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Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

theguardian.com

81–90 of 261 posts

Re: Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rape is a highly traumatic event. Getting offended at a foreigner’s well-meaning amusement that your town name means something funny in their language... doesn’t elicit much sympathy from me at all. Now getting your signs stolen isn’t very nice at all and becomes less well-meaning, I agree. But I hardly think the joke itself is anything immoral at all.

So if your five year old child has a good view of this sign from their window at home in a tiny village or walks past it regularly on their way home from school and is thereby exposed to random strangers from across the globe pretending to have sex while taking photos, you are supposed to care more that random people on the internet feel you have no right to be incensed and change the name than about the negative imp…

The post was a suggestion to sell signs, not an approval of the portion of people taking photos that are in highly inappropriate poses.

So yes, this argument is ridiculous.

Re: Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if your five year old child has a good view of this sign from their window at home in a tiny village or walks past it regularly on their way home from school and is thereby exposed to random strangers from across the globe pretending to have sex while taking photos, you are supposed to care more that random people on the internet feel you have no right to be incensed and change the name than about the negative imp…

The post was a suggestion to sell signs, not an approval of the portion of people taking photos that are in highly inappropriate poses. So yes, this argument is ridiculous.

I noted that it sounded like an attractive nuisance. I failed to list all the ways in which it was an attractive nuisance and only focused on the part where it's obviously costing a small town money.

Then HN pedantry and argumentation kicked in.

The townspeople clearly see it as an attractive nuisance and not as free publicity. They chose to change the name because it's such a nuisance. Now a bunch of people on HN feel the townspeople were wrong to handle it that way and have a zillion criticisms and solutions.

The townspeople didn't ask HNs permission or opinion. And a lot of the comments here before I noted that it's an attractive nuisance were basically junior high style humor listing all the towns with "bad word" names and giggling about it -- which I initially participated in and then deleted those comments to try to behave in accordance with HN rules and treat the article in a more serious fashion, at which point I made my comment about it being an attractive nuisance.

And that's apparently where I made my wrong turn for the day. And there is no cure for where that took me, it seems.

Re: Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The post was a suggestion to sell signs, not an approval of the portion of people taking photos that are in highly inappropriate poses. So yes, this argument is ridiculous.

I noted that it sounded like an attractive nuisance. I failed to list all the ways in which it was an attractive nuisance and only focused on the part where it's obviously costing a small town money. Then HN pedantry and argumentation kicked in. The townspeople clearly see it as an attractive nuisance and not as free publicity. They chose to change the name because it's such a nuisance. Now a bunch of people on HN fe…

Not everyone that's disappointed in the name change is arguing that the townspeople were "wrong to handle it that way" and need anyone's "permission".

Re: Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rape is a highly traumatic event. Getting offended at a foreigner’s well-meaning amusement that your town name means something funny in their language... doesn’t elicit much sympathy from me at all. Now getting your signs stolen isn’t very nice at all and becomes less well-meaning, I agree. But I hardly think the joke itself is anything immoral at all.

So if your five year old child has a good view of this sign from their window at home in a tiny village or walks past it regularly on their way home from school and is thereby exposed to random strangers from across the globe pretending to have sex while taking photos, you are supposed to care more that random people on the internet feel you have no right to be incensed and change the name than about the negative imp…

Exactly this, the people from Austria and southern Germany don't find that name offensive at all. They've had enough. And now they exert their right to be left alone and not be harassed by a serious number of english speaking idiots. Places ending in -ing hasnt the same grammatical meaning like doing something, that scheme is really common (Mering, Kissing, Manching, Piding, Peiting, and hundreds more). It's the same idiots that beleaguer known instagram photo spots - just a worse kind. And only for some quick silly joke that humiliates the people there. This will hopefully stop the influx of assholes stealing the village's signpost, "insta posing" at the village sign and making prank calls. Also note that normal people live there, probably in a closer knit arrangement than you normally would assume (3 digit inhabitants). I'm rather sure that persons who profit off the infamous name are looked down to (eg. the silly "Fucking Hell" beer brand, "hell" meaning light in that case in german). Dont forget it's normal people living over there, Doctors, Engineers, Farmers - and they want to be treated that way :)

PS: The pronunciation will not change.

Re: Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

#87
post #43
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently some people downvoted you without clicking the link to see that the route is indeed backwards.

I think it’s more that it’s a fairly useless correction which makes no real difference.

You are wrong my dear, it makes all the difference.

Re: Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if your five year old child has a good view of this sign from their window at home in a tiny village or walks past it regularly on their way home from school and is thereby exposed to random strangers from across the globe pretending to have sex while taking photos, you are supposed to care more that random people on the internet feel you have no right to be incensed and change the name than about the negative imp…

The post was a suggestion to sell signs, not an approval of the portion of people taking photos that are in highly inappropriate poses. So yes, this argument is ridiculous.

I'm not living there but I would guess that profiteering off the name is seen with contempt as it approves of the meaning. At least for older people. Tbh, your suggestion to cash in on that silly phenomena wouldnt make it stop. Not everything that can be profitable needs to be done :-)

Re: Fucking, Austria changes name to Fugging

#90
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The post was a suggestion to sell signs, not an approval of the portion of people taking photos that are in highly inappropriate poses. So yes, this argument is ridiculous.

I'm not living there but I would guess that profiteering off the name is seen with contempt as it approves of the meaning. At least for older people. Tbh, your suggestion to cash in on that silly phenomena wouldnt make it stop. Not everything that can be profitable needs to be done :-)

Not my suggestion.
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