Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site.

In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title.

My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word.

When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture?

Poll

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:22am:

Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site. In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title. My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word. When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture?

get over it.. people dont like it.. in fact they dont like a lot of things you say myself included..

it is not part of aussie culture... get that through your head.

if its part of YOUR culture then it isnt welcome on here.

cods wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:25am:

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:22am: Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site. In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title. My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word. When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture? get over it.. people dont like it.. in fact they dont like a lot of things you say myself included.. it is not part of aussie culture... get that through your head. if its part of YOUR culture then it isnt welcome on here.

Like me or hate me, look it up, it shows up on many aussie slang lists and also shows up in many dictionaries and thesaurus

cods wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:25am:

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:22am: Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site. In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title. My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word. When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture? get over it.. people dont like it.. in fact they dont like a lot of things you say myself included.. it is not part of aussie culture... get that through your head. if its part of YOUR culture then it isnt welcome on here.

Good on you cods, I cant understand why some people cant get it through their thick heads that they are offensive.

strike me pink, you lot are getting to much like Americans, Like its ok if a black man called him self a n i g g e r its ok. but offencive if a white man does.
Like if an Aborigine shouts 'ABO PRIDE' would you be offended?

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:31am:

cods wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:25am: BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:22am: Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site. In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title. My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word. When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture? get over it.. people dont like it.. in fact they dont like a lot of things you say myself included.. it is not part of aussie culture... get that through your head. if its part of YOUR culture then it isnt welcome on here. Like me or hate me, look it up, it shows up on many aussie slang lists and also shows up in many dictionaries and thesaurus

I think corporate culture should be banned from Australia.  Aboriginals are as Aussie as 'cooee', and if you just don't get that then this country may not suit you.  P!ss off we're full. :D

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:37am:

strike me pink, you lot are getting to much like Americans, Like its ok if a black man called him self a n i g g e r its ok. but offencive if a white man does. Like if an Aborigine shouts 'ABO PRIDE' would you be offended?

Unlucky. Maybe you could go to another board? One where brains are not required. Like aussie-patriot for instance?

It's sad that unpopular views have to be banned. It's sad that descriptions of non-Europeans are automatically racist and derogatory. It means the reader thinks those people have to be lesser, which is racism. Yank and pom are OK because they are Europeans (apart from the guys with dark skin who are unmentionable).

Gist wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:48am:

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:37am: strike me pink, you lot are getting to much like Americans, Like its ok if a black man called him self a n i g g e r its ok. but offencive if a white man does. Like if an Aborigine shouts 'ABO PRIDE' would you be offended? Unlucky. Maybe you could go to another board? One where brains are not required. Like aussie-patriot for instance?

lmao, yeah i should fix that site back up, i screwed the boards up on that site, tried to reinstalled it and killed the message boards.. because i was hit by a russian spammer. had two million spam links to russian sites posted on every topic daily.

chimera wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:49am:

It's sad that unpopular views have to be banned. It's sad that descriptions of non-Europeans are automatically racist and derogatory. It means the reader thinks those people have to be lesser, which is racism. Yank and pom are OK because they are Europeans (apart from the guys with dark skin who are unmentionable).

Like Aussie is an abbreviation of Australian. Should the word Aussie be offencive too?

Let's try Aussie Abo. That should overload the computers and crash the systems.

chimera wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 9:12am:

Let's try Aussie Abo. That should overload the computers and crash the systems.

roflmao.. this site needs a like button... Its funny how people dont understand the word aboriginal. Its not a word that was invented for Australian indigenous people

The defernition of the word is:

Inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times; indigenous.

If i was to say Irish abo would that be offencive to an Irish person?

Like it or not abbreviating words in Australia is common practice. Most Aussies do it.

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 9:23am:

chimera wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 9:12am: Let's try Aussie Abo. That should overload the computers and crash the systems. roflmao.. this site needs a like button... Its funny how people dont understand the word aboriginal. Its not a word that was invented for Australian indigenous people The defernition of the word is: Inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times; indigenous. If i was to say Irish abo would that be offencive to an Irish person? Like it or not abbreviating words in Australia is common practice. Most Aussies do it.

I'm well aware of what it means. what you seem to be unaware of is the Aboriginal population of this country find it offensive.If you don't like the rules of this forum, leave.

cods wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:25am:

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:22am: Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site. In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title. My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word. When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture? get over it.. people dont like it.. in fact they dont like a lot of things you say myself included.. it is not part of aussie culture... get that through your head. if its part of YOUR culture then it isnt welcome on here.

People may not like him but thats no reason to silence him. If everyone in this forum agreed or got along it would be dead pretty quick.

SOB

I would say no you should not be banned but you should take the advice to not use that word.

The problem is the fact that the word is most often used in a derogatory manner, there was a time when I would also use that word and it would be accepted as just an Abbreviation, Like the term Aussie.

Words like P0m and W0g were also in common usage.

I came from an Italian area and later found out that many Italians found the word a huge insult.

