20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican town
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Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
This is true. Most people in my age group (early to mid 20s) really don't give a shit. I would go as far as saying that I'm shocked there is even an argument about it. There are much worse things in the world then referring to someone who is 20 as a girl.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
I agree that no one likes disrespect. I just don't agree that "girl" and "boy" are disrespectful terms, and I'd wager that most people in my age group would agree with that. "Woman" is no more respectful than "girl."
This is like the damn 40-year olds who get offended when I check their IDs. If I think you look young enough to be underage, be flattered. I mean no harm!
I agree that no one likes disrespect. I just don't agree that "girl" and "boy" are disrespectful terms, and I'd wager that most people in my age group would agree with that. "Woman" is no more respectful than "girl."
This is like the damn 40-year olds who get offended when I check their IDs. If I think you look young enough to be underage, be flattered. I mean no harm!
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Hey i wish her best.
Hey i wish her best.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Those terms are used in a derogatory way, sometimes very subtly so. But being of one generation or another doesn't change this. All it means is you haven't seen enough winters to know the difference.
Wait till somebody tells you to go clean the restroom, boy.
Those terms are used in a derogatory way, sometimes very subtly so. But being of one generation or another doesn't change this. All it means is you haven't seen enough winters to know the difference.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Yep. Where I live, you do NOT get to say "boy," unless you belong to a very specific group permitted to joke about it. The reason it's demeaning is the same reason that "girl" is demeaning--it was applied to people to treat them as an underclass.
Yep. Where I live, you do NOT get to say "boy," unless you belong to a very specific group permitted to joke about it. The reason it's demeaning is the same reason that "girl" is demeaning--it was applied to people to treat them as an underclass.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
I don't think I've ever referred to my bosses as girls (even though one was 26 and one was I believe a year older than me). Come to think of it, though, I don't think I referred to them as any other descriptor than "my boss".
Anyway, that should be a complete side issue. The more important thing issue is related to the Mexican drug war. The concern is whether or not drug cartels decide to assassinate her, not whether or not she should be referred to as senora or senorita.
I've had several female bosses, and I'd have no problem calling them "girl." I probably did several times. It just has to do with a person's expectations of formality. Some people are very traditional.
I don't think I've ever referred to my bosses as girls (even though one was 26 and one was I believe a year older than me). Come to think of it, though, I don't think I referred to them as any other descriptor than "my boss".
Anyway, that should be a complete side issue. The more important thing issue is related to the Mexican drug war. The concern is whether or not drug cartels decide to assassinate her, not whether or not she should be referred to as senora or senorita.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Wow... an argument started because somebody said "girl" instead of "woman". The things people get angry about anymore... Might as well join in, I'm kind of bored.
I've read over the arguments and I still don't see why Kreacher is so inflamed. It's a personal habit that guys sometimes call women "girls", and I rather don't give a damn if a person calls me a guy or dude or whatever the hell they feel like calling me. She's young, probably the youngest person to take such a high position in law enforcement for quite some time, if not ever. A little person trying to fill big shoes naturally calls to mind youth- thus, the term girl.
And really, it is nitpicking. If people get this worked up over people using one word over another, apparently it isn't McDonald's or defective medication that makes cardiac arrest one of the top 10 killers in the US.
Wow... an argument started because somebody said "girl" instead of "woman". The things people get angry about anymore... Might as well join in, I'm kind of bored.
I've read over the arguments and I still don't see why Kreacher is so inflamed. It's a personal habit that guys sometimes call women "girls", and I rather don't give a damn if a person calls me a guy or dude or whatever the hell they feel like calling me. She's young, probably the youngest person to take such a high position in law enforcement for quite some time, if not ever. A little person trying to fill big shoes naturally calls to mind youth- thus, the term girl.
And really, it is nitpicking. If people get this worked up over people using one word over another, apparently it isn't McDonald's or defective medication that makes cardiac arrest one of the top 10 killers in the US.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
It is a deliberately biased term in this context, however. It was designed to imply a child being put in harms way because no one else would take the job. The original headline was Student, 20, named Mexico police chief. That's far more neutral terminology-wise, but it invokes similar feelings. She's a 20-year old Criminology student. Is she unprepared for the job? I don't think anyone can be prepared for this job. She's at least well-educated and has support of the military. Hopefully that'll be enough, but who knows?
It is a deliberately biased term in this context, however. It was designed to imply a child being put in harms way because no one else would take the job. The original headline was Student, 20, named Mexico police chief. That's far more neutral terminology-wise, but it invokes similar feelings. She's a 20-year old Criminology student. Is she unprepared for the job? I don't think anyone can be prepared for this job. She's at least well-educated and has support of the military. Hopefully that'll be enough, but who knows?
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
^
Deliberately biased? You're saying it like it was an intentional slur upon her. I think she's very brave for taking a difficult job in an especially difficult town, but that she is indeed very young to be taking a job that really should be in the hands of someone more experienced, and definitely a lot more ready to take their life into their own hands. And, in my mind, she is a child, relative to natural human lifespan, legal age notwithstanding, and she has now placed herself in harm's way because nobody else would take the job.
