The use of "bastard" might indeed be a trigger for some pain, but unless it's used maliciously (constantly, systemically) it won't be a trigger for an entire oppressive system of hatred and discrimination. There's a difference between "feeling pain because of loss" and "extreme offense due to explicit directed action…

Depends. Are they gonna set up social systems that make it difficult for us to participate in society then form gangs that beat