WHY ARE THESE SMILIES HERE???!!!

[Jack]

Ok, then.

At the risk of looking like a dullard (and the cries of thread hi-jacking) I have to ask:

Why on Earth is this face offensive to straight people?

[Wombat]

Ok, then.

At the risk of looking like a dullard (and the cries of thread hi-jacking) I have to ask:

Why on Earth is this face offensive to straight people?

Have a look how it's wearing the earing?

[Wombat]

I think the Hitler thing all depends on the context. The emoticons can be used in an offensive way, but so can a banana... or the symbol we've come to know as the swastika. The emoticons can also be used in a way that is critical of Hitler-esque behavior. Funny that someone mentioned Chaplin. One of my favorite movies is "The Great Dictator" in which Chaplin lampooned Hitler by playing Hitler. It was a poweful statement, especially when he dances this playful little ballet with a large balloon painted to look like the earth. It was funny, it was whimsical, it was light, but it was also a searing commentary. Some people got it and some didn't.

I think those who are offended are probably not unaware of this. It's precisely the context that makes it offensive to them. Chaplin's film was powerful because it was shocking in a good way. It stripped away the piss-elegant dignity of the man exposing the posturing child behind the facade. I also enjoyed the film The Producers because of the point it made about public taste.

But both of these were once-offs, even though we might choose to watch them again. I wouldn't want to watch them every day. I wouldn't want a poster from either film on my wall nor would I want to be reminded of Hitler every day. Seriously, what would you make of someone who watched the Chaplin movie every day? What do you make of people who fill their houses with Nazi memorabilia? I think this joke would have been funny enough for about a fortnight but after that it runs the risk of normalising something we shouldn't think of that way.

I'm perfectly well aware that this isn't a democracy and I'm often the one reminding people of that. And, FWIW, I don't feel strongly hostile to the emoticons mere existence, despite having a family background that's part Jewish and part Gypsy. But I do want to make it clear why those who think the context is wrong do have a point.

[Jack]

There's no earring. There never has been.

This is one inside joke I am destined not to get, I suppose.

[Wombat]

There's no earring. There never has been.

This is one inside joke I am destined not to get, I suppose.

Sorry, Cran. I couldn't resist the razz. FWIW, I don't think there's anything to get. Well, that actually was the point I was making.

[BoneQuint]

Why on Earth is this face offensive to straight people?

I don't think the poster meant to be taken literally.

But maybe some people might feel uncomfortable being winked at by a person of such ambiguous gender as the said "smiley"? (That is, if they were "oversensitve" or whatever).

[Jack]

Oh. I think I understand now. Thank you.

Although why an ambiguous winking yellow smiley would offend heterosexual people and nobody else still doesn't make sense to me.

I thought mabey I was being poked fun at by a troll and didn't realise it. Now I see I'm over analysing this whole thing.

.
.
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(of course)

[jkrazy52]

To return to the orginal 'thread' ....

I see Hilter, I see Satan .... kinda sad that only the bad side can be represented here, huh?

~Judy

[snotjello]

Seriously, what would you make of someone who watched the Chaplin movie every day? What do you make of people who fill their houses with Nazi memorabilia?

I think obsession about anything is unhealthy for a person, but it's none of my business, unless of course their obsession is to harm me. It may be distasteful to me and it might cause me to avoid their company, but that's my choice. If there are going to be people with such fascinations, I'd much rather them wear the t-shirt so I know who they are.

I think this joke would have been funny enough for about a fortnight but after that it runs the risk of normalising something we shouldn't think of that way.

Maybe a little desensitization can be a good thing; it thickens the skin. I don't believe, however, that it necessarily dulls the wits. I'd rather not be the kind who trembles every time something displeases me, because to appear undaunted (or even not to notice) can be the most frustrating thing to an offender.

[snotjello]

Although why an ambiguous winking yellow smiley would offend heterosexual people and nobody else still doesn't make sense to me.

That's pretty much my point. I just didn't want to kill the joke by explaining it. Of course, I'm usually the only one who finds my jokes funny anyway.

[Walden]

To return to the orginal 'thread' ....

I see Hilter, I see Satan .... kinda sad that only the bad side can be represented here, huh?

~Judy

The other side:

[Zubivka]

P.S. Useless bit of trivia for the day: The person who first coined the phrase "Politically Correct" was Lenin, if I remember correctly...

What do you mean "useless"? I just learnt something Kapital!

Now who will redraw our little Adolph emoticons as the yellow-stained hysteric with a goatie who massacred even more people, and quietly died in his bed from advanced syphilis? Vladimir Ilyich rules!:D

See, it appears here the dictator is not Rich, but the Proletariate. However, comrade Rich has just been reeducated and made his public autocritic. We can write him the resolution for renewal of our confidence.

Let him be known as Oulianov not H***, so there can't be more polititcheski korrektnyï of a Little Father of All People, since Dictators are for them no-good lewd capitalistic vipers. :roll:

[glauber]

It's also tied into to Godwin's law, which originated on Usenet and is still considered to hold on web forums.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

Hmm... let's give it a try, shall we?

Rich put those icons in there because he's a closet Nazi.

Done. This thread is as good as dead now!

g

[brianormond]

-The fuhrer smiley should go to hell. It trivializes the horrors
of one the biggest butchers of the 20th century. Put it on a poster we can pull down and piss on.

-Cranberry, I don't think people (or me at least) are irritated by the winkie face due to sexual or gender issues, but because the wink is based on real or presumed familiarity. The familiarity of the wink can be irritating without established cred. We are a clique-ish species, prone to passing strangers through our in-group/out-group filters. We are also a savage lot, responding fearsomely to trespassers over the in/out group barrier.


-I use'em too.

[Montana]

Rich put those icons in there because he's a closet Nazi.
Done. This thread is as good as dead now!

Yah, but Glauber, you forgot:

Nevertheless, there is also a widely-recognized codicil that any intentional invocation of Godwin's Law for its thread-ending effects will be unsuccessful.

But we'll see if you can disprove this codicil...
Wait a minute...think I just blew that.
And no I'm not trying to get fresh with you...