Author Topic: Should you be fired for using the N-word?  (Read 150 times)

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Offline SirJohn

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Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« on: June 23, 2018, 10:08:05 am »
In a discussion about sensitive words?

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44585072
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

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Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2018, 10:18:00 am »
I think it's up to the employer when it comes to political opinions.  They aren't protected and it seems difficult to make that happen.  What ideas do we want to protect and what do we not care about ?  Probably new and different ideas that haven't been considered yet are more important than old and discredited ones ? 

People were fired, and - moreover - were blacklisted for having opinions about Communism during the McCarthy era.  People protested that, but there was nothing to be done.  You could argue that there was an assumption that Communism was a security threat to the US somehow.

Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2018, 10:59:47 am »
Yes...   he even admitted he was insensitive and shouldn’t have said what he did. 

Offline SirJohn

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2018, 11:28:04 am »
I think it's up to the employer when it comes to political opinions. 

He didn't state a political opinion. He was discussing sensitive words with the Netflix PR team, and of course, that would be one of them. Netflix does a lot of its own movies and shows now, often cutting edge, with lots of cursing. Any which featured blacks would likely feature the N-word, if not said to them than by them. That was most likely why he used it in discussions with Black staff members. Black shows would have that word more than any other. Do you avoid it as a broadcast entity and video producer or not? So far they have not avoided using it.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2018, 11:33:16 am by SirJohn »
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

Offline SirJohn

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2018, 11:32:36 am »
Yes...   he even admitted he was insensitive and shouldn’t have said what he did.

How do you discuss sensitive words without ever mentioning the sensitive words? Yes, he did a mea culpa like all the Hollywood set do, over whatever offense they caused, however unjustified, but I honestly don't see what the difference would be between him using "N-word" to discuss it or "****". This is a broadcast entity which uses the later word in its shows and movies, after all. Plus, I forget who it was who said it, Maybe Bill Burr, but he said using "N-word" was a cop-out because all it does is cause you to translate it in your head to "****".
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

Offline Omni

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2018, 11:40:31 am »
How do you discuss sensitive words without ever mentioning the sensitive words? Yes, he did a mea culpa like all the Hollywood set do, over whatever offense they caused, however unjustified, but I honestly don't see what the difference would be between him using "N-word" to discuss it or "****". This is a broadcast entity which uses the later word in its shows and movies, after all. Plus, I forget who it was who said it, Maybe Bill Burr, but he said using "N-word" was a cop-out because all it does is cause you to translate it in your head to "****".

The article doesn't clearly state in what context he was using the word however his willingness to apologize for his insensitivity is indicative.

Offline SirJohn

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2018, 11:44:27 am »
The article doesn't clearly state in what context he was using the word however his willingness to apologize for his insensitivity is indicative.

If the meeting was about sensitive words at an organization which creates movies and tv shows I think we can fairly easily figure out what the context was. Plus this guy has been working in Hollywood his whole life. It's not bloody likely he's some kind of knuckle dragging far right type.
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

Offline Omni

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2018, 11:51:03 am »
If the meeting was about sensitive words at an organization which creates movies and tv shows I think we can fairly easily figure out what the context was. Plus this guy has been working in Hollywood his whole life. It's not bloody likely he's some kind of knuckle dragging far right type.

You can guess perhaps what the context was but once again, if he was not using it in an insensitive way then why did he apologize for having done so?

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2018, 11:57:55 am »
1. He didn't state a political opinion.
2. He was discussing sensitive words with the Netflix PR team, and of course, that would be one of them.
3. That was most likely why he used it in discussions with Black staff members. 

1. I mean "an opinion that is political".  For example, working for the Leafs and wearing a Bruins shirt everywhere.
2. Seems so ?  Maybe ?
3. It doesn't say so in the article.

If that is why he was fired, it seems like too much to me.

Offline SirJohn

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2018, 11:59:29 am »
You can guess perhaps what the context was but once again, if he was not using it in an insensitive way then why did he apologize for having done so?

Have you looked at some of the apologies issued by Hollywood types over the past year for the most innocuous of things which offend the politically correct?

"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

Offline Omni

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2018, 12:09:29 pm »
Have you looked at some of the apologies issued by Hollywood types over the past year for the most innocuous of things which offend the politically correct?



What a feeble attempt at deflection. And Bill Maher should apologize.

Offline SirJohn

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2018, 12:14:31 pm »
What a feeble attempt at deflection. And Bill Maher should apologize.

It was a direct answer to your question. Why should Bill Maher apologize?
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2018, 12:16:03 pm »
Isn't up to individuals to decide when/if to apologize ?  Or is Bill Maher saying that we should now start having collective morals again ?

Offline Omni

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2018, 12:26:17 pm »
It was a direct answer to your question. Why should Bill Maher apologize?

It certainly was not a direct answer to my question. It explains nothing as to the context of how the N word was used in this case. And while I usually like Maher, this particular segment is rather childish as well as insensitive. Some of the apologies he tries to poke fun at are valid.

Offline Squidward von Squidderson

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Re: Should you be fired for using the N-word?
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2018, 02:11:18 pm »
How do you discuss sensitive words without ever mentioning the sensitive words? Yes, he did a mea culpa like all the Hollywood set do, over whatever offense they caused, however unjustified, but I honestly don't see what the difference would be between him using "N-word" to discuss it or "****". This is a broadcast entity which uses the later word in its shows and movies, after all. Plus, I forget who it was who said it, Maybe Bill Burr, but he said using "N-word" was a cop-out because all it does is cause you to translate it in your head to "****".

All I can judge this by is what he has said about it...  and he apologized for how he used it.  Hence, he probably did something wrong.

You, on the other hand, have judged him innocent of anything due to some inherent bias, not on the facts of the incident.
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