Posts by BenWilson
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I'm not entirely sure if parsing out the exact connotation of insults and insisting on correctness there is ever going to fly. The point is: Insulting people is insulting. It might also be insulting to whomsoever you use to insult them by comparing them to, but that's somewhat incidental - the negative attitude leading to the desire to insult will still be there, and can be expressed in the politest of terms, whilst still being incredibly insulting. Likewise, without the intent, the insult can even be a term of endearment. Calling people cunts is very often done that way.
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Kids definitely use gay a lot to mean "soft, weak, pathetic, etc". But they don't use other more pejorative terms for gay much, which makes me wonder if it's just the connotation of that exact word. In some ways I think it's a very poor word for homosexual. Not all homosexuals display the qualities that it hints at, many are rough as guts, not particularly happy, very strong etc. But I can't think of too many other words that are better. Queer, fag, poof, queen, etc, all are loaded with imagery of difference, oppression, softness, effeminacy, etc.
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If I was a blogger, I don't think I'd want to sign up for any rules that said I had to be balanced and fair.
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Because it's gender specific in America, I think if you use it on men it carries a different meaning. It's saying they're like nasty women. Which probably drops the overall power of it, emphasizing the "you're a girl/gay" part over "you're really nasty". It could be closer to "bitch".
Here, if you say it of a man, it really emphasizes the "you're nasty" possibly even "you're abusing your power". That's definitely how it's being used re PH in this thread. Now I think about it, over here, I don't hear it pointed at women very often, and when I heard it on OF the other night, it sounded more like the American usage.
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I always find it strange in American film - I've never heard it used of a male*. It clearly has a similar meaning to here, but exclusively for women. I wonder if that's why you also don't hear it often, why it's more taboo there than here.
*Edit: Duh, in case it's not clear - the C word.
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I'm not sure if spelling Nazism or pronunciation Nazism is worse. Both are pretty damned annoying, although probably necessary in some professions. I lost all taste for it during my time in Australia. It's not in any way conducive to understanding, almost always it's used to get on people's arse's. My standard rejoinder to attempts to get me to say Fish was to say "You're a butt of a duck, choose whichever one you like better".
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I've never pronounced them differently, although I must note that it "feels" different when I say them with different meaning. But I don't think anyone could hear what I'm feeling there, would just have to work it out from context (which is probably why it doesn't matter much). Eventually you'll hear "they" instead of "she" and know which word it actually was.
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I think the real problem is actually forming both singular and plural. Both sound like "Womn". I don't think I've every heard the last part pronounced as either "men" or "man". It's always "mn".
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Miss India NZ reminds me of a mate who went on an American Field Scholarship as a 16 year old. He's part Maori, and said so in his application. The family that opted to take him on were African American. Apparently, the mother was super bitter when he got there, because he didn't look Maori enough (although any NZer would be able to see the Maori features, he just has pale skin is all), and routinely accused him of lying on his application, and was just generally quite a bitch the whole time he was with them.
She was the only one - the father and the rest of the family had no problem with him.
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I doubt most medical doctors would be much use in an emergency either. Only GPs and ER docs would probably be relevant. I can hardly see my dermatologist being called for on a plane. Highly suspicious moles can either wait, or require the guy with the handcuffs.
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