Brady under fire for calling Josh a "spaz" on Sunday's broadcast...

[Returntoglory]

1 hour ago, Simon said:

 

It was funny to you.

Maybe not so much to somebody who loves a child with a debilitating neurological disorder.

Is empathy really that inconvenient for so many people?

I never said it was funny to me.

 

I said what was once an innocent word is now taken to the extreme in regards to its meaning. Also  it was directed towards one person, in a harmless and joking manner.

 

"Spaz is often used as a slang term to describe someone who is overly energetic, clumsy, or behaves in a hyperactive manner".

 

Society is getting to the point where chatgpt has to be used for conversations to assure that we don't offend any person or group. 

 

I guess in the end, people need something to talk about. 

 

[Matt_In_NH]

1 hour ago, folz said:

but now a writer can no longer use the word because a later connotation of the word has been linked to a medical condition and someone with that condition may now feel that you are mocking them?

I think the idea here is if you use the word in its later connotation that belittles someone's medical condition it is wrong.  It does not mean the word cannot be used in its actual meaning but sometimes that become taboo also.  Using the "R word" for instance, when people use it in its slang form, it is meant to convey "stupid and useless" which is not the definition of the word.  Someone with Down's or someone who has a loved one with Down's could be offended by this since they do not view them as stupid and useless.    People get upset because it is not appropriate to use words in some contexts but if they were on the other side of it they would see what it really is like to be referred to that way.  Having said all that, I think this particular infraction can be a learning opportunity and as much as I don't like Brady, I am not judging him over this.

[pennstate10]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

We discussed this in the SB the other day. In the UK he'd have been fired, instantly. It is pretty much second only to the n word in terms of offensive terms you can't use. I understand it doesn't have the same baggage in the US but honestly it made me very uncomfortable. I mentioned it in the GDT

This is funny, as my Brit colleagues use the c word liberally “I was really c*nted last night”, and Americans rarely use that word when any recording devices are out. 
 

Spaz is sort of an ancient term that I really don’t hear in everyday life. I don’t think Brady meant to insult Allen or an entire group of people, it just came off to me like something an 8 yo would have said 50 yrs ago. Sort of like the word “tard”. 

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

13 minutes ago, MJS said:

That's definitely not the case anymore. Words are violence now. Haven't you heard?

I was speaking for myself. It was just how I was raised. 

[Simon]

6 minutes ago, Returntoglory said:

I never said it was funny to me.

 

"What once was funny" were your exact words

 

And I'm not giving you hell for that; just pointing out that maybe it was never really all that funny to some folks.

[Don Otreply]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

It is an offensive short form of the word "spastic" which unless it is used in its strictest medical form is considered offensive. Calling someone a "spastic" because they behave erraticly is considered pretty offensive to people eho actually have disabilities. 

It is a little used term in my area of America, usually used amongst friends to warmly bust chops, of course when traveling, one should follow the rules of decorum for the country they are visiting, being said travel to another country is a privilege not a right. 

[njbuff]

5 hours ago, Blackbeard said:

WHO. CARES.

 

Sneeze these days and you've offended someone.  

 

Nose hairs offend people. 🙃

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

This entire thread is bordering on offensive 

[Sweats]

21 minutes ago, Returntoglory said:

I never said it was funny to me.

 

I said what was once an innocent word is now taken to the extreme in regards to its meaning. Also  it was directed towards one person, in a harmless and joking manner.

 

"Spaz is often used as a slang term to describe someone who is overly energetic, clumsy, or behaves in a hyperactive manner".

 

Society is getting to the point where chatgpt has to be used for conversations to assure that we don't offend any person or group. 

 

I guess in the end, people need something to talk about. 

 

 

 

 

 

We always referred to anyone who was socially awkward as a spaz......to me, that is what it means anyways.

[CLTbills]

Have I been living under a rock? Since when is "spaz" offensive, and to whom would it be offensive?

