RSPB Bans Certain words........

[Tormentil]

Is this taking "child protection" a bit far, or do you agree. I've frequently used "cock" when refering to the male of any bird and I cannot, for the life of me, see what is offensive about it.
It must, in this context, have been part of our language for hundreds of years.

RSPB website bans use of the word 'cock' | Uk News | News | Telegraph

[Kymba]

My God the world has gone totally bonkers
How Stupid this is! This really is a step to far.
I also think it is a total insult to children and their intelligence.
I for one will continue to call them COCKS as that is what they are!!

[thunder]

Another non-story! Don't forget this forum won't let us use the perfectly harmless abbreviation for the name Richard, beginning with D and endng with k! Wnat's wrong with oooo ?

henrya

[eeyore]

the problem is that a) certain people will take things too far and use words like that to be rude or offensive if they are allowed on forums such as this - as we saw a while back , and b) some people are super sensitive and will take offence at words which most of us do not consider offensive at all - for instance I know one member here made a tremendous fuss about the use of the word oooooooo (edit: ho hum - well that proves my point )

here in forum land the minority spoil things for the majority - it is ever thus....

[Kev Lewis]

Only in the UK can we be so Stupid !!!!

Perhaps we shouldn't call them birds as wimmen maybe offended
or stop calling female dogs bitches??? What will we call the Woodcock now?

Political correctness is for narrow minded Richard heads without an ounce of commonsense!

[nightshade]

I do dislike political correctness,whoever dreams up the likelyhood of
offence to some minority of similarly employed people should be left
on a desert island somewhere they would never reproduce as they
would not like to offend anyone and so die out

[buzfuz8149]

Found this on the internet a while back no doubt some of you will have read it before but it says it all to me.

OBITUARY OF COMMON SENSE
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Just had to post it.

[Kev Lewis]

He will be sadly missed by the majority and abused by the minority

[Kymba]

Originally Posted by buzfuz8149

Found this on the internet a while back no doubt some of you will have read it before but it says it all to me.

OBITUARY OF COMMON SENSE
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Just had to post it.

Thanks for that it is brilliant and it says it all

[nutmeg]

Heard a representative from the RSPB speaking on Radio 4 earlier today explaining that it was a problem with the filter on the forum - which has been sorted now. So a non-story...

[Hez]

Well, you really had me going there! I've laughed, cried, flown into a rage, and mourned the sad demise of Common Sense and his family...before reading the bit about the RSPB filter!!!Lol! Then I looked outside and saw the full moon in all its glory!

What a relief...cockerels can cock-a-doodle-doo to their hearts' content! I so didn't fancy my chances of explaining the ethics to the local "boys" - much less their chances of learning to call "male-chicken-a-doodle-doo!" at dawn!

Mind you, I still feel sorry for people whose name is actually D**k (not Richard) - they must be the only minority group whose feelings are not put above the rest of the world's! Sorry, I'll crawl back under my stone...

[rlchew]

Thankfully I have always been Richard .... but called a lot worse than D**khead .

Richard (I think that is what I am called)

[Paul mabbott]

Mind, there are some words that should be banned - most of them coming from across the Atlantic.
Try this: Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL.

Horrifying behaviour but I think that some of the words are even worse ....

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by nutmeg

Heard a representative from the RSPB speaking on Radio 4 earlier today explaining that it was a problem with the filter on the forum - which has been sorted now. So a non-story...

I suspect that this was due to a USAmerican product where certain words have different significance from the English usage ... Richards have their problems but so do Franceses - Fanny being the short form of Frances has acquired other meanings and these differ from country to country. Why, one wonders, were Richard and Frances singled out for such abuse? Perhaps we shall never know ....

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Hez

Mind you, I still feel sorry for people whose name is actually D**k (not Richard) - they must be the only minority group whose feelings are not put above the rest of the world's! Sorry, I'll crawl back under my stone...

.... but if you've read the Arthur Ransome novellas, you must feel sorry for the poor lass called 'Titty'.
There is a problem with the changes of meanings - rather, peoples' changed interpretations of what words mean, how certain words are used, misused, or abused (by the media especially). These can be generational - to me 'gay' has a meaning which has been lost from the language - it's interesting that the French 'gai' is now going the same way - sad ...

[Hez]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

.... but if you've read the Arthur Ransome novellas, you must feel sorry for the poor lass called 'Titty'.
There is a problem with the changes of meanings - rather, peoples' changed interpretations of what words mean, how certain words are used, misused, or abused (by the media especially). These can be generational - to me 'gay' has a meaning which has been lost from the language - it's interesting that the French 'gai' is now going the same way - sad ...

Yes indeed - the poor girl! What an interesting twist you have added to this thread!

Language and its evolution or perhaps destruction, is fascinating. The media are the worst offenders for spelling and grammar as well as the misuse of words, e.g. 'different than' -aaargh!

The meaning of 'gay' has not been lost from my language and I remember the lovely expression 'gay profusion' when looking at a field full of all kinds of wild flowers - buttercups, poppies, cornflowers and daisies in the old days. You've also brought back memories of my old neighbour 'Gig' - such a cheerful soul - who once gave me a bright pink scarf "To tie up your long, dark hair dear. It will look so gay!"

I wonder if you saw the film 'South Pacific'? The delightful 'Twin Soliloqui' uses the French word 'gai' in its old meaning....'la vie et gai'. It still is if you look hard enough...

[PMG]

There should be no words banned anywhere - its language - and there is good and bad language and slang etc and it should all be allowable in context - its part of who people are - surely this is what the tv programme Balderdash and Piffle is trying to get across?

I for one am getting fed up with this nanny-ish banning business - I think we've all let it get out of hand and some seriously un-hinged folk are running wild in this country deciding what we can and can't do? I for one will continue to use the language I have grown up with and expanded upon over the last 50 years to the full - properly, improperly and any shade inbetween I feel relevant . . . (is this approaching a rant? Umm I thought so! I'm carefully climbing down from my soapbox!!)

Pauline

[pressld2]

Don't know if this is true but it's a good story even if it isn't...

Several years ago an English town council decided to apply filtering software to it's email system to block any messages containing offensive words. As soon as they switched it on ALL messages were instantly blocked. After a considerable amount of digging they realised that it was the email addresses that were causing the problem. Every message was either addressed to or sent from an email adress that ended with "@scunthorpe.gov.uk".

Dave P.

[Amiguru]

I wonder if RSPB members always have to refer to Phalocrocerax aristotelis as Phalocrocerax aristotelis? Have you ever seen a Spotted Zipcatcher....or a Blue-faced Chest.....or a Woodorgan?