Submitted without comment because I'd just get myself in trouble.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/09/a-civic-duty-to-annoy/376949/
@zebratron2084 There's an elision in here that makes me uncomfortable. The author seems content to roll "offensive" and "emotionally violent" into the same basket, or at the very least makes no effort to distinguish "this is coded aggression and deserves to be addressed" from "this is merely profane and should be lauded." In failing to separate the two, the author creates space in which bullies can defend violence as locker-room talk and sexism as the price of admission to society.
@zebratron2084 Absolutely, I agree that there's no "freedom from offense." In establishing that, though, I think we should take greater care in distinguishing hate speech -- a form of emotional violence -- from the merely crass and tacky. A shirt with "I love long cocks" on it may be crude, but it isn't worth censoring. A shirt with, say, "Martians have tiny penises" on it probably crosses the threshold. The original article seems to treat both statements in the manner of the first.
@literorrery As I put it to your wonderful spouse just now... it's like having the Contessa show up at your window at 5 am to defend her honor, when all you did was mutter "birds are so silly" under your breath.
It's like, it's a genuinely beautiful and majestic sight and I'm glad you're still fencing, don't get me wrong, but could you please at least KNOCK first, or deliver the traditional glove slap, so I can wake up enough to wash my face and grab my epee? :) <3
@literorrery It's just... after June, I think it's understandable that my heart leaps out of my chest a little bit when I see I've set you off. 😭
@literorrery Buni, please don't wall of text me like this. I never said I endorsed everything in that article, and while I totally endorse your right to vent about the more obnoxious sentiments in that article, one, I would probably just agree with you, two, I was reacting emotionally, to something specific you don't know about, three and most important, I'm still REALLY hurt from the last time we did this to each other in June and it, um, kinda made my life fall apart. ;__;
Still love you. 😥