(November 13, 2019 at 12:20 pm)Mermaid Wrote: If someone from a group I do not belong to tells me something is offensive to them, I take it at face value as a matter of decency. It costs me nothing.
If one individual tells me something is offensive to them, I take it that they are offended, not that every single person who is in any grouping they could feasibly fit into feels the same way. Artists like it when you sing their music, go to their shows, buy their merch.
I don't particularly want men to think of women as hos, but I'm not going to ask people not to sing along to "Hoochie Mama." If a specific woman felt that way, don't blast the song and sing it in her face as a matter of decency. I don't share that view, so come sing along with me. Don't assume the offended speak for a whole group of people.
There is a world of difference between the way it's meant in most music and the way it's meant when a racist says it. If you can't recognize the subtleties and cultural nuances of language, that's fine. Just don't expect me to similarly limit myself. Believe me, I'm equally offended when it's used in an offensive manner. It has a horrible history, but it's not up to me to tell black people they can't use it in a new way.
