When I sing along to A Tribe Called Quest's "Sucka N*gga" (which is catchy as hell) or Wu-Tang's "Shame On A N*gga" (ditto), am I being a racist?

Well, with an accusation that specific, I sure do understand you calling me a 'shitty person'. How dare I say 'something racist or sexist or transphobic', 'maybe 6 months to a year ago' - really, what was I thinking?

Maybe there are cultural barriers - that would be hard for me to gauge, I suppose. A lot of American outrage over 'culture war' issues does seem extremely overblown, hyperbolic and needlessly polarized from my European perspective, that is absolutely true. But I'm actually more of a fiscal conservative than your…

LOL @you.

Agreed re: your hypothetical, though I still think this is a somewhat different situation.

No, but as I pointed out elsewhere in this thread, there's a difference between saying 'fuck you' to a customer and 'fuck' to yourself.

Nope, but if I did I'd like to think that wouldn't change my perspective on the matter.

I do, Amsterdam to be specific. Why?

Really? You think it's okay for a company to fire someone for…swearing?

I don't really understand your point about a customer getting fired, but "I'm mad at hell that I can't water my plants with this fucking rake" made me laugh out loud, so have an upvote.

Fair enough.

'Hateful' trolling? Which one of us is calling the other a 'shitty person', apropos of nothing?

Well, I think this issue would be a lot more clear-cut had Maher called somebody other than *himself* a 'house n*gga' - while I understand that the mere usage of the word, in any context, is offensive to some, personally I don't feel somebody using it as a slur is the same as, say, a white guy in the gym singing along…

Oh, I've undoubtedly said some nasty and ugly things in the past - and unfortunately will probably do so in the future. I'm only human after all - as are we all.

Well, if you frame the issue like that, of course it's not whining: legitimate concern is absolutely legitimate (duh). But a white guy calling himself a 'house n*gga', is that really somebody inciting violence, or dehumanizing others? I'm not so sure.

The consequence of controversial speech should be more speech, not less.

No, nor is shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater or me printing a page-size ad in the NY Times stating "Grampton St.Rumpterfrabble is a necrophiliac" (no judgment bro, they dead already), etc. etc.

It's not an 'imaginary right', it's a principle - and one increasingly worth reminding each other of in these times of internet outrage culture with its endless cycles of overblown outrage, calls for apologies, firings, boycotts, no-platforming and other forms of contrition and punishment. People should chill the fuck…

Who knew that six years later, Romney would have so many fans at the AV Club. "Corporations are people too!"

Interesting to see how many otherwise left-wing people here all of a sudden turn into advocates of corporate privilege - yet I imagine you have no problem saying that a corporation should be forced to not exclude women and minorities from the hiring process, or not discriminate against gay weddings…