Just went back to read the Bigelow vs. Redd thread and it has been heavily edited by the admins. The original post contained a derogatory word towards gay people to which many Bear Insider posters responsed indicating their support of gay bears and their intolerance of slurs directed at gay people. I was very proud of my fellow Bear Insider posters and felt that the thread showed how far we've come that many posters on a football forum were willing to show themselves as allies.

The admins censored not only the original post with the derogatory slur, they also removed all posts condemning the use of the slur. We can't pretend that there is no homophobia on this board, but we can celebrate the fact that many Bear Insider posters won't tolerate that homophobia, and now it has all been erased.

stivo;842120473 said:

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Just went back to read the Bigelow vs. Redd thread and it has been heavily edited by the admins. The original post contained a derogatory word towards gay people to which many Bear Insider posters responsed indicating their support of gay bears and their intolerance of slurs directed at gay people. I was very proud of my fellow Bear Insider posters and felt that the thread showed how far we've come that many posters on a football forum were willing to show themselves as allies.

The admins censored not only the original post with the derogatory slur, they also removed all posts condemning the use of the slur. We can't pretend that there is no homophobia on this board, but we can celebrate the fact that many Bear Insider posters won't tolerate that homophobia, and now it has all been erased.

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The OP should have been banned or at least suspended IMO... Totally unacceptable.

The original post was edited so the responses that were deleted would've made no sense.

He's received appropriate warning.

concernedparent;842120475 said:

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The OP should have been banned or at least suspended IMO... Totally unacceptable.

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i agree that it was a stupid comment, but out for blood much yea? nevermind after the below i take that back

Although I get the alternate meaning of the word. To the children of the Internet that word has nothing to do with homosexuality, but to every other generation it still has a very negative connotation as it should. I just don't think this is the place for such language. On reddit it's the norm but not on this board.

GoldenCalBear;842120486 said:

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All this hype over a word! Seriously admins? You go to a game and cuss words deragortory words all game. Ur Choice to take it the wrong way is rediculous. Freedom of speech. A choice to use words in different meanings. And I get repremended for this. Every post I try to post get ripped on. There are mostly no threads pertaining to football here. I post to get people hyped and excited for cal ball. And this is what I get. Way to go with team spirit admins .

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*smacking head*. Why do you say "freedom of speech"? Do you think you have the right to say whatever you want without fear of criticism? The "freedom of speech" enshrined in the First Amendment speaks only to what the Government can do. On this website, like in most parts of your life, the First doesn't apply; you have freedom of speech only insofar as the moderaters choose to let your words stay here.

GoldenCalBear;842120486 said:

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All this hype over a word! Seriously admins? You go to a game and cuss words deragortory words all game. Ur Choice to take it the wrong way is rediculous. Freedom of speech. A choice to use words in different meanings. And I get repremended for this. Every post I try to post get ripped on. There are mostly no threads pertaining to football here. I post to get people hyped and excited for cal ball. And this is what I get. Way to go with team spirit admins .

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What's "rediculous" is you thinking freedom of speech means that we'll tolerate you using sexually-derogatory language any more than we'll tolerate the use of racially-derogatory language.

It has no place here and neither will you if you continue to argue the point after you've been warned.

Wise up or find a new place to post.

Not so famous last words

I agree with the edit, but originally when I read his OP I didn't think of anything derodatory... More like "lame" or "dumb@ss" friend... It's one of those fine lines depending on how you interpret it (but better to be safe than sorry)

Exactly my point but you've got to know your audience. This isn't the place for it.

he could have just apologized, said he didnt mean to offend anyone. when i first read it over it didnt sound like he meant it in a derogatory way, but once he carried on like this he deserved the boot.

GoldenCalBear;842120493 said:

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Blah blah blah u need a wambulAnce kid. Sound like a bunch farmers. Take off those shirts and show ur true red color. I know Cal Bears and you are not it. Complaining about a word, really? Peace brother, I'd rather represent the true blue and gold my way my place.

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note to self -- never drunk-post

GoldenCalBear;842120486 said:

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All this hype over a word! Seriously admins? You go to a game and cuss words deragortory words all game. Ur Choice to take it the wrong way is rediculous. Freedom of speech. A choice to use words in different meanings. And I get repremended for this. Every post I try to post get ripped on. There are mostly no threads pertaining to football here. I post to get people hyped and excited for cal ball. And this is what I get. Way to go with team spirit admins .

