| Ken Moss |
03-02-2010 11:03 |
Re: Apologies if I've caused offence
Quote:
Originally Posted by blazey
(Post 782885)
The word beginning with C for vagina is in the English language as well. How many people do you think I would offend if I said it on here?
I think Gayle is great for apologising for potentially causing offence even though nobody said explicitly that they are offended. As I was taught in a lecture the other day, just because nobody is protesting doesn't mean it is right.
|
The C word you're referring to is hundreds of years old and words which are deemed offensive today were in common usage until the seventeenth century. Fleet Street in London, for example, was known as 'Sh**barn Street' until the middle ages on account of several manure stores and it was only after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 that we started properly acquiring airs and graces.
It saddens me to read daily that some phrase or other that has been innocuous for years is now suddenly classed as offensive because the PC Brigade have had a bright idea. Blackboards becoming chalkboards is probably the worst example I can think of, yet whiteboards are perfectly fine.
Apologising for something that hasn't upset anyone is becoming too common among people who haven't set out to cause offence. Feeling obliged to cover yourself simply because there are ludricrous groups of people out there waiting to be offended is stunting this country's progress. We spend more time debating wording and who will be upset by new schemes than getting on with it and working hard to make things better. |