Though the Poms have no right of complaint as the term is usually preceded and or followed by a clearly derogatory adjective – we actually mean it to be an insult. (not really only joking – it’s the same thing).

The problem is that you never really know how the usage is either intended or received.

In the case of a forum like this it is reasonable to assume that many will see the insult and it would be much more wise to not use the term (s).

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:22am:

should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture?

I would have thought that terms such as "abo" were used by people who lacked culture.....

Frances wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 10:23am:

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:22am: should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture? I would have thought that terms such as "abo" were used by people who lacked culture.....

Abo"riginals" themselves use the word abo. Are they without culture?

SOB

ABO = Army Budget Office
ABBO  = Associate of the British Ballet Organisation

skippy. wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 9:36am:

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 9:23am: chimera wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 9:12am: Let's try Aussie Abo. That should overload the computers and crash the systems. roflmao.. this site needs a like button... Its funny how people dont understand the word aboriginal. Its not a word that was invented for Australian indigenous people The defernition of the word is: Inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times; indigenous. If i was to say Irish abo would that be offencive to an Irish person? Like it or not abbreviating words in Australia is common practice. Most Aussies do it. I'm well aware of what it means. what you seem to be unaware of is the Aboriginal population of this country find it offensive.If you don't like the rules of this forum, leave.

I doubt that.  It is just an abbreviation after all.

Does anyone really believe that abos themselves decided they want to be reffered to as "indigenous australians"?  Like hell - just another case of ivory tower academics making a decree from on high. 

No prizes for guessing who the *ahem* unbaised mod who threatened you with banning was. 

There would be no problem with using "Abo" as an abbreviation if we hadn't already trashed the word. The word "Abo" has negative connotations from years of being used pejoratively. We turned it into an offensive word. I don't believe you should be banned, but It wouldn't hurt for you to show a little respect. Continuing to use words that cause offense exposes either a mean spiritedness or a desire to perpetuate bigotry.

muso wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 10:53am:

ABO = Army Budget Office ABBO  = Associate of the British Ballet Organisation

ABBO = Serious contender to be the worst PM Australia ever may have.

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 8:22am:

Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site. In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title. My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word. When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture?

What if an Abo called you  white trailor trash ?

Bobby. wrote on May 11^th, 2012 at 12:47am:

BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:22am: Well leftist political correctness has reared its ugly head on this site. In recent weeks i had a topic that i used the word 'abo' in the title. My self being of Australian colonial decent. the abbreviation of the word Aborigine 'abo' is very much part of my culture and heritage. Now after explaining my position to moderators on this site i have been threatened with being banned if i continue to use this word. When i used the word in a topic is was not used in an offensive manner, it was used as an abbreviation due to limits on topic headings lengths, My Question is should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture? What if an Abo called you  white trailor trash ?

This is australia. Its not something an aboriginal is likely to say. Perhaps caravan trash?

SOB

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on May 7^th, 2012 at 10:41am:

Frances wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 10:23am: BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on May 7th, 2012 at 8:22am: should i be banned for using words that are socially acceptable in my culture? I would have thought that terms such as "abo" were used by people who lacked culture..... Abo"riginals" themselves use the word abo. Are they without culture? SOB

I've never heard any.

Still - I don't think anyone should be banned from using the term. People stop using words when they see their reaction on others - when they see how dumb some words make them appear.

If you ban words or language, people just react and dig their heels in. Or it goes underground.

Many Aboriginal languages went this way when they were banned in school and missions. As did the deaf sign language, Auslan. As did European languages like Welsh.

In a way, this is why racism still exists. It's also why nationalism and religion has resurfaced stronger in places like the former Soviet Union, a place where these things were banned. Banning language/culture/knowledge only makes them more powerful.

Abo is just one word, but it points to a whole sign system, a set of power relations.

It's also why the whole political correctness argument is flawed. All humans do is swap one form of political correctness for another.

Back in the 1950s, Abo was an endeering slang term. Aboriginal was seen as an academic term and people wanted to make it more user-friendly. When you shorten a name, it indicates familiarity and closeness - like calling David Dave, or Damien Damo.

However, before long, the term Abo became loaded. It wasn't the fault of the signifier itself, but the political discourse around Aboriginal issues. You ALWAYS get new names and labels when knowledge and power shifts.

Using the term Abo reacts against this shift, which is why it seems sinister and racist. Abo was never intended to be a racist term in itself (unlike black person, boong, koon, etc), but it's use represents an unwillingness to respect the shift in power.

The most powerful censorship tool is social interaction - but, of course, it depends on who you interact with.

Banning does the exact opposite.

i got accused of raping abo kids by an abo with a buzz saw on wednseday

abo

You shouldn't rape abos then, Imperium.

Maybe you should stick to your own kind.

that would be racist though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6YH0FiZ5v0

JC Denton wrote on May 18^th, 2012 at 2:23pm:

that would be racist though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6YH0FiZ5v0

That's true, Impo.