Daniel Waite wrote:
[...]
@Tom:
That word is nerd. No one ever feels good about
being called a nerd. No one ever intends good by
using the word (except in humorous settings).
Your writing is collectivist
meaning? (I know the word, but your usage seem obscure to me, so I don't understand you.) And in any case, to label something is not to refute an argument. Only reasoning can do that.
in nature, which I reject wholesale.
What I was saying, which I'll now put more directly, is that your use of that word is unacceptable in polite and educated society. It hurts people who have already been hurt enough, including some of my clients and a member of my family. I really shouldn't have to tell you this. If someone uses that word as you have ANYWHERE, and their usage goes unchallenged, there is an implicit acceptance of that usage. To regress toward a time when prejudicial speech was far more common than it is today is not OK by me, and I believe I have a lot of company.
Your rejection of what I'm trying to tell you is perilously close to gross ignorance. Or maybe you just don't give a damn, in which case the problem is more serious than that of being ignorant.
But this is a forum about Ruby, not philosophy/economics.
What I'm trying to get across to you is neither philosophy nor economics. This IS a forum about Ruby, inhabited by members of the human society, where most of us consider it unacceptable to think, act, or speak in prejudicial ways. You don't get a ticket to act like an imbecile here simply because you program in Ruby - or for any other reason that I can think of.
Your use of "retarded" is prejudicial because it is a word with only negative connotations, and it applies to a group of people who are victims of their genetics. If they were a gene pool, use of the word "retarded" would be racism, without question. There was a time in my country (USA) when that was widely acceptable. In my lifetime, this has changed. We're not going back to that former time if I have anything to say about it.
My use of the word "imbecile" in a previous paragraph is different. It is NOT used any longer to refer to any class of people (although it was, at one time). Today, it simply means something like "utter fool". It cannot be seen as prejudicial usage.
If you want to talk about such things meet me at http://mises.org/Community/forums/ and I will gladly address your points. My username is angryrabbit. See you there... 
You've met me here, and here is were the error was made, so here is the appropriate forum. It is not acceptable to me to have your choice of word HERE go without challenge. You made a mistake. I hope you will think it over. You're not the only one inhabiting this planet, or even this forum. Do it again, and I'll challenge you again, because it will still be hurtful, and that's the problem.
t.
···
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tom Cloyd, MS MA, LMHC - Private practice Psychotherapist
Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A: (360) 920-1226
<< tc@tomcloyd.com >> (email)
<< TomCloyd.com >> (website) << sleightmind.wordpress.com >> (mental health weblog)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No, I daren't. But...that just might slip out if I allow myself to bumble alone in my native nerdy mindlessness. Oh my...what did I just do? It's so easy, isn't it?