[Simon]

 

There are 10000x more people complaining about the people questioning Brady's use of the word, than there are actual people questioning Brady's use of the word.

What a bunch of manufactured outrage.

[90sBills]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

It is an offensive short form of the word "spastic" which unless it is used in its strictest medical form is considered offensive. Calling someone a "spastic" because they behave erraticly is considered pretty offensive to people eho actually have disabilities. 

This is very interesting. It was very common here when I was growing up. No one thought twice about saying it to your friends or yourself sometimes. So was the term you guys use for cigarettes but I believe that term is now off limits. 

[london_bills]

6 hours ago, eball said:

Didn't see this posted anywhere else.  I'm all for respecting the handicapped and disadvantaged, but isn't this going a bit overboard?  I mean, there was a character in a movie nicknamed "spaz" and do we really have to critique people for comments that are clearly not intended to harm anyone?

 

I noticed this live and thought someone might say something. The reaction to words is so over the top these days!

[Simon]

2 minutes ago, london_bills said:

The reaction to words is so over the top these days!

 

I haven't actually seen or heard any of these over the top reactions.

Do they actually exist?

Or is it three million sensitive susie's having a fit about three people on Twitter?

[london_bills]

Just now, Simon said:

 

Can you show me some of these over the top reactions?

You know. It's all about context. 

[Magox]

I just don't see how anyone from the US could possibly see this as offensive.  I never heard such a thing, that the word Spaz is offensive.

 

Please, get a grip of yourself.  He clearly didn't have any intent to disparage people with disabilities, we colloquially use the term "Spaz" as someone who is somewhat physically out of control and uncoordinated.

 

A 100% complete nothing burger.  I feel sorry for the people who are from the US who are offended by this.

Edited 14 hours ago by Magox

[london_bills]

Are we really surprised that the ultimate 'Jock' in sports has used that term, or a politically incorrect term anyway??

[WotAGuy]

1 minute ago, Magox said:

 

 

A 100% complete nothing burger.  I feel sorry for the people who are from the US who are offended by this.

I tell ya, if I hear them talking during the World Series about “Whitey” Ford, I’m going to write a strongly-worded email to my congressperson. 

[folz]

17 minutes ago, Matt_In_NH said:

I think the idea here is if you use the word in its later connotation that belittles someone's medical condition it is wrong.  It does not mean the word cannot be used in its actual meaning but sometimes that become taboo also.  Using the "R word" for instance, when people use it in its slang form, it is meant to convey "stupid and useless" which is not the definition of the word.  Someone with Down's or someone who has a loved one with Down's could be offended by this since they do not view them as stupid and useless.    People get upset because it is not appropriate to use words in some contexts but if they were on the other side of it they would see what it really is like to be referred to that way.  Having said all that, I think this particular infraction can be a learning opportunity and as much as I don't like Brady, I am not judging him over this.

 

I'm not trying to be insensitive, I have a cousin with Down's Syndrome, a cousin with Cerebral Palsy, a best friend with Epilepsy, and my sister runs a school for children with autism. I'm just pushing back a bit against the over-sensitivity and shaming that seems prevalent these days (though it has gotten better than it was a few years back).

 

To the first bolded above: I don't think that is what Brady did. And to the second bolded statement, that is the issue that I am pointing out.

 

Again, with the "R" word. It's original meaning is to slow down or impede. It was much later used in the medical profession. And then became used as a slur (based on the medical definition). The medical profession then stopped using the word because the slur had become so prevalent (and because it really wasn't a great definition to begin with because it was too ambiguous and not accurate).

 

Now the original definition still stands and is not a slur, it is used in music and other areas, but here we are on the internet writing the "R" word because we don't want to offend, or the board's algorithm would delete it if we spelled it out. 

 

 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, folz said:

 

This is not true. There is a meaning that has nothing to do with the medical meaning and is not a slur to anyone with a medical condition.

 

 

For the millionth time I am talking about British English. I accept it has other meanings in American English.