^
Deliberately biased? You're saying it like it was an intentional slur upon her. I think she's very brave for taking a difficult job in an especially difficult town, but that she is indeed very young to be taking a job that really should be in the hands of someone more experienced, and definitely a lot more ready to take their life into their own hands. And, in my mind, she is a child, relative to natural human lifespan, legal age notwithstanding, and she has now placed herself in harm's way because nobody else would take the job.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
I don't see where you get Deliberately biased = Intentional slur. My only point is it was a weighted term intended to appeal to emotion, nothing more.
I agree with the rest of the point you're making. If you accept that the phrasing of the thread title was intended to appeal to emotions by invoking the imagery of a child taking over a dangerous job, then it's perfectly fine. It accomplishes that goal just fine. It's a shame no one more experienced will take the job, but there's a lot of things messed up with the situation in Mexico. At least history is full of young people who were able to step up and achieve success when old people could not. I'm hoping she turns the situation around, if it's at all possible.
I don't see where you get Deliberately biased = Intentional slur. My only point is it was a weighted term intended to appeal to emotion, nothing more.
I agree with the rest of the point you're making. If you accept that the phrasing of the thread title was intended to appeal to emotions by invoking the imagery of a child taking over a dangerous job, then it's perfectly fine. It accomplishes that goal just fine. It's a shame no one more experienced will take the job, but there's a lot of things messed up with the situation in Mexico. At least history is full of young people who were able to step up and achieve success when old people could not. I'm hoping she turns the situation around, if it's at all possible.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Well, I'm glad I don't live where you live. Where I live, "boy" means "person with a penis."
Well, I'm glad I don't live where you live. Where I live, "boy" means "person with a penis."
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
There's a new sheriff in town to clean up the mess!
edit: whoops didn't mean to cause controversy. i was just trying to emphasize in a short headline that someone who's just barely reached adulthood is taking on a job no other adult wanted to take.
There's a new sheriff in town to clean up the mess!
edit: whoops didn't mean to cause controversy. i was just trying to emphasize in a short headline that someone who's just barely reached adulthood is taking on a job no other adult wanted to take.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Calling a black person boy could be very offensive based on the context. There was a great episode of Homicide about that.
Calling a black person boy could be very offensive based on the context. There was a great episode of Homicide about that.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Gay men use "boy" all the time to describe younger gay men, say up to 30 or so. Sometimes it's spelled "boi", but it's still used, and it's not derogatory.
I agree that the tone can be derogatory, but the word itself is not, IMO.
Gay men use "boy" all the time to describe younger gay men, say up to 30 or so. Sometimes it's spelled "boi", but it's still used, and it's not derogatory.
I agree that the tone can be derogatory, but the word itself is not, IMO.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
And that's why the term isn't used where I lived, except by certain groups of friends. And why I was brought up to never, EVER say that to an adolescent or man, because it's hateful.
And that's why the term isn't used where I lived, except by certain groups of friends. And why I was brought up to never, EVER say that to an adolescent or man, because it's hateful.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Well hateful seems a little extreme.
Well hateful seems a little extreme.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
At 22, I don't know if I am 100% inclined to call myself a man, even though the term clearly applies. "Man" tends to signify middle age, while "Boy" tends to imply a minor status. For young adult males, I think that semi-slang universal terms such as "Guy" "Fella" or "Dude" tend to be more naturally utilized.
Socially accepted informal terms for women are not particularly plentiful, so "girl", "woman", and "lady" are generally the only primary terms used. "Woman" and "lady" both imply middle age and older status, so it seems most appropriate/socially preferred generally to use the term "girl" in reference to any female which would typically be regarded socially as a young adult.
The debate here has arisen because the girl we are talking about is holding a position of rank. Because "girl" implies a level of casuality that is inappropriate for a situation of rank, the terms "girl" and "police chief" are in socio-grammarical conflict with each other as they appear in the subject of this thread. For this reason, it would be most socially acceptable in this case for (A) gender to have been omitted from the title entirely, or (B) for the formal term "female" to have been used or (C) for the intermediate phrase "young woman" to have been chosen.
Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the social stigma at play here does not in any way affect the fact that the terms used are entirely acceptable from a technical standpoint.
At 22, I don't know if I am 100% inclined to call myself a man, even though the term clearly applies. "Man" tends to signify middle age, while "Boy" tends to imply a minor status. For young adult males, I think that semi-slang universal terms such as "Guy" "Fella" or "Dude" tend to be more naturally utilized.
Socially accepted informal terms for women are not particularly plentiful, so "girl", "woman", and "lady" are generally the only primary terms used. "Woman" and "lady" both imply middle age and older status, so it seems most appropriate/socially preferred generally to use the term "girl" in reference to any female which would typically be regarded socially as a young adult.
The debate here has arisen because the girl we are talking about is holding a position of rank. Because "girl" implies a level of casuality that is inappropriate for a situation of rank, the terms "girl" and "police chief" are in socio-grammarical conflict with each other as they appear in the subject of this thread. For this reason, it would be most socially acceptable in this case for (A) gender to have been omitted from the title entirely, or (B) for the formal term "female" to have been used or (C) for the intermediate phrase "young woman" to have been chosen.
Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the social stigma at play here does not in any way affect the fact that the terms used are entirely acceptable from a technical standpoint.
Re: 20 year old girl becomes police chief in drugwar-ridden mexican to
Or you could just do what my friends and I do and call each other "assface" and "fucktard."
I have also been known to call my male co-workers "bitch."
Or you could just do what my friends and I do and call each other "assface" and "fucktard."
I have also been known to call my male co-workers "bitch."
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