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NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

greenwald.substack.com

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Re: NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

#361

Post by ric2b »

newacct583 wrote: post #208
da_big_ghey wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Retarded is not a slur. Never was. People keep picking arbitrary words and saying they're "offensive", but there's no reason why. I have heard kids call each other "mentally challenged" and "developmentally delayed", I kid you not. Younger kids have trouble pronouncing those, so maybe that's something? Anyway, I refuse to partake in the euphemism treadmill.

The original context, FWIW, is that the /r/wallstreetbets community calls themselves "retards" ironically. That is absolutely a slur; calling someone "retarded" in that sense is calling them stupid by likening them to people with developmental disabilities. And that is offensive to a lot of people in the modern world. And, to be perfectly frank, that offense is exactly the reason why the WSB community adopted it in t…

But they called _themselves_ retards, they're not insulting others. It's because they're aware that most of what they do is dumb gambling (with some occasional actual research thrown in) but they do it anyway.

Re: NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

#362

Post by ric2b »

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #180
genericone wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you kidding? 1 public figure, a freaking journalist, reads something and immediately decides they need to do a hot-take-cancel-op on a public figure they didn't like, libeling him in the process. Greenwald takes a much more measured approach, he writes a blog, like 1000 words, explaining his thoughts. There's a non-thinking person on one side and an articulate person on the other, and you want to denounce the art…

It really doesn't seem accurate to characterize this blogpost as a measured approach. A few quotes that jumped out at me from just the first section: > the Times’ tech team quickly donned their hall-monitor goggles and Stasi notebooks > The little crew of tattletale millennials assembled by NBC — who refer to their twerpy work with the self-glorifying title of “working in the disinformation space” > they clearly get…

Those are clearly opinions at most, he's not claiming they're actual facts.

No one reads that and thinks "wow, these people are members of the actual Stasi? holy crap!"

Re: NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

#364

Post by mint2 »

da_big_ghey wrote: post #350
mint2 wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is not accurate about how much I’ve heard and am familiar, or used it, or my bubble. It’s kind of astoundingly wrong to the point that it makes me wonder why you would assume that about a stranger. Because your posts are saying/implying the r word is less hurtful or offensive than other now taboo words. That is the reason I infer you are more familiar and comfortable with the word than the other taboo words. I…

Since when is retard taboo? Stupid, idiot, etc. reference the same thing and aren't taboo. Are those offensive? And if so, how does one insult others by implying that his mental faculties are lesser? I refuse to relegate my vocabulary to such a pathetic, anodyne, bowdlerized version that I cannot insult someone.

Are you dead set in your ways or are you open minded enough to be willing to research a few different perspectives. Please at least research a few more opinions on the term by both groups okay and opposed to it.

Here’s one to start you off: https://www.specialolympics.org/stories/impact/why-the-r-wor...

Re: NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

#365

Post by mint2 »

mint2 wrote: post #295
Person5478 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the idea is that a slur is a much stronger insult typically aimed at one's ethnicity. What's being said here is that the word retard is an insult, but does not rise to the level/strength of a slur.

Wait I’m misunderstand you, right? Reading your comment it almost seems like yours saying that the r word isn’t a slur or isn’t that bad of one?! It’s a word that takes a whole class of people and uses them as an insult when talking about other people. Are you seriously going to try to pull some narrow technical originalist definition to argue that in this specific edition of this specific dictionary it defines “slur…

Because so many deny it’s a slur, before just defending how you feel about it, please read some material from the effected groups. https://www.specialolympics.org/stories/impact/why-the-r-wor...

Re: NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

#366

Post by mint2 »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #321
mint2 wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait I’m misunderstand you, right? Reading your comment it almost seems like yours saying that the r word isn’t a slur or isn’t that bad of one?! It’s a word that takes a whole class of people and uses them as an insult when talking about other people. Are you seriously going to try to pull some narrow technical originalist definition to argue that in this specific edition of this specific dictionary it defines “slur…

If retarded is a slur, then so is moron, idiot, imbecile, cretin and other past accepted medical terminology for the cognitively disabled that were adopted by the public as slurs. If you look up the history, "mentally retarded" was itself coined to escape the negative connotations of those previous terms. It's unfortunate but inevitable that referents to the cognitively disabled will continue to be abused, no matter…

https://www.specialolympics.org/stories/impact/why-the-r-wor...

Re: NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

#367

Post by skinkestek »

seizethegdgap wrote: post #307
betwixthewires wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I don't have skin in the game here, and I'm definitely no fan of the comment you responded to (not appropriate for this forum and not conducive to real discussion) but I figured I'd point out 1 person was killed at the capitol and she was shot by DC police, another cop was thought to have been killed with a fire extinguisher but that is currently being investigated, and the rest died of heart attacks and things li…

Maybe it was a little disingenuous. Of the 5 (my apologies) that died, 1 was a stroke, 1 was a heart attack, 1 was crushed by the mob, and we know what happened to the other 2. I could be wrong, but I still don't think there was a single BLM protest this summer where 3 people were killed.

I agree my example was ugly.

I wasn't there, wouldn't have been there if I could (quite on the contrary I'm working on getting people away from such activities.)

Still I think we shouldn't compare the Capitol event with one BLM event but rather compare all MAGA events with all BLM events.

Re: NYT reporter falsely accuses tech investor of using a slur

#368

Post by fit2rule »

whakim wrote: post #287
apostacy wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I also wanted to point out that there's a technical term for true information that causes harm, "malinformation." Wow, that is such an Orwellian thing to say. The definition you just gave could be used to justify censorship of any truthful information. Yes, this factual information is upsetting, but we need to let Facebook cover our eyes and decide how outraged we are allowed to be. Otherwise we might hurt ourselve…

> The definition you just gave could be used to justify censorship of any truthful information. Do you not agree that truthful information can sometimes cause harm? What if I, say, reveal the identities of all CIA agents operating in China? > I can appreciate that factual information could be presented in a dishonest way, but if it is so misleading, how is it not just misinformation? Misinformation and malinformation…

>reveal the identities of all CIA agents operating in China

It is illegal for CIA agents to operate in China, so this wouldn't be causing harm - rather applying the law of the country you're in.

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