[Mirithorn]

I think, though, at this point you can't really blame people for complaining about them- they're just applying a word (albeit incorrectly) to a phenomenon that annoys them.

I don't think I'm being intolerant by disliking these people. They're whiny druggies who show up at an art class and waste time, and who enjoy tormenting mentally ill people who wander into town in their spare time.

[Bond]

"Tormenting mentally ill people"? How so?

[Heccubus]

I don't think I'm being intolerant by disliking these people. They're whiny druggies who show up at an art class and waste time, and who enjoy tormenting mentally ill people who wander into town in their spare time.

No, that just sounds like assholes to me. Those can be anyone.

[Bond]

I'm not sure what "emo" really means anymore. I'm tired, and I feel drunk.

[Spann]

The part that slays me is the word "emos". It suddenly became a noun.

When did that happen? I remember hearing about 'Emo Kids' about 5-6 years ago, just as people into Hardcore were called 'Hardcore Kids' etc.

So the nounification (Hell, I don't know if that's a word, but I'm damned proud of it) of 'Emo' baffled me as well. To me, that's like saying 'I'm a Metal', or 'I'm a Country' (and the latter is merely somewhat of a fantastical boast).

Still, its just the thing for the outcast kids at school to latch onto - they don't have to adhere to the norm. We can mock teenagers all we like, but If we're all honest we've all been through something similar. I've attempted to take my own life purely due to teenage depression, and it is something I am thoroughly disgusted in myself for doing, but I understand it was to do with my hormones having some kind of party in my head.

So, what I'm saying is - Emo is just the new Goth/Punk/New Romantic etc etc, you'll get some people who actually stick to it, and others who will be part of it when it's a fad, and will be stockbrokers and bank managers in 20 years time.

In even fewer words - They're only kids, so grow up.

[Millitant Pacifist]

I remember reading a good rule of thumb about comedy somewhere or other, but I can't remeber the exact wording. Basically, you can't make fun of anything that a person didn't choose (so "Hey, look at those disabled folks with their wheelchairs! Aren't they silly!" is out) and you shouldn't make fun of anything else unless you're sure you know more about the subject than 90% of the audience (so don't laugh at Muslims unless you've read the Qu'ran, for example). And you should ignore these rules if you think the shock will get you a bigger laugh.

[Spann]

It depends entirely on your company, in my opinion. For example, certain jokes that I make, I would only make in the presence of people who I know will not be offended, and may even enjoy the joke.

[Bond]

Like me, for instance?

I'm no "emo", but I sure as heck have cerebral palsy. Go ahead, take a crack at a guy in a wheelchair; I don't bite.

[Spann]

Well, for example, in one of my previous jobs we were encouraged to help disabled and infirm customers. However, some people in wheelchairs seemed highly annoyed when you awknowledged that they had a disability and were offering help you wouldn't normally. I guess I'm just saying it's hard to know what offends people.

But then I think some people are often looking for something to be offended at.

Bond, I don't know an awful lot about cerebral palsy, however, I'm gonna read up on it now.

[Bond]

Go ahead; it's got a variety of different levels of severity.

[Spann]

Wow, turns out there's alot more to it than i thought.


Nasty...

[Bond]

Don't worry; I've only got a relatively mild form of it...

[barend]

I was expecting your disability to be that you were a mutant with 47 fingers able to respond to multiple posts at once...

but then i realised that's probably more of a superpower.

[Bond]

Well, seeing as disabilities usually disable people...

No hard feelings, though.

[Cyzyk]

I believe anything is a valid target for humor, at any time. In the end, we're all human, so we're all the same at the core. That being said, there's a big difference between making fun of something and having fun with it.

For example, I can tell a joke that involves racist language that doesn't actually involve race in it. (I'm thinking of one, in fact.)