Do the DUers who become apoplectic at being asked not to use the c word or the p word react the same way in real life? I can understand when the request is not polite. Anybody can get their back up when they feel attacked for using a word or phrase that they didn't realize was offensive. DUers can't be expected to be mind-readers. But when people are asked politely, why do they become so angry?
That's the part I don't get.
Edited to add - I mean to say, the reason this is relevant to the Feminism group is that in real life, women are often accused of being "complainers" or "overly sensitive" when we ask to be treated with the same consideration as men. For instance, most men don't expect to be sexually harassed in the workplace. Unfortunately, many women are retaliated against when they ask people not to harass them. The retaliatory behavior is very similar to what we see on DU - accusations that we are "humorless," that we are "looking for something to be offended about," that we are "demanding special rights and considerations." In other words, many women have a stark choice - we can tolerate disrespect and intimidation in the workplace in silence, or even laugh feebly to show that we "are one of the guys" in order to protect our jobs, or we can speak up and ask that everybody be treated with the same respect and consideration, in which case we are often accused of causing trouble, lacking a sense of humor, being a manhater, etc.
= new reply since forum marked as read