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If you're not aware of the harmful effect of that particular word, get an education.

Go to Cal.

BearyWhite;842120491 said:

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*smacking head*. Why do you say "freedom of speech"? Do you think you have the right to say whatever you want without fear of criticism? The "freedom of speech" enshrined in the First Amendment speaks only to what the Government can do. On this website, like in most parts of your life, the First doesn't apply; you have freedom of speech only insofar as the moderaters choose to let your words stay here.

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+1

1st amendment is one of the least understood concepts in American society. Like Beary said - it refers to what the Government can do. I wish everyone understood that fact.

admin;842120492 said:

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What's "rediculous" is you thinking freedom of speech means that we'll tolerate you using sexually-derogatory language any more than we'll tolerate the use of racially-derogatory language.

It has no place here and neither will you if you continue to argue the point after you've been warned.

Wise up or find a new place to post.

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Yea but if you want to laud some homicidal nut who shoots policemen or slam Christianity, this is the place and you have found yourself a home.

You think BI admins are going to leave that garbage up on this forum so that all can see "how far we've come" as a society? You, sir, are an idiot.

Anti-gay slurs are no more offensive than racial slurs, sexist comments, the word "retard" etc. they are all innapropriate and hateful. i do wonder why OP is so high strung over this though. it's clear to me that OP has an emotional investment when it comes to the topic of homosexuals.

I'm sure he's seen the word "b*tch" or "retard" used on this forum before, but only when there was an anti-gay slur did he overreact and want that guy rebuked publically for all to see and take notice. Therefore I think it's safe to say that his sole reason for wanting all of those posts to remain in tact is because they supported an issue that he feels emotional about. However, the fact remains that those posts do not belong on a football forum. If you want to read posts which reinforce an issue you are so emotionally invested in, I'm sure there are other forums for that. Don't try to turn this forum into something else.

admin;842120492 said:

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What's "rediculous" is you thinking freedom of speech means that we'll tolerate you using sexually-derogatory language any more than we'll tolerate the use of racially-derogatory language.

It has no place here and neither will you if you continue to argue the point after you've been warned.

Wise up or find a new place to post.

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Who is this newbie with just 44 posts? Seriously though, I did not see this much uproar when an ESPN anchor referred to Jeremy Lin as having a "chink in his armor." This double standard has got to stop. There's no place for hate speech.

orindabear74;842120507 said:

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You think BI admins are going to leave that garbage up on this forum so that all can see "how far we've come" as a society? You, sir, are an idiot.

Anti-gay slurs are no more offensive than racial slurs, sexist comments, the word "retard" etc. they are all innapropriate and hateful. i do wonder why OP is so high strung over this though. it's clear to me that OP has an emotional investment when it comes to the topic of homosexuals.

I'm sure he's seen the word "b*tch" or "retard" used on this forum before, but only when there was an anti-gay slur did he overreact and want that guy rebuked publically for all to see and take notice. Therefore I think it's safe to say that his sole reason for wanting all of those posts to remain in tact is because they supported an issue that he feels emotional about. However, the fact remains that those posts do not belong on a football forum. If you want to read posts which reinforce an issue you are so emotionally invested in, I'm sure there are other forums for that. Don't try to turn this forum into something else.

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Good point. Maybe he's gay...not that there's anything wrong with that.

The OP is a troll whose posts are intended only to stir things up. If people simply ignored it, it would eventually go away.

brcal69;842120510 said:

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The OP is a troll whose posts are intended only to stir things up. If people simply ignored it, it would eventually go away.

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Exactly. He's trying to see how much tolerance and patience will be extended to him before he is banned, at which point he'll choose a different handle and start over again.

brcal69;842120510 said:

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The OP is a troll whose posts are intended only to stir things up. If people simply ignored it, it would eventually go away.

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+1

The OP was suspiciously troll-like. The follow-ups by the OP were convincingly so.

The OP was offensive. The follow up posts, idiotic. I don't typically use that word. In this case IMO, it is deserved.

