"Work it out with your rapist..."

[JesusFightClub]

FloraPoste, exactly. None of GB's quotes are even vaguely racist. Discussing race and ethnic identity *isn't automatically racist*.

You could say about me "She has one white Scots Irish parent and one parent who is white English. She speaks English with some Scots mixed in."

Or of another relative "She has a white mother from Fife, Scotland, and a black father from Kenya. She regards herself as black and only speaks English."

Neither of those statements are racist. Just fact.

[holierthanyou]

Damn, it is supposed to be "focused". Oh well.

Just pretend you're British. :D

[formergothardite]

Some people can't read. I said "The legality of the death penalty aside".

Why won't you answer my questions? I have been answering yours?

[Guest Anonymous]

Just pretend you're British. :D

It's 'focused' in British English too?

[holierthanyou]

It's 'focused' in British English too?

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/focussed

[Witsec1]

Good to know! Focused is one of the words I always think looks wrong.

BTW, it actually does make me uncomfortable when people say "I hope he fries" or similar. The justification for still having a death penalty is that it is administered "humanely", not cruelly. Enlightenment values, people.

ETA: However saying "I hope he gets the death penalty" in a really graphic way is not the same as expressing your wish for a teenage criminal to be raped and tortured.

[formergothardite]

Well, that settles it. I'm British. Will you take me even if I have an accent that might be hard to understand?

[holierthanyou]

Well, that settles it. I'm British. Will you take me even if I have an accent that might be hard to understand?

HELL NO!!!!! You had darn well better speak identically to me (also not British... lol), or else I will never have any patience to listen to a single word you say. EVER.

[Guest Anonymous]

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/focussed

"focused" is more commonly used though. In fact when I looked it up as "focussed" the Cambridge English Dictionary came back with "focused" as the main entry, with a grudging concession to the second "s" at the end of the entry. :lol:

FG, you may apply for British citizenship, but you will have to pass Geniebelle's test for 'proper' English before you can be fully accepted....

[valsa]

BTW, it actually does make me uncomfortable when people say "I hope he fries" or similar. The justification for still having a death penalty is that it is administered "humanely", not cruelly. Enlightenment values, people.

I can't speak for everyone who says it but I don't say "I hope he fries" to mean, literally, "I hope he is electrocuted". It's just colorful way to say "I hope he gets the death penalty." Also, while the death penalty being carried out humanely (debatable, of course) is a necessity in keeping it legal (to avoid Constitutional issues), that's not the justification for still having. Just for why we are allowed to have it.

[Witsec1]

I can't speak for everyone who says it but I don't say "I hope he fries" to mean, literally, "I hope he is electrocuted". It's just colorful way to say "I hope he gets the death penalty." Also, while the death penalty being carried out humanely (debatable, of course) is a necessity in keeping it legal (to avoid Constitutional issues), that's not the justification for still having. Just for why we are allowed to have it.

I actually added an edit to my comment before I read this. The term "fries" makes me think of the electric chair, which reminds me why I am against the death penalty... But anyway, it just doesn't compare to hoping someone gets raped and tortured.

[holierthanyou]

"focused" is more commonly used though. In fact when I looked it up as "focussed" the Cambridge English Dictionary came back with "focused" as the main entry, with a grudging concession to the second "s" at the end of the entry. :lol:

FG, you may apply for British citizenship, but you will have to pass Geniebelle's test for 'proper' English before you can be fully accepted....

Yep, not needing for 'focussed' to be the most popular spelling in England (or any other country). Just saying that formergothardite could always claim British spelling to not technically be wrong on spelling 'focussed' with the second s. FWIW, I'm Canadian, and actually do normally spell focussed with the double s. I was taught British spelling, and so I would write focussed, bussed, recognise, etc, etc. My browser uses American spelling though, so if typing I sometimes change to American spelling because I don't like seeing all the red underlined words.

[valsa]

Basically. Frankly, seeing as Zimmerman is a murderer of black male children, I'm kinda hoping the next black guy who comes across him feels threatened and shoots him (and in this case, the shooter would actually have a legitimate reason to feel threatened by the shootee)

How is that vigilante justice? An adult murdered a child because of that child's race. I think any young man of the same race has a very legitimate reason to fear for his own life if he were to come across that murderer. That fact that killing the murderer in self-defense would be exploiting the very legal loophole he himself used to get away with murder is just a sweet, ironic cherry to top it all off with.

[Penny]

Do we know the name of this University? I live in Texas and am ashamed something like this happened here.

[Guest Anonymous]

you will have to pass Geniebelle's test for 'proper' English before you can be fully accepted.

Nah...she's havta pass muh redneck tast furst! :roll:

[formergothardite]

Do I need to quote my questions for you?

[Guest Anonymous]

Do I need to quote my questions for you?

Maybe your English wasn't clear enough the first time..... :mrgreen:

[JesusFightClub]

I can't speak for everyone who says it but I don't say "I hope he fries" to mean, literally, "I hope he is electrocuted". It's just colorful way to say "I hope he gets the death penalty." Also, while the death penalty being carried out humanely (debatable, of course) is a necessity in keeping it legal (to avoid Constitutional issues), that's not the justification for still having. Just for why we are allowed to have it.

I am quite interested in death penalty methods and see no justification for the electric chair. It's a rather horrible way to die and can produce some seriously nasty incidents. The criteria for a DP ruling should generally be "necessary, quick, painless and rare".

