People being offended by fictional characters

Sunny Disposition · 08-12-2018 7:22pm #1

When I was a kid we’d often be told that what we watched on TV wasn’t real, not to be taken seriously. I think it was good advice and even before I was ten I could see the sense in it.

Nowadays it’s way different. Pepsi got slated for having an ad that was apparently offensive, people weren’t angry enough in it. Eoghan McDermott wants Fairytale of New York censored, fictional character makes inappropriate remark, Friends is offensive because Chandler was uncomfortable with his father coming out as gay and dressing in drag.

When did people stop having the sense to not be offended by fiction? Could there be a return to sense following the backlash against McDermott yesterday?

Yer Da sells Avon · 08-12-2018 7:23pm

After Hours - the forum for people who get offended by the idea of others getting offended.

Noveight · 08-12-2018 7:25pm

The push back against the eternally offended has begun. People are sick of walking on eggshells just to appease the minority of idiots.

Just give it time.

Raheem Euro · 08-12-2018 7:31pm

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

After Hours - the forum for people who get offended by the idea of others getting offended.

What an offensive remark to make ya bdstard.

mammajamma · 08-12-2018 7:39pm

Yer Da sells Avon wrote: »

After Hours - the forum for people who get offended by the idea of others getting offended.

Its not just this section of a this website, its everywhere. I come across it all the time in real life now, people expressing their dislike for being told what is and isn't acceptable, what song they are allowed listen too (no, it doesn't count that you can listen to it in private), what films are "problematic", what characters are "questionable", what words are "offensive", what places are "belittling", what signs are "discriminatory" and so bleedin' on!

Its puritanical bullshaisse.

On the one hand it can be described on a surface level as "offended being offended by offended being offended", laugh out loud kinda thing.

The fact of the matter is that these people who originate these ideas are quite literally trying to thought-police everyone else, and these lunatics have now moved into the area of altering history to suit their moans. See the latest micro version on songs being pulled from playlists. They want to revise history and shape the future entirely around their astoundingly stupid "ideas", despite it being glaringly obvious that the vast majority of people do not in any way agree with them.

It is quite boring to see and hear over and over, but that only demonstrates just how sick people are becoming of these revisionists and complainers.

You want rid of it, get rid of the people creating it, not the increasing amount of people reacting negatively (and rightly so)

Assetbacked · 08-12-2018 8:05pm

I Am Not Your Villain

The British Film Institute has made a decision to no longer offer funding to movies who have a villain with scars on their face.

Yes, this is correct. There is no world where I could stomach people who pander to this nonsense.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/29/bfi-to-refuse-funding-for-films-with-facially-scarred-villains

ToddyDoody · 08-12-2018 8:08pm

Stop being so goddamn superficial.

RobbingBandit · 08-12-2018 8:14pm

James Bond a Scottish English secret agent, **** off that's not possible

God all powerful super being that made everything you have ever heard of yet he waited a very long time to send his only son to save mankind, **** trees nature animals elements etc etc that he created his son is here to save only one tiny part of everything **** off with that ****e will ya

TheValeyard · 08-12-2018 8:20pm

RobbingBandit wrote: »

James Bond a Scottish English secret agent, **** off that's not possible

God all powerful super being that made everything you have ever heard of yet he waited a very long time to send his only son to save mankind, **** trees nature animals elements etc etc that he created his son is here to save only one tiny part of everything **** off with that ****e will ya

I bet you're not even a Robbing Bandit.

BadTurtle · 08-12-2018 8:24pm

There was some backlash recently against the writer of Harry Potter because she wrote in a female character that will eventually turn into a snake owned by some other character.
And people were offended because the woman was Asian and it supposedly implies slavery. One thing though: it's Harry ****ing Potter. It's elves and goblins and magic and gibberish. Who ****ing cares if an Asian girl is a snake any more than a Welsh guy is a sheep? Actually, that would be more offensive surely? There's no history of people relating Asians to snakes in my recollection anyway.

buried · 08-12-2018 9:05pm

I think reality TV and its huge mainstream following for the last 20 years right up until now has a lot to do with this. Some of the generation brought up watching it can no longer tell the difference between people portrayed as the villains of the piece in those reality TV shows and the fictional ones written by writers in the arts. On the reality TV shows the characters that are disliked are booted out the show by the audience votes, technically they are banned by the will of the audience, booted out and booed offstage and never seen again.

Only the squeaky clean hero who offended or upset nobody in the show will win those reality TV competitions. Now it seems that some people, and to my eyes a lot of these people were brought up during that Reality TV age, want to do the same thing to any other fictional character on the airwaves they don't like.

Now that's just my theory on it, I could be completely wrong, because I don't understand why anybody could be offended by a fictional artistic work, especially younger people, but they do seem to be the most vocal about being offended and they did grow up in the age of reality televisions huge following.

padd b1975 · 08-12-2018 9:12pm

BadTurtle wrote: »

There was some backlash recently against the writer of Harry Potter because she wrote in a female character that will eventually turn into a snake owned by some other character.
And people were offended because the woman was Asian and it supposedly implies slavery. One thing though: it's Harry ****ing Potter. It's elves and goblins and magic and gibberish. Who ****ing cares if an Asian girl is a snake any more than a Welsh guy is a sheep? Actually, that would be more offensive surely? There's no history of people relating Asians to snakes in my recollection anyway.

J.K. Rowling intentionally linking women to slavery?

Not in this lifetime!

RobbingBandit · 08-12-2018 9:18pm

Murray TheDemonic TalkingSkull wrote: »

I bet you're not even a Robbing Bandit.

Name was inspired by Bertie so I'm as much a RobbingBandit as he was btw I prefer Grim Fandango

BadTurtle · 08-12-2018 9:24pm

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Name was inspired by Bertie so I'm as much a RobbingBandit as he was btw I prefer Grim Fandango

You've offended me. Although I never got past that bit with the beavers in GF so I didn't get the whole experience.

jonnny68 · 08-12-2018 10:17pm

millennial snowflakes are a curse on society, there's something seriously wrong with these nutters, imagine spending so much of your sad lives getting offended by absolutely ridiculous things, freaks.

Society...where has it all gone wrong.

nlrkjos · 08-12-2018 10:36pm

bit like the boy who cried wolf...eventually something will actually offend, they'll highlight it and people will just go "yeah, him/her again". For years we had severe censorship in Ireland, by the catholic church and section 31, now the very people/groups who were censored are trying to censor, songs...characters...words.

TheValeyard · 08-12-2018 10:40pm

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Name was inspired by Bertie so I'm as much a RobbingBandit as he was btw I prefer Grim Fandango

Great game

The Rape of Lucretia · 08-12-2018 10:54pm

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

When did people stop having the sense to not be offended by fiction?

When the snowflake generation started to turn 18, but hadnt really grown up, and realising they were unfit for the adult world, started to take offence at everything that clashed with their child level view.

nlrkjos · 08-12-2018 10:59pm

they'll be wanting to put a pair of underpants on Michaelangelo's "David" next!!!

pgj2015 · 08-12-2018 11:04pm

I remember reading about the guy who played richard hillman in coronation street (he murdered people on the show)

he couldn't walk down the street because people were attacking him because of the character he played, its really funny when you think about it, how thick can some people be?

The Rape of Lucretia · 08-12-2018 11:07pm

nlrkjos wrote: »

they'll be wanting to put a pair of underpants on Michaelangelo's "David" next!!!

No way. You arent thinking of the child labour that made them in a sweatshop in Bangladesh for €1/month.
The correct way would be organic fig leaves.
Anyway, the whole David story promotes discrimination of giants, so the statue should be removed and crushed. Michaelangelo on a black list.

Rubberchikken · 08-12-2018 11:09pm

people have lost their sense of humour.
humourless liberal pains are to be ignored at all cost.
life is way too short to listen to or even adhere to their mindless dribble.

Yer Da sells Avon · 08-12-2018 11:16pm

Rubberchikken wrote: »

people have lost their sense of humour.
humourless liberal pains are to be ignored at all cost.
life is way too short to listen to or even adhere to their mindless dribble.

I've found that the people who moan most vocally (and let's make no bones about this - quite tiresomely) about 'liberals', and spend their time looking for 'PC-gone-mad' stuff to get offended about, are rarely a barrel of laughs.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 08-12-2018 11:19pm

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

When I was a kid we’d often be told that what we watched on TV wasn’t real, not to be taken seriously. I think it was good advice and even before I was ten I could see the sense in it.

Nowadays it’s way different. Pepsi got slated for having an ad that was apparently offensive, people weren’t angry enough in it. Eoghan McDermott wants Fairytale of New York censored, fictional character makes inappropriate remark, Friends is offensive because Chandler was uncomfortable with his father coming out as gay and dressing in drag.

When did people stop having the sense to not be offended by fiction? Could there be a return to sense following the backlash against McDermott yesterday?

About 2.14 Eastern time on August 29th, 1997.

RobbingBandit · 08-12-2018 11:39pm

Maggie Simpson is over 30 years old

Poor Uncle Tom · 09-12-2018 1:07am

nlrkjos wrote: »

they'll be wanting to put a pair of underpants on Michaelangelo's "David" next!!!

The Catholic church brought in the bronze fig leaf to give some modesty to David when they introduced censorship of the classical arts around 1580.

Just as the public turn their backs on Catholic doctrine they find ways to get triggered and morally offended by the very same objects, as the church they turned their backs on did 600 years ago. The irony really is funny.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 09-12-2018 6:53am

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

The Catholic church brought in the bronze fig leaf to give some modesty to David when they introduced censorship of the classical arts around 1580.

Just as the public turn their backs on Catholic doctrine they find ways to get triggered and morally offended by the very same objects, as the church they turned their backs on did 600 years ago. The irony really is funny.

People don't like to think for themselves. They like to let someone else do it for them, but in such a way that they think it's their own minds. They also like to be told who to be outraged by.

The church did a very good job of this before it started to decline, but then left a void. The void was filled first by the tabloids and later by social media.

dr.fuzzenstein · 09-12-2018 8:27am

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

About 2.14 Eastern time on August 29th, 1997.

Wish I could thank that twice.

Well, it's a coin with two sides. There are the perpetually offended who would take exception at celery being depicted in a racist fashion in a school play and there are those who give them validation by seeking out their bullsh*t and giving it exposure by having a bit of a tirade about it.
We've all been guilty of it I'm sure, I know I have.

harr · 09-12-2018 8:29am

Was watching Kevin Bridges on TV tonight , his new stand up show and he makes very good points on how the whole social media phenomena has ****ed up a generation of kids..
I agree completely...if one so called influencer says something is offensive then that snowballs and you have a lot of people agreeing without looking at the alleged offending material or person.. kids grow up in a huge bubble of misinformation and not experiencing the real world away from phones and the web.

An example would be , I was getting train up to city last week when I was speaking to an old school friend who was putting her 17 year old son on the train ...he never lifted his head from his phone once to say hello or engage in face to face conversation. The mother was very worried he was going to the city on his own at 17 and was giving a step by step guide of what to do.
The young lad just grunted.
I was traveling up to Dublin at 14 most Saturdays and without a phone or google maps and I just told parents what train I was getting home and I had no contact with home for the day.

Kids ( adults) need to understand that nasty people exist in the real world, racists , sexual predators and con men ( women) real people that the world can’t censor.
If all the badness is taken from books , movies and songs how are children going to learn and understand that the world isn’t a happy clappy place all the time . Not good for any generation to grown up in a sterile censored world.

leggo · 09-12-2018 8:37am

It’s funny how people act like this is new. I remember TV shows back in the 90’s looking at old TV shows like “this was all a bit mad eh??” with talking heads. My da used to constantly be watching them.

But I think that was alright then because boardsies here were young and with it. Now they’re old and they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what they’re with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary.

touts · 09-12-2018 8:39am

"Generation Offended" are just the latest in a long line of religious zealots. From the Spanish Inquisition through Puritans and on to ISIL, fanatics in a faith will always seek to out do each other in the expression of that faith usually by destroying "evil doers" in more extravagant ways. In this case the faith is totalitarian liberalism expressed through taking offence. Instagram/pinterest are the new bibles and Twitter/WhatsApp the pulpit.

Sadly these sort of events last years, often several generations, so things aren't looking good for for those of us older than "generation offended". Our best bet is to go underground and practice our faith of "balanced reason" in secret while outwardly appearing to take offence at everything. But we need to hold onto the fact that history also shows that eventually these fanatics lose and society returns to balanced reason.

nthclare · 10-12-2018 5:26pm

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

The Catholic church brought in the bronze fig leaf to give some modesty to David when they introduced censorship of the classical arts around 1580.

Just as the public turn their backs on Catholic doctrine they find ways to get triggered and morally offended by the very same objects, as the church they turned their backs on did 600 years ago. The irony really is funny.

There's a lot of irony these days.

Back when good old Ireland was supposedly backwards and run by the church, we could laugh at Eddie Murphy delerious, watch Monty python, slag people off.

Do people actually think everyone took the church seriously back in the 80's ?

No they didn't, my grandmother and her friend used to talk about the hypocrisy of the local priest, she loved the fancy fella down the road,he used to make her laugh.

The fancy fella was "gay" Dinjoe was his name, dad used to clip me around the ear when I said Dinjoe talked like a woman.

Michael Tierney in Ennis was a well respected transvestite, he used to sell paper's.
Anybody who laughed at him were considered dicks.

It's ironic that some of us find the easily offended offensive, but fortunately some of us don't get it.

I certainly don't get why femminists are angry, or people feel like victims over trivial things...

I am called all sorts here sometimes I am a martyr lol

I find people on board's running to the mods hilarious, I was banned from board's twice for a month.

It was great to get the break, I along with others don't take board's literally.

It's a forum with all sorts of different tastes and opinions, I'd love to be a moderator.

All hell would break loose.

Hail Satan

Sabre0001 · 10-12-2018 5:35pm

I can't believe it's no longer legal or possible to listen to Fairytale of New York or watch Friends....oh wait.

In some cases, it's interesting to talk about the subject matter at hand. Frequently, it's a small number of people. In some cases, they're pretty vocal. In many cases, it's spurred on by media realising that people will talk about the controversy and possibly share a link to their segment.

branie2 · 10-12-2018 5:39pm

pgj2015 wrote: »

I remember reading about the guy who played richard hillman in coronation street (he murdered people on the show)

he couldn't walk down the street because people were attacking him because of the character he played, its really funny when you think about it, how thick can some people be?

Same with the actor who played Alan Bradley

Ipso · 10-12-2018 5:55pm

Speaking of fictional characters.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lifesitenews.com/mobile/news/christians-protest-giant-statue-of-satan-at-arkansas-capitol-building2

M.T. Cranium · 10-12-2018 6:14pm

I am offended in equal measures by the offenders and those taking offense, would all parties just avoid costly litigation and mail me some cash. Thank you in advance.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 10-12-2018 6:23pm

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

I am offended in equal measures by the offenders and those taking offense, would all parties just avoid costly litigation and mail me some cash. Thank you in advance.

I am offended by this weak claim for compensation. My counter claim is in the post.

Ipso · 10-12-2018 6:28pm

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

I am offended by this weak claim for compensation. My counter claim is in the post.

It's not valid unless you tweet it and then clap back agin retractors.

Ray Palmer · 10-12-2018 7:45pm

I find the people who go on about "PC gone mad" are unable to actually talk about anything without being offended that they have to consider others.

They make up claims and are wilfully ignorant about subjects.

They are just as bad as those that are offended easily.

I think telling an English person not to call me a Mick or a Paddy and saying it is offensive is perfectly correct but my English cousin thought I was being a snowflake.

nthclare · 10-12-2018 9:21pm

Ray Palmer wrote: »

I find the people who go on about "PC gone mad" are unable to actually talk about anything without being offended that they have to consider others.

They make up claims and are wilfully ignorant about subjects.

They are just as bad as those that are offended easily.

I think telling an English person not to call me a Mick or a Paddy and saying it is offensive is perfectly correct but my English cousin thought I was being a snowflake.

I was working in Scotland with a load of Ranger's supporters, it was open season on me every day...
I was called Fenian, a giant leprechaun, a hoop and worse, I realised that I had to not take it personal.
I played a good game and we used to party together etc.
Sometimes I think back on those night's drinking Mc'eEwans and waking up wearing a Ranger's Jersey in some high-rise apartment in Glasgow and some leggy attractive looking Scottish lady asleep in my arms...

James Brown · 10-12-2018 9:27pm

Don't Forgot God, Jebus and Mohammad.

Whenever I hear people whinging about Millennials I think of 'kids today and their rock n' roll music!'

Ray Palmer · 10-12-2018 9:33pm

nthclare wrote: »

I was working in Scotland with a load of Ranger's supporters, it was open season on me every day...
I was called Fenian, a giant leprechaun, a hoop and worse, I realised that I had to not take it personal.

Reality is you didn't really have a choice and I also know what you mean. Sure some jibing is fine if you are in on it. The problem is you can get groups of these guys doing the same to a complete stranger and they don't take well if the person minds.

I take it you have been there too as most Irish people have, gotten people being overly familiar because we are all friendly all the time wanting to join a sing along.

vetinari · 10-12-2018 10:15pm

Honestly, 90% of the posts in these types of threads are from anti PC people.
It's pretty rare to see an actual PC post.
Anti PC people are being played like a violin by the media.
It's all for website clicks.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 10-12-2018 10:19pm

harr wrote: »

Was watching Kevin Bridges on TV tonight , his new stand up show and he makes very good points on how the whole social media phenomena has ****ed up a generation of kids..
I agree completely...if one so called influencer says something is offensive then that snowballs and you have a lot of people agreeing without looking at the alleged offending material or person.. kids grow up in a huge bubble of misinformation and not experiencing the real world away from phones and the web.

An example would be , I was getting train up to city last week when I was speaking to an old school friend who was putting her 17 year old son on the train ...he never lifted his head from his phone once to say hello or engage in face to face conversation. The mother was very worried he was going to the city on his own at 17 and was giving a step by step guide of what to do.
The young lad just grunted.
I was traveling up to Dublin at 14 most Saturdays and without a phone or google maps and I just told parents what train I was getting home and I had no contact with home for the day.

Kids ( adults) need to understand that nasty people exist in the real world, racists , sexual predators and con men ( women) real people that the world can’t censor.
If all the badness is taken from books , movies and songs how are children going to learn and understand that the world isn’t a happy clappy place all the time . Not good for any generation to grown up in a sterile censored world.

Did he know you? You said it was an old friend so I’m going to take it that you don’t know her children. I have little time for the notion that public transport was a place where conversations started up all the time before the smartphone. I’ve been getting public transport for a long time and people have always for the most part ignored each other. Somehow having your head buried in a book or newspaper or listening to music inspires less judgement though. I sometimes see conversations being struck up on trains and buses. I also observed it happening in the pre-smartphone era. But it wasn’t commonplace then and isn’t now. Nothing has changed in that regard.

nthclare · 10-12-2018 10:38pm

vetinari wrote: »

Honestly, 90% of the posts in these types of threads are from anti PC people.
It's pretty rare to see an actual PC post.
Anti PC people are being played like a violin by the media.
It's all for website clicks.

Sounds like chemistry.

PC is dead, it's imploded into itself, I blame the vegans and militant femminazis.

Normal feminism is ok but these monsters that are like hybrids of some sort are ruining it for the lovely gentle femminists...

They started it, now you've women rebellious towards femminists and giving them the bird...

Proper order I say

Capt'n Midnight · 11-12-2018 9:59pm

pgj2015 wrote: »

he couldn't walk down the street because people were attacking him because of the character he played, its really funny when you think about it, how thick can some people be?

One of the Red-Tops in the UK did a campaign against kiddy fiddlers.

So a bunch of concerned readers held a protest outside a female paediatrician's place.

BTW
Dirty Den from Eastender's was a convicted murderer in real life.

Ray Palmer · 12-12-2018 12:16pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

BTW
Dirty Den from Eastender's was a convicted murderer in real life.

And Buzz Lightyear is a convicted drug trafficker

Mint Sauce · 12-12-2018 12:23pm

Basically people are running out of things to be offended by, so now they are finding things from 20/30/40....60+ plus years ago, that were perfectly acceptable then, and are getting offended by it, and demanding that you and me should be offended as well, fictional or not. Friends, Fairytale of New York, and Baby its Cold Outside are perfect examples.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 12-12-2018 12:49pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

One of the Red-Tops in the UK did a campaign against kiddy fiddlers.

So a bunch of concerned readers held a protest outside a female paediatrician's place.

BTW
Dirty Den from Eastender's was a convicted murderer in real life.

"Held a protest"..?

The feckin covered the woman's house in grafitti and threw bricks threw her windows!

DEFTLEFTHAND · 12-12-2018 12:51pm

I'm offended by the Moomins.

I think they propagate degenerate behaviour.

I also have a serious issue with Babar the Elephant, which I won't disclose here for personal reasons.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 12-12-2018 5:37pm

People were always offended by fictional characters and stories. That's hardly new.

People being offended by fictional characters

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