The Energon Pub

News Credits: 3 · Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:15 pm

After 25 pages I honestly still don't get it. If your leg is having muscle spasms, is your leg not being spastic? How is that an insult? I get that it's slang for an offensive term in the UK and other places in the world comparable to calling someone a retard, but I don't get how it's supposedly offensive regardless of culture if the word only means involuntary movements... That's like saying no one should say something is crappy because there's some people that have spastic colons and can't help but to accidentally have crappy drawers on occasion.

News Credits: 37 · Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:33 pm

Kibble wrote:After 25 pages I honestly still don't get it. If your leg is having muscle spasms, is your leg not being spastic? How is that an insult? I get that it's slang for an offensive term in the UK and other places in the world comparable to calling someone a retard, but I don't get how it's supposedly offensive regardless of culture if the word only means involuntary movements... That's like saying no one should say something is crappy because there's some people that have spastic colons and can't help but to accidentally have crappy drawers on occasion.

Is that what spastic means? Because my leg itches on the inside all the time. Would that be considered that? I know it's a random question...still.

News Credits: 226 · Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:01 pm

Kibble wrote:After 25 pages I honestly still don't get it. If your leg is having muscle spasms, is your leg not being spastic? How is that an insult? I get that it's slang for an offensive term in the UK and other places in the world comparable to calling someone a retard, but I don't get how it's supposedly offensive regardless of culture if the word only means involuntary movements... That's like saying no one should say something is crappy because there's some people that have spastic colons and can't help but to accidentally have crappy drawers on occasion.

Because the cause of spasticity is damage to either the brain or spinal cord. So by calling someone "spastic" as an insult you're implying they're brain damaged.

You're looking at the effects, not the cause.

News Credits: 3 · Mon Nov 29, 2010 11:40 pm

Burn wrote:Because the cause of spasticity is damage to either the brain or spinal cord. So by calling someone "spastic" as an insult you're implying they're brain damaged.

You're looking at the effects, not the cause.

I was just looking at the definition:
Spastic - pertaining to, of the nature of, or characterized by spasm, esp. tonic spasm.

I don't see anything about brain damage mentioned... I think y'all that automatically associate it to cerebral palsy are implying brain damage. But I'm pretty sure you can have muscle spasms on occasion and not have cerebral palsy because the former I do and I'm pretty sure the latter I don't.

News Credits: 217 · Mon Nov 29, 2010 11:59 pm

Kind of getting sick of this thread for carrying on for so long. So here's my take:

Spastic is an offensive word in the UK (although maybe less so now, due to American media influence). I imagine that non-UK residents might not have heard the word in that context before and might not understand how it could be offensive but it is. The nearest equivalent might be not a word but a gesture: imagine an able-bodied person doing a Steven Hawking impression with "slow" voice and you have how not-cool using the word spastic is in the UK.

If you think changing the name of a childrens' toy is more important than not seriously offending a group of people, even if those people live in another country your priorities are severely out-of-whack.

Hasbro made a good call in changing the name. It's not their fault that they unknowingly used an offensive word and well done to them for changing it.

No-one is asking Americans to stop using the word in America.

News Credits: 226 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:08 am

Kibble wrote:
Burn wrote:Because the cause of spasticity is damage to either the brain or spinal cord. So by calling someone "spastic" as an insult you're implying they're brain damaged.

You're looking at the effects, not the cause.

I was just looking at the definition:
Spastic - pertaining to, of the nature of, or characterized by spasm, esp. tonic spasm.

I don't see anything about brain damage mentioned... I think y'all that automatically associate it to cerebral palsy are implying brain damage. But I'm pretty sure you can have muscle spasms on occasion and not have cerebral palsy because the former I do and I'm pretty sure the latter I don't.

Again though, you're not looking at the cause.

Source 1
Source 2

And good ol Wiki source.

News Credits: 2 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:12 am

Diem wrote:The nearest equivalent might be not a word but a gesture: imagine an able-bodied person doing a Steven Hawking impression with "slow" voice and you have how not-cool using the word spastic is in the UK.

Last I heard, Stephen Hawking had a sense of humor. If he hasn't called anyone out on the dozens and dozens of references to him in various pieces of fiction, I don't think that's even the slightest bit similar.

News Credits: 217 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:39 am

Shadowman wrote:
Diem wrote:The nearest equivalent might be not a word but a gesture: imagine an able-bodied person doing a Steven Hawking impression with "slow" voice and you have how not-cool using the word spastic is in the UK.

Last I heard, Stephen Hawking had a sense of humor. If he hasn't called anyone out on the dozens and dozens of references to him in various pieces of fiction, I don't think that's even the slightest bit similar.

Well that was a bad example. More like the guy on the right side of panel 3: http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2003-01-29

Tue Nov 30, 2010 4:19 am

i actually live in the uk and over here there is a comedy show called russell howards good news, he basically pokes fun at the news all over the world here is a clip from the most recent episode where he talks about the toy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThBalxDuLmY

News Credits: 3 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 9:34 am

Burn wrote:Again though, you're not looking at the cause.

Source 1
Source 2

And good ol Wiki source.

And once again I ask, can one not have muscle spasms WITHOUT having brain or spinal cord damage? It's like associating the word stink to a fart...yes, it stinks when someone farts, yet it's still possible for something to stink for reasons other than someone farting. I can't help if you always associate the two together.

News Credits: 226 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 2:50 pm

Yes you can.

But you asked why the term is insulting if it's only associated with involuntary spasms. That's not how it's used as an insult, you're associating the insult with the effects (involuntary spasms) but the insult is actually based on the cause (brain damage).

Therein lies the cultural difference.

News Credits: 3 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 6:46 pm

No, I asked why it's offensive regardless of culture if people here don't use the word as a derogatory term toward people with that handicap? I understand why you guys find it offensive, but I don't understand why we should find it offensive too...

News Credits: 2 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 6:50 pm

Kibble wrote:No, I asked why it's offensive regardless of culture if people here don't use the word as a derogatory term toward people with that handicap? I understand why you guys find it offensive, but I don't understand why we should find it offensive too...

You're essentially making fun of someone for a serious medical condition. Whether or not you find it offensive depends on how PC you are. or you live in America where we don't typically associate the words "spastic" with "Cerebral palsy."

News Credits: 226 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:32 pm

Kibble wrote:No, I asked why it's offensive regardless of culture if people here don't use the word as a derogatory term toward people with that handicap? I understand why you guys find it offensive, but I don't understand why we should find it offensive too...

In your culture it's not offensive, so you shouldn't find it offensive (i've never argued that you should, i've just tried to explain why some do find it offensive).

At the end of the day I think it's highlighted the cultural differences around the world, and that Hasbro have actually stepped up to the plate and done a good thing as an international company.

News Credits: 150 · Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:04 pm

Hasbro did a good job? You know who did a good job? Vick's Vapor Rub in Germany. They changed their entire brand name in Germany...but I guess that is better than the German people buying "F-ck Vapor Cream" to rub on their nose.