NEW ARTICLE: MORSE: Jones Incident May Be Tough to Come Back From

[State]

That term has become a dog whistle

The word is not a dog whistle. Certain limp-wristed NPR listeners become concerned and weak kneed over the use of it. And the issue is politics. Your politics. The language you want to make subservient to it.

You want to control speech. Yet you’re not forthright about it. You come up with farcical crap about a word becoming a “dog whistle.”

You want me to say personhood cover instead of manhole? Jeez.

 

[Ian]

It's nice of you to speak for him, I guess, but let's see what he calls a white player when they do something stupid. I promise it won't be 'thug'.

Jones didn't commit a violent act, and wasn't out on the streets committing crimes or anything. You and others are welcome to pretend it's an incidental choice, but the fact is, there's no reason in this case to use the word thug, except as a dog-whistle. He was caught with handguns in a carry-on, it's dumb, it's a crime, but it's not 'thuggish' in any possible definition save one.

I do agree, and I don't agree with his take on the situation given that there's a lot of context involved, and writing him off not knowing what he's dealing with is also something I'm not on board with. I think Mark fell into the same trap others did with being a little flippant with Jones' clear lack of judgement while immediately assuming the worst. But beyond that, I know him well enough to know otherwise and I'm sure he'll address it at some point.

 

[Dingleberry]

Changes in language matter. For example, publishers have asked fiction writers to use "enslaved person" instead of "slave." The reason is that it puts the person's identifier on the person instead of the oppressor - an enslaved person is the person being described, whereas the word slave becomes a piece of property to the "owner." This was asked for by representatives of the black community. Why does it hurt me or any other writer to defer to them when using terms that were so powerfully negative in our history towards them?

I agree that changes in language matter. When many of us were kids, f***ot was thrown around constantly amongst friends. Ironically, I don't think we ever used it in reference to an actual gay person. Nowadays, the word has become taboo. That's a good thing. It certainly left my vocabulary quite some time ago.

Thug = the N word seems a stretch to me. The latter is a word full of hate. I have heard "thug" used here in NH on occasion to describe some of the **** head kids in a neighboring town who are always hanging around causing issues and being generally disrespectful. "Punks" and "thugs" are the words used...granted more often it is just "those assholes." If that NH town has a black person living there, I have yet to see him. BUT if societal norms determine that "thug" has gone the way of the obviously hateful N and F words, so be it I guess. I honestly never thought of the word as a black word, but maybe I am sheltered here in White Hampshire. Reading the responses here, obviously I was missing something. As a result, I would not use the word as a journalist. I am sure this guy won't again either. I am also sure Ian isn't lying about this guy's motives.

So I'm with you so far. But the above quote about fiction publishers is ****ing stupid. Slaves WERE property. Softening the word does not change the horrific facts about what slavery was...be it black slaves in America, Irish slaves, white slaves in the Middle East. Good fiction is authentic. Huckleberry Finn not using the N word to describe Jim would be inauthentic to the time of the story. Yes, it's uncomfortable to read. And it should be. Changing the language will not change the history. We shouldn't want to change the history.

If you want to argue that history books should change the term to enslaved people, I could see that argument. It's semantic bull ****, but I see the argument.

 

[Guts]

 

[captain stone]

View attachment 51477

This is not terrible advice.

 

[Dingleberry]

What did Jan 6 have to do with this?????????

No ****. This isn't the "FBI Manufactured Tragedy" thread.

 

[Ring 6]

Are there any stories where Jones is accused of violence?


Are any of the troubles Jones had related to violence? I hadn't seen any. Jones' issue isn't he's a violent thug. Jones' issue is he seems to do self-destructive stupid things. I can't imagine he's got much rope left from BB after ending the season suspended by the team in a must win game.

No I don’t know of any violent actions.
He was on IR when he was suspended. Not showing up for rehab when you are on IR isn’t a severe issue, more of a teaching moment.