Are Americans Offended Too Easily?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

The "pub culture" line is hilarious. Spend any time in a British pub and you quickly learn that if you ridicule the wrong person (intentionally or not) you end up on the receiving end of a good kicking. How does that fit in with notions of English tolerance?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Humour is veiled aggression, particularly the barbed and vicious English variety. Never forget that.

Maybe the Americans are just more honest and express their outrage, whereas the typical sneaky Brit reaction is to grudgingly laugh while planning the next opportunity to stitch up the bastard.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Actually, I detest the sort of weaselly chicken**** mentality where a group of people think's it's OK to get together to publicly humiliate the class freak, just like back in the elementary school playground where there was always one kid who was everyone's target.

And the group going after that one kid always liked to laugh each other up about how funny they were, or how tough they were, but they couldn't muster a collective brain, ball, heart or backbone between them when it counted.

That's about the only thing I detest.

And BFingB is spot on.

[red_jon]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
Actually, I detest the sort of weaselly chicken**** mentality where a group of people think's it's OK to get together to publicly humiliate the class freak,

YOU CALLED GIANCARLO A FREAK! HOW DARE YOU?!

It's fun though, isn't it? Go on ... say it again - you know you want to...

[Alexander's Horse]

I've noticed a lot of Americans have been more sensitive since Sep 11. Its understandable.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by red_jon


YOU CALLED GIANCARLO A FREAK! HOW DARE YOU?!

It's fun though, isn't it? Go on ... say it again - you know you want to...

I was speaking generically. There's always one in every group who's the target.

[Buck Birdseed]

As a person who has actually been bullied, repeatedly and constantly for at least five years during elementary and middle school (and for similar reasons to the ones you apparently ascribe to Giancarlo, being weak and immensely easy to make angry), I'm almost prone to take offense at that last comment, MtG. Giancarlo has volountarily entered a forum of (ostensibly) mature discussion, is unable to take the ridicule with which his insane political ideas is met, and you compare it to school bullying? The remote world of the internet, with its ignore lists, its netiquette and indeed its moderators is not even remotely like that of a free-for-all schoolyard. The mentality of the two groups is also immensely different. The gianni-baiters (of which I am not part, thankfully) are either just joking around, in an almost friendly way, or actually have taken offense at Giancarlo's comments. The psychological profile of almost every bully- that of the child repressed at home or elsewhere, turning his feelings of inferiority towards someone else to make himself feel better- simply doesn't apply here. All of them (or at least all I've been in contact with regularly) are well-adjusted, normal individuals. They do not see it as bullying.

Nor can I agree with the idea of Giancarlo as especially weak. The boy's not stupid- he certainly has more well-developed political ideas than I had at that age. He occasionally makes semi-valid points. He always stands up for his values, doesn't let himself be bullied (if anyone tries, not as per above) and participates vigorously in every type of debate. The fact that he's an idiot is largely irrelevant. Where his main weakness lies is instead his lack of a sense of humour, but frankly, that's totally his own choice. He himself turns what is not bullying into something resembling it by responding. No-one trolls (the on-line equavilent of real bullying, I suppose, though it's still too weak) Giancarlo. They joke about him. There's a big difference.

[Alexander's Horse]

I tend to agree with Snapcase. I would go further and suggest there is a lot of fondness for Giancarlo disguised by all the ribbing. His critics are actually his admirers and camp followers.

He reminds me a lot of EVC in the early days.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
I tend to agree with Snapcase. I would go further and suggest there is a lot of fondness for Giancarlo disguised by all the ribbing. His critics are actually his admirers and camp followers.

He reminds me a lot of EVC in the early days.

Giancarlo is actually remarkably different from EVC.

I doubt anyone here admires him and are "camp followers".

Where did you get that?

[mactbone]

Maybe Brits aren't offended at all...


C'mon, a big Oooooohhhhh, for that one! Ahh, how much more we can communicate with our voices...

[Dis]

this thread is racist. not that it offends me.

I have said time, and time again. Nothing offends me. And nothing shocks me. I have seen vitually every offensive thing you can think of.

go ahead, punks, try to offend me

[Alexander's Horse]

Brits are famously thin skinned. The "whingeing Pom" is a legend in Australia. Complaining about everything is virtually their national pastime.

[SlowwHand]

Figures.
A thread, whining about how someone else whines.
What a whiner.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
Brits .... Complaining about everything is virtually their national pastime.

With all they have to complain about, that is to be expected. As for being hard to offend, they know themselves so well.

[Sprayber]

"hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way"