[Witsec1]

How is that vigilante justice? An adult murdered a child because of that child's race. I think any young man of the same race has a very legitimate reason to fear for his own life if he were to come across that murderer. That fact that killing the murderer in self-defense would be exploiting the very legal loophole he himself used to get away with murder is just a sweet, ironic cherry to top it all off with.

A wish to see Zimmerman killed in self-defense shades more toward vigilante justice than wanting to see him hauled before a court and tried. The whole stupid "I can pick a fight and shoot you" Florida law should be overturned. But, I think your comment was useful in that it highlighted how unlikely it is for a black person to claim self-defense for shooting a white person.

[keeperrox]

Some people can't read. I said "The legality of the death penalty aside".

Shitforbrains, you can't ask people to compare one thing that is illegal and one thing that is allowable under law and say "The legality of it aside." That's the point. No one has the right to rape someone else. No one deserves to be raped. Under U.S. law and in several states, however, a jury of your peers can decide that you can be put to death, whether you agree with the death penalty or not. When I say things like, "I hope the fucker fries," what I really mean is, "I hope that upon conviction, this individual gets the maximum penalty allowable by law." The first is just easier to say.

[valsa]

A wish to see Zimmerman killed in self-defense shades more toward vigilante justice than wanting to see him hauled before a court and tried. The whole stupid "I can pick a fight and shoot you" Florida law should be overturned. But, I think your comment was useful in that it highlighted how unlikely it is for a black person to claim self-defense for shooting a white person.

I did express a desire to see him arrested (and given the DP) before expressing a desire to see him killed by someone acting in self-defense. The longer it takes to arrest him, the less likely the former seems to be.

[Witsec1]

Shitforbrains, you can't ask people to compare one thing that is illegal and one thing that is allowable under law and say "The legality of it aside." That's the point. No one has the right to rape someone else. No one deserves to be raped. Under U.S. law and in several states, however, a jury of your peers can decide that you can be put to death, whether you agree with the death penalty or not. When I say things like, "I hope the fucker fries," what I really mean is, "I hope that upon conviction, this individual gets the maximum penalty allowable by law." The first is just easier to say.

You mean there is some kind of important difference between a lynching and an execution??? Who knew?

[Guest Anonymous]

Ok..this is it in a nutshell. I found little tidbits in the Chatter forum calling for the death of Zimmerman, questions about his race/ethnic background, and a remark about some parts of FL being bad and wanting to avoid them. The legality of the death penalty aside (killing is killing whether it's court ordered or homicide), please answer these questions:

1) How is killing Zimmerman any different than what I posted for the POS rapist?

2) How are the questions about Zimmerman's race/ethnicity not racists?

3) How is the comment about about not wanting go to certain places in FL not stereotypical or racists (considering it's one of the most racially and ethnically diverse states)?

This is not a debate on the death penalty. I want honest answers to these 3 questions. If this turns into a "GenieBelle don't you get how wrong, racist, sexist, etc. this is", then I will take it as not only avoidance, but also as proof that I'm not the only one spouting off and trying to justify "hateful" things.

Oh, and a little info on exactly who "Bubba" is. He is usually heterosexual, He can be of any race/ethnic background, and he exists in every jail/prison in every state in the U.S.

I neither read nor participated in that thread, so I didn't say any of those things or attempt to justify them. Nevertheless, here goes.

1.) I am 100% against the death penalty and would rather it was abolished. Until and unless that happens, execution for certain crimes is legal. I disagree with it, but it is supposed to be administered in as humane a fashion as possible. Is it possible to humanely kill someone? I don't think so. Rape is never legal and certainly torturing and raping someone with a broomstick is not trying to be humane at all, so that's the difference.

2.) Merely talking about race is not racist in and of itself.

3.) Not wanting to go somewhere that someone can shoot and kill another person, and claim self-defense, and the onus is on the injured party's family to prove that they didn't deserve to die, seems like common sense to me. It's a problem with the law. I don't want to go to a place where I will get beaten with a cane for chewing gum, either.

If you actually have a problem with the statements that people made, then why didn't you call them out when and where they happened? You can do that. I don't agree with all of the comments that you quoted, but I don't read every thread here, especially not in Chatter. The onus is on the person who sees a problem to do something about it. Why didn't you try to do that instead of howling for someone else to take care of it, unless this is about grinding an ax rather than actually giving a fuck about making things better?

**ETA: Each person here is responsible for what they post. You seem to be holding the entire forum accountable for what a couple of people said. We are not a hive vagina - this needs to be dealt with on a person by person basis. Take it up with the individuals you disagree with.

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks, Lissar. I may not agree with what you wrote, but at least you answered honestly. I don't have an ax to grind with anyone here. If it were just 1 or 2 people who objected to what I posted, I would have PM'd or even ignored it.

[Austin]

**ETA: Each person here is responsible for what they post. You seem to be holding the entire forum accountable for what a couple of people said. We are not a hive vagina - this needs to be dealt with on a person by person basis. Take it up with the individuals you disagree with.

This.

GB, take it up with the people who made the remarks which you found offensive. I posted in that topic but said none of the things that you've pointed out. I am against the death penalty in all situations, and do not believe that Zimmerman being Hispanic is really relevant or in any way mutually exclusive with being a racist.