I was gonna GIVE THOUGHTS because I think a lot of people in here are being dicks and in general are unable to approach things from any perspective but their own and maybe lock it afterwards since the replies are 100% garbage buuuut I gotta go to class.  If this is STILL OPEN when I get back we will have a "partytime".

but in real life there are 7ups...

mushrooms > carbonated beverages

How can you not see the adverse effects isolation has had on you...

If you're referring to the whole 'nigger' thing that actually came about from being a Literary Theory student, one of the major theories presented in one of the courses (and one that i really dig) was that words have no intrinsic meanings or value other than what collectives of people give them (for example the word 'tree' has no natural connection with the actual object that it refers to, their link is arbitrary) and that these values change across time, culture, language, and even hold variation within a language, spawning sub-languages.  This is different from dialects or accents, where words are simply pronounced differently, but actual differing meanings for the same word.  For a modern day example, do any canadians or americans know what 'naff' means?  It's an english word, but to us it's nonsense.  To brits, it's an actual term.  Even within a common language, sub-lexicons are created due to various factors - in this example, geographic.

It's feasible to assume that internet communities also eventually create their own sub-lexicons.  It's even happened here.  The only reason you're expressing outrage is because another collective has relabeled a word you deem offensive, as something unoffensive.  You can't understand how they can use it so nonchalantly and they don't see what the problem is.  Simply stating "but the majority of the people who use the language have decreed that 'Word X means Concept Y'" is not reason enough for people to change that linkage in their own particular community.

There's thousands of examples of this, most including terms that are more benign than the one we're talking about but I think you get the idea.

I really don't know what else to say, then. You're obviously an adult who's already comfortably settled into your mentality and routine, so what exactly are you asking us?

I thought a broader discussion on isolation/socialization would just be a good topic to throw around, really.  :o

words

What you posted is obvious, no one is contesting things like that happen. But being a part of the sub-culture doesn't mean you are disassociated from the larger culture where it is inappropriate to say that. The redefinition is done with a full understanding of the offensive nature of the word.

this is why it's a literary THEORY class, words have meanings at any given time, and as of right now nigger has a meaning and it's "that fucking black that i hate and wish death upon"

Right now it has that meaning in the larger culture - and within the larger culture there are people that ban the word based on that meaning and people that actually excessively used the word SPECIFICALLY because they agree with its meaning.

This doesn't exclude the possibility that a sub-culture can exist where the word has a different meaning and treated differently, nor does its existance give the larger culture liscense to impose its lexicon on the smaller.

But being a part of the sub-culture doesn't mean you are disassociated from the larger culture where it is inappropriate to say that. The redefinition is done with a full understanding of the offensive nature of the word.

I completely agree, which is why I don't generally use the word anywhere else in the same way as I do in places where it's acceptable.  It's obvious that people here don't see it the same way, for example, so I wouldn't do it here.  Every time you see anybody using an offensive word in a place where you know it holds different meanings and may actually be acceptable, wouldn't it be better to think "well that individual's not actually racist, that's just how the word is used over there and even if it makes me uncomfortable he/she knows how i feel about it and wouldn't do it around me" rather than "rargh must impose my meanings on them so i am not offended any longer"?

Like I said, I'm obviously not going to do it here (where people do take offense) and in places where people DON'T take offense it's used in an unoffensive way, so I don't see the problem.

This is like banning all pornography from your household but then screaming at your neighbour to shut his TV off because you can see him watching porn in his house from your bedroom rather than just simply closing your blinds.

Every time you see anybody using an offensive word in a place where you know it holds different meanings and may actually be acceptable, wouldn't it be better to think "well that individual's not actually racist, that's just how the word is used over there and even if it makes me uncomfortable he/she knows how i feel about it and wouldn't do it around me" rather than "rargh must impose my meanings on them so i am not offended any longer"?

No, I think "that person is more interested in flashing some sense of personal freedom than showing respect for others."

Gotta... distinguish myself somehow... I'm that white guy saying Nigger instead of slob

http://www.rmxp.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=59313&p=579065&hilit=Nigger#p579065

is this appropriate context?

oh man, the forum transfer broke that!!

It was supposed to look like an american flag with the colours layed out properly and it was used as irony in response to both his stupid initial post and his comments on irc that were both racist and extremely nationalistic.

its not because the word is offensive I use offensive words all the fucking time it is because it has RACIST connotations you cannot sit there and reason out why it is ok to use a racist fucking word with a group of dipshit anime loving douche bags, fucking christ.

Where'd the anime loving douchebags come from :o

i don't believe for a second you intended this topic to be a genuine discussion about social interaction at all.

I did.  We can completely return to that if you'd like.

You'll find i generally frame broader topics via talking about my own experiences concerning them, but that's supposed to lead to other people doing the same rather than simply talking about ME.  I would be completely fine if the dissotalk ended right here and we actually talked about broader social interaction and isolation!  :o

I am honestly embarrassed for you. Really, I am. I think the whole "Okay, so what's the point of this post again?" angle has been brought up enough, so I'll end it at that. I couldn't even read passed the third line before my palm reached my face.