Kotaku UK Accused of Racism After Trying to Accuse Nintendo, Super Smash Bros., and Persona 5 of Insulting Disabled People

[mr moose]

 

I don't know what's more retarded,  the original article and issues surrounding it or many of the responses to it.

 

And I use the term legitimately to reflect a lagging or deficit in observation and understanding.

[Sakkura]

8 hours ago, Stefan Payne said:

You mean that Japanese people often suck with the use of the english language (German as well but IMO not as much since its not that much used these days).

We don't even know what was really said, nobody bothered to ask...

The singer's English is clearly quite good. The following lyrics also support the "retarded" interpretation. And the article author did ask them, but they didn't have a good answer.

8 hours ago, valdyrgramr said:

I think I know the part you're talking about now.  She isn't saying retarded it's clearly retort it which is what I was hearing.  The author is clearly mishearing it due to her accent, and when pressing it the way she did she pretty much acted on ethnic bigotry as she's clearly making fun of the singer's accent.  Is it racist?  No...but it's still bigoted....

Okay so according to these couple of explanations it's both because they're really struggling with English but also because they're using advanced vocabulary. Sure, I bet nobody's trying to rationalize anything here.

 

And the author did not make fun of any accents.

8 hours ago, floofer said:

By definition, Racism is the discrimination of a race.

 

 

And nobody was accusing Nintendo & co. of racism.

[yian88]

Obligatory

 

[paddy-stone]

Racism? how?

 

Disabled isn't a race.

[Sakkura]

20 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Racism? how?

 

Disabled isn't a race.

You've got it backwards. The author of the article is the one being accused of racism.

[Drak3]

40 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Racism? how?

 

Disabled isn't a race.

The author of the article is being accused of being racist because he’s calling a Japanese singer, whose first language isn’t English, “ableist” because he misheard the lyrics.

[paddy-stone]

1 hour ago, Sakkura said:

You've got it backwards. The author of the article is the one being accused of racism.

 

1 hour ago, Drak3 said:

The author of the article is being accused of being racist because he’s calling a Japanese singer, whose first language isn’t English, “ableist” because he misheard the lyrics.

Ahh I see, it wasn't clear IMO what was being said.

 

Even so, calling someone racist because they misheard lyrics is crap. Just because a singer is of a certain ethnic group/race, doesn't mean that someone mishearing your lyrics are racists, lol.

 

IMO, they should just let it go... she and her source misheard it is all. And the singer should have just clarified what was being said in the lyrics, not call out "racist". And that editor should be fired IMO, for making the journalist's work appear worse than it was, and forcing her to accept it basically... at that point the article was no longer hers IMO as it had been substantially changed, and put out a different view to the journalists original piece.

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, paddy-stone said:

Even so, calling someone racist because they misheard lyrics is crap.

Calling someone "ableist" because they said a word, or you think they said a word, is bullshit.

 

7 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

And the singer should have just clarified what was being said in the lyrics, not call out "racist". 

The singer isn't the one calling him a racist.

[paddy-stone]

Just now, Drak3 said:

Calling someone "ableist" because they said a word, or you think they said a word, is bullshit.

 

The singer isn't the one calling him a racist.

Well that's really the problem in it's entirety, people not doing proper research or getting clarification. Both sides of the argument are in the wrong really. It shouldn't have become a "thing" in the first place.

 

How it should have gone down is:

 

Journalist to singer/nintendo or whatever: "Hey, I've been contacted by someone saying that the Lyrics to "insert song here" sounds like the word "retarded", can you please clarify?"

 

singer/nintendo or whatever: " Yes the word in question is "retort it""

 

 

[Drak3]

4 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

How it should have gone down is:

No, he shouldn't have wasted his time on a non  issue.

[paddy-stone]

Just now, Drak3 said:

No, he shouldn't have wasted his time on a non  issue.

Well, until it's been clarified what has actually been said, then it's neither an issue, or a non-issue... but if the word had been "retarded" then it IS an issue. Every group, whether race or otherwise should have have their dignity. Calling someone names is hateful.

