more and so you have a lot more to lose.
2 small observations. I guessed you were from N Europe or The Netherlands (NY has a lot of roots from the latter, which you may know) from the first 3 words of your comment. There seems to be a distinct lack of concern about offending people over speech in those countries, and I don’t have a strong opinion about whether that’s good or bad but does the attitude stem from racial/cultural homogeneity in that region? Or is that merely a necessary prerequisite but the reasons that shaped that attitude are found elsewhere? I’m genuinely curious if you/others know the answer to this.
Secondly, not sure how much you know about US history but slavery was a big thing that has a huge impact on what is culturally ok and not. As a non-white (non-black as well) individual I see white people judged even more harshly for using the word because of the historical loadedness of the word in the context of its usage by white people, so it’s not hard to see why it could be perceived as making light at the expense of a people who have been subjugated and continue to be in this country — Netflix, coincidentally, has a good episode of Explained that talks about how African Americans are to this day actively discriminated against by govt policy and businesses in a short segment on racial wealth disparity (to illustrate the fact that it’s not just a thing that happened in the past that you can forget about). I don’t see this as “programmed”ness so much as sensitivity towards a topic that is a much bigger deal to people who live in a society tinged by the after-effects of a really bad thing. Perhaps if society existed in a historical vacuum you might have a point.
As an French speaking European, I m not sure to precisely understand American taboo and other cultural rules. But I find the practice to not be able to report the use a taboo or swear word quite strange. If you report a fact, you need to report it precisely.
On the N word specifically, couldn't we agree to ban it completely in normal discourse for all? I mean if it is so taboo why make it exception? And on what do you base the exception? level of melanin production? supposed ancestry? “Who’s the gatekeeper for blackness?” asked Rachel Dolezal[1].
> It recounts an incident that occurred "several months ago" when Friedland used the N-word during a meeting with Netflix public relations staff during a discussion about "sensitive words." Several people told him they were offended by his use of the full word, according to Hastings's memo.
This is a joke right? I could understand that he would have been ousted for using this word in a normal conversation on the regular, actually meaning to hurt someone with that. But I can't see any form of disrespect here.
Actually saying "N-word" instead would be more offensive to me, because I am an adult not some 5-year old.
If you really feel triggered by the use of this word in a meta-discussion I can only advise you to leave your echo-chamber and get a sense for some real problems.
There's a joke about a guy who gets a phone call because his son used "the S-word" at school. "I'm so sorry, I don't know where he picked that up; I'll have a stern talk with him." "Good," the teacher says, "we can't have children calling each other 'stupid' here."
"Wait, stupid? Ok I thought..."
"And another thing, he called Susie the B-word." "Really? I've always taught him to be respectful to women." "Well, I heard him say 'bozo' with my own ears."
"Oh, that B-word... Well, if there's nothing else..."
"In fact there is, I hate to say this but your son also used the M-word." "Hrm, yes, and what do you mean by the M-word?"
Here the teller is invited to concoct the most utterly obscene, vile, and ridiculous phrase imaginable, suitably taboo and vivid to evoke surprised involuntary laughter in the audience (I like to start with "mouth-breathing", delivered with nervousness and ill-concealed delight).
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[ 42.9 ms ] story [ 933 ms ] thread> "several months ago" when Friedland used the N-word during a meeting with Netflix public relations staff during a discussion about "sensitive words."
Maybe to at least be able to discuss it?
I'm not a native speaker, so please bear with me: is this really considered not acceptable?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uvJzr0zZvk
The N-word? The F-word? The B-word? The A-word? The D-word? The Sh-word?
Do you realize how absolutely childish this shit really is? Are we in kindergarten?
To be clear, I hate racism. It's disgusting. But I also hate people being overly keen on getting offended on behalf of everyone else.
I use the word "nigger" a lot, in conversation, with other whites. I use it in puns or as a joke/self-deprecating humor or quoting movies like Pulp Fiction.
I live in NY, so a lot of (smart) people are ok with it and get the context. There are however plenty of exceptions that react with horror and disbelief and such rigidity of thought that it makes me think they've been completely and utterly programmed to react in this way.
Like others said, it's just a word and its use is contextual and subjective. I refuse to limit my means of expression because a certain word is considered offensive or Démodé. Note that this is not a problem in most northern European countries I've been in (I'm from Sweden).
Obviously, doing this when you're in a position of power means you're risking a lot more and so you have a lot more to lose.
Secondly, not sure how much you know about US history but slavery was a big thing that has a huge impact on what is culturally ok and not. As a non-white (non-black as well) individual I see white people judged even more harshly for using the word because of the historical loadedness of the word in the context of its usage by white people, so it’s not hard to see why it could be perceived as making light at the expense of a people who have been subjugated and continue to be in this country — Netflix, coincidentally, has a good episode of Explained that talks about how African Americans are to this day actively discriminated against by govt policy and businesses in a short segment on racial wealth disparity (to illustrate the fact that it’s not just a thing that happened in the past that you can forget about). I don’t see this as “programmed”ness so much as sensitivity towards a topic that is a much bigger deal to people who live in a society tinged by the after-effects of a really bad thing. Perhaps if society existed in a historical vacuum you might have a point.
On the N word specifically, couldn't we agree to ban it completely in normal discourse for all? I mean if it is so taboo why make it exception? And on what do you base the exception? level of melanin production? supposed ancestry? “Who’s the gatekeeper for blackness?” asked Rachel Dolezal[1].
[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/rachel-dolezal-s-claim...
This is a joke right? I could understand that he would have been ousted for using this word in a normal conversation on the regular, actually meaning to hurt someone with that. But I can't see any form of disrespect here.
Actually saying "N-word" instead would be more offensive to me, because I am an adult not some 5-year old.
If you really feel triggered by the use of this word in a meta-discussion I can only advise you to leave your echo-chamber and get a sense for some real problems.
"Wait, stupid? Ok I thought..."
"And another thing, he called Susie the B-word." "Really? I've always taught him to be respectful to women." "Well, I heard him say 'bozo' with my own ears."
"Oh, that B-word... Well, if there's nothing else..."
"In fact there is, I hate to say this but your son also used the M-word." "Hrm, yes, and what do you mean by the M-word?"
Here the teller is invited to concoct the most utterly obscene, vile, and ridiculous phrase imaginable, suitably taboo and vivid to evoke surprised involuntary laughter in the audience (I like to start with "mouth-breathing", delivered with nervousness and ill-concealed delight).