Banning the "Y-word"

[jimbo_bwfc]

Thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIvJC1_hKt8&feature=player_embedded

Is it racism? Should it be stopped in the same way that racist chanting has been outlawed in the game?

Will Spurs fans have to stop referring to THEMSELVES as the "yid-army, yid-army, yid-army" will they have to stop the "Jermaine Defoe, he's a yido" chant?

Is it any different to American rappers referring to themselves as "niggers" about 50 times in a 3 minute track? Is that wrong?

Personally, I think it's all about the context a word is used in. I've always read racism as the meaning/hatred/mocking behind a word, rather than the word itself. Should we really be afraid of words, and be banning words? Not in my opinion.

Without doubt, the Hitler/gassing chants in that video are out of order, and there's no place for that sort of thing. But referring to someone as a yido, especially when it is said with affection, and not with malice or hatred.

That's my take on it anyway, your opinion? To ban the 'y-word' or not?

[Sluffy]

David Baddiel on the background to why the youtube clip was made.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13087943.stm

The thing is that people are like sheep (I don't mean that in a condescending way) - if everybody says 'yido' they will too but if everybody stops using the word - then they will too!

As you know I'm an old fart and I remember the terrible racist chants (and the bananas) that the black players had to endure in the late sixties and seventies.  I remember the first Indians and Pakistani families moving into the streets where my family and relations lived (Halliwell and Daubhill).  I remember my mates going out paki bashing.  I remember them going queer bashing too.  And do you know what, although I didn't join in with much of it, I didn't think it was really wrong because everyone I knew was doing it to a greater or lesser extent back then.

In a way it's a bit like this forum - most of the people meant nothing by it and most of us just had a laugh - but one or two just had to take it too far and the only thing that stopped it going too far was the powers that be (the government) bringing in laws to stop everybody doing it - the few spoilt it for the many, if you like.

I've removed three or four posts from Sharps in the last day or so - including ones about Nazi's and Jews.

What's funny to a few is offensive to many.

Nobody is ever going to stop people from being racist - but if it makes life a bit more pleasant for people by not using a word or two that offends them - than why not do it.

[Le God]

It's their word let them use it.

[Chris Rabz]

The world needs to man up as a whole and stop being offended by words. I'm sure it was horrible for minorities growing up in the 60s and 70s as Sluffy describes, but I find it quite irritating living in this day and age where freedom of speech means less and less. It gets to the point where any opinion anyone has is kept to themselves for fear of causing offence to someone. I'm left-handed, my dad calls it cack-handed. Do you see me complaining to a BBC watchdog about it?

It won't be long before forums are banned because some day every word you say will be offending someone. It has to stop.

[jimbo_bwfc]

He calls you cack-handed because he's heard stories about you liking to put your hand up men's bottoms. ITK FACT.

[Natasha Whittam]

The world needs to man up as a whole and stop being offended by words. I'm sure it was horrible for minorities growing up in the 60s and 70s as Sluffy describes, but I find it quite irritating living in this day and age where freedom of speech means less and less. It gets to the point where any opinion anyone has is kept to themselves for fear of causing offence to someone. I'm left-handed, my dad calls it cack-handed. Do you see me complaining to a BBC watchdog about it?

It won't be long before forums are banned because some day every word you say will be offending someone. It has to stop.

I'm guessing you're a young, white, straight, middle-class male so it's highly unlikely you've ever been exposed to racism, ageism, homophobia etc to any great degree.

I suspect if you were black and people shouted 'nigger' at you in the street you'd have a less blase attitude to this subject.

[Chris Rabz]

I'm not belittling racism in any way, it's a serious problem and you are right I have never had to deal with it first hand but I'm well aware it and the effect it has on those who suffer because of it. But my point is the world is becoming increasingly bothered by more and more words. I accept words like that one shouldn't be used. But you could lend the same reasoning towards the word fat. If you were overweight (or considered yourself to be) you wouldn't like people shouting 'fat' at you in a street, but the word is deemed acceptable in common use by the powers that be.

Almost everyone has something that other people can take the mick out of (can I say that without offending the nation of Ireland?) but one of the lessons of life is learning how to deal with it. For example gay people are often a target, but a lot are very witty because they know they will get some sort of mickey-taking, and so need to have something to come back with.

It just seems now that the powers that be, government, UN, whoever it is, they are just 'deciding' that words are now to be seen as offensive. Yid has been used to identify Jews for centuries, by Jews and non-Jews alike, so why all of a sudden is it tarnished?

For what it's worth this is why I never get involved in this type of discussion, it's impossible for anyone to give an opinion on an issue like this without the possibility of the words being twisted to appear to offend some person or other.

[Keegan]

A Natasha post that I agree 100% with... who would've thought it could happen?

[Squidgy]

It's all a load of nonsense.

They'll be banning us from shouting come on you white men next.

[Keegan]

See that? Then you wonder why Zat Knight, Fabrice Muamba and Daniel Sturridge don't "Come on". Racist!

[Big_Sharps]

If they start banning words like this, I will have very little to say.