[steelo]

I'm curious, has 'political correctness' run amuk in other countries? It's getting really bad here in the U.S.

[Drak3]

2 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

but if the word had been "retarded" then it IS an issue

No, it's not.

 

4 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Every group, whether race or otherwise should have have their dignity

Using the word 'retard' does not strip anyone of their dignity.

 

1 minute ago, steelo said:

I'm curious, has 'political correctness' run amuk in other countries? It's getting really bad here in the U.S.

Canada and Europe are devolving into shitholes due to PC culture.

[steelo]

6 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

No, it's not.

 

Using the word 'retard' does not strip anyone of their dignity.

 

Canada and Europe are devolving into shitholes due to PC culture.

I'm all for fairness and everybody being treated equally but this is getting crazy. Freedom of speech means absolutely nothing here any more, if some disagree with your politics you are deemed a racist and a bigot. People have lost their livelihood associating with Conservatism.

[paddy-stone]

5 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

No, it's not.

 

Using the word 'retard' does not strip anyone of their dignity.

 

Canada and Europe are devolving into shitholes due to PC culture.

Well, we'll have to disagree then. So, you don't mind if people call you a derogatory name associated with your ethnicity or otherwise?

[steelo]

5 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Well, we'll have to disagree then. So, you don't mind if people call you a derogatory name associated with your ethnicity or otherwise?

I do and I've been called, 'Cracker' 'White boy', etc. It bothers me, but it seems to be widely accepted that it's 'okay' here....because 'Whites' bad, everybody else good. If you're a straight White male, you are the lowest of the low on the 'PC food chain'. You are the scum of the Earth.

 

 That's not to say calling Blacks the 'N' word is 'okay', it absolutely is not. The double standards here in the U.S. are perplexing.

 

 

[Drak3]

2 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Well, we'll have to disagree then. So, you don't mind if people call you a derogatory name associated with your ethnicity or otherwise?

I don't give a shit. People frequently call me a Nazi for me not buying into leftist propaganda

[steelo]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

I don't give a shit. People frequently call me a Nazi for me not buying into leftist propaganda

I've been called that too simply because I identify with Conservative values - I am FAR from being any type of extremist. This is how the Liberals here in America fight the fact they were obliterated.

[Hidden Orange]

Stuff like this makes me wonder how some people react to different languages that use a word or have a word that sounds similar to a curse word, slur, or whatever. In this case, hearing French people saying retard which means slow, delay, or to be late depending on the sentence. Not sure if Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, etc. have a similar thing.

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, steelo said:

This is how the Liberals here in America fight.

Leftists*

 

They oppose liberty.

[paddy-stone]

I'll leave it here... before it worsens.

[steelo]

6 minutes ago, Hidden Orange said:

Stuff like this makes me wonder how some people react to different languages that use a word or have a word that sounds similar to a curse word, slur, or whatever. In this case, hearing French people saying retard which means slow, delay, or to be late depending on the sentence. Not sure if Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, etc. have a similar thing.

It all depends on how you use the word, I guess. If you're working on an engine, 'retard' means to delay or slow. I absolutely would never use it to describe a person while in public.

[CTR640]

16 hours ago, valdyrgramr said:

I'm disabled and even I know that.  I really get annoyed when people improperly use the "racism".  It's even worse when they use it towards people against a religion or a demonym/ethnicity.  It's like they never heard the term bigotry, so any form of bigotry is now "racist".  When in reality it's only racist if you're hating someone for the color of the skin.  I also don't believe the journalist at all.  She clearly was in this for the money and was trying to push a story, but she couldn't the backlash then pushed sole responsibility on her boss.  They both fucked up and they should both own up to it.

I'm disabled too and it's not racism indeed. But I have no idea why it doesn't surprise me it's Kotaku.

[Stefan Payne]

6 hours ago, Jito463 said:

That.....made for very disturbing mental imagery. 

I believe you meant extremities. 

You are absolutely right. My bad.

 

But I can see it positively:
because I miswrote, it is a good example for someone making a mistake (and shouldn't be lynched for that).