Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

This attitude baffles me. He's quoting lyrics. Lyrics are lyrics, and the ones he quoted in particular have no racial overtones. And even if they did, who cares?

Lots of songs have the words "cunt" and "motherfucker", but quoting those lyrics does not mean you are intending to insult a woman or accuse someone of having an Oedipus complex.




> Lots of songs have the words "cunt" and "motherfucker", but quoting those lyrics does not mean you are intending to insult a woman or accuse someone of having an Oedipus complex.

And yet many people (women and men) will find them insulting and offensive nevertheless, regardless of what you say your intent is.


Of course. But many people would also be offended at the word "fuck", such as in "that's fucking great". It's impossible to not offend someone, that's why you write and speak with a target audience in mind. And Horowitz is speaking to the tech and startup industry, which is generally fairly relaxed when it comes to profanity of that nature.


Which is fine but the stigma against being generally offensive is less than the stigma against being racially offensive (not to mention the law).


> Lyrics are lyrics, and the ones he quoted in particular have no racial overtones.

Except they do, and it matters because they signal group membership. Especially as is concerned with this particular word, there is too much history to throw it around haphazardly.

>Lots of songs have the words "cunt" and "motherfucker"

Both of which have basically no social stigma beyond simply being vulgar




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: