Quote:
Originally posted by robustpuppy
I'm curious. When people say offensive things in your presence, do you have any reaction? Or when it comes to indicating whether you think their views are legitimate, have you concluded that it's "a tough call to make, but that she should do whatever she thought was right."
You know, bullet dodged and all.
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It's early, but I have no idea what you're talking about with the "a tough call to make, but that she should do whatever she thought was right" quote.
Anyway, it depends whether or not the speaker is someone I can really tell to fuck off or face-throw the contents of a drink or something like that. I often find that kind of response, if not useful or productive, enjoyable.
When that's not an option (girlfriend's parents, situation where causing a scene is wholly inappropriate), I am more likely to make a remark or simply tell someone that their views are prejudiced and offensive to me.
The only times I haven't said anything were when I just wasn't sure if the intent was offensive or if it would be worth it to get into an argument with someone. One time I was with someone in a group and, as we talked about a (not present) colleague's ex-girlfriend, he said "Isn't she a Jew?" Someone else said, "Yes, so what if she is?", and he said that he wass just curious about their relationship and the reasons it ended, since the guy is Catholic. In that situation, I chose not to say anything because I wasn't sure he had ill will. Either way, the guy was an ass who said inappropriate shit.
Finally, the saddest thing to me is hearing minority groups speak poorly of other minority groups. I won't get into examples, but hearing one often discriminated-against group try to rationalize and justify their prejudice towards another group is just pathetic. My comment in those situations is always, "Wow, you're lucky that you've never experienced racial or cultural prejudice!" When the person responds that he or she has, it usually doesn't even take an additional comment for that person to get it.