The moderators did the right thing. They had two choices: can the whole thing or decide that the Redd vs Bigelow question was a worthy topic without the vitriol. I agree with what they did. The original thread-if left with all responses- would just be a bunch of people attacking the OP with no apparent reason once the word was removed.

slotright20;842120504 said:

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Yea but if you want to laud some homicidal nut who shoots policemen or slam Christianity, this is the place and you have found yourself a home.

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Slotright- Agreed! While I disagree with slandering verbiage, that's their right as an idiot to say it. I have actually found the other sites to be even worse regarding lack of tolerance. Your two examples are dead-on. It's definitely a microcosm of how our society is evolving- too bad. I I find it amusing that the side who always preaches tolerance is only tolerant when it fits their ideology.

calbb;842120524 said:

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...It's definitely a microcosm of how our society is evolving- too bad. I I find it amusing that the side who always preaches tolerance is only tolerant when it fits their ideology.

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You have just "defined" most churches in this Country. LOL.

slotright20;842120504 said:

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Yea but if you want to laud some homicidal nut who shoots policemen or slam Christianity, this is the place and you have found yourself a home.

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I found the post, the word, offensive, but with that said, I agree that censorship is selective. Not a cop lover, or born again Christian, but both seem fair game on this board to ridicule. It just seems it is who's ox is being gored that is important. There needs to be some intellectual honesty if censorship is to take place at all---not just that which is popular/unpopular. And that is not to say that use of "the word" is necessarily First Amendment right, but there are abuses both ways.

Im not liking how this thread went from criticizing homophobic statements to a bashing on religion thread.

Censorship is not selective here. The moderators are all over the map politically and with respect to religious beliefs and social mores.

It's simply a function of us not being able to read every post in every thread. There's just no way to keep up with that.

Conservatives see a liberal bias here. Liberals see a conservative bias here. Those religiously-inclined to an anti-religion bias. Those not religiously-inclined see a religious bias.

What some see as lack of moderation or selective moderation is simply a function of us not being able to read and assess every post in every thread. Much of what we edit or delete is because it's brought to our attention with complaints. Without that, chances are we've never seen what some might consider offensive. We get complaints much less than many would think.

The response to the post above was deleted because it was ridiculously offensive to Christians. Posts that essentially call people foolish and deluded in their belief in any faith will get deleted every time we see it. Commenting in a highly-offensive way about someones faith or sexuality and adding a pointless rejoinder to the effect that you still like or respect some of the good ones of whatever group you're insulting won't make it any more likely that the post will not get edited or deleted.

We let some off-topic conversation go on here till it inevitably goes off the rails because of people that put their own agendas ahead the community's and are looking for validation for their beliefs.

If people would just grow up and abide by the rules and respect each other's beliefs about all the social, faith and political issues that come up here, we'd have a lot less to moderate and a lot less bickering and hard feelings.

Give it a try.

Let me start by saying that I hate that word, up there with the " N " word and such. Now that I have qualified that that was low end B.S. I do have a problem with everythng having to be so politically correct. Everyone's feelings get hurt now. C'mon let it fly sometime. Sheeeesh,

Signed, A honky, white trash, Cracker kind of guy. :-)

Here's a good general point of information: Fighting Words Doctrine

Wiki aka Cliff Notes aka Black Lightning version of Fighting Words

Quote:

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The fighting words doctrine, in United States constitutional law, is a limitation to freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In 1942, the U.S. Supreme Court established the doctrine by a 9-0 decision in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire. It held that "insulting or 'fighting words,' those that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace" are among the "well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech the prevention and punishment of [which] ... have never been thought to raise any constitutional problem."

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p.s. ignorance isn't an excuse in law.

The term used was in poor taste and I support the moderators' deletion of the post. Guy was out of line and got spanked. That is how it should be. GO BEARS!!

76BearsFly;842120578 said:

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The term used was in poor taste and I support the moderators' deletion of the post. Guy was out of line and got spanked. That is how it should be. GO BEARS!!

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+1. I would add that the mods acted with great restraint.

admin;842120564 said:

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We let some off-topic conversation go on here till it inevitably goes off the rails because of people that put their own agendas ahead the community's ...

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'Got a chuckle out of this line.

:rollinglaugh:

I find it amusing that whenever it comes time for posts/threads to be deleted or posters to be banned, it's almost always the old "admin" handle that gets dusted off and comes around to warn, ban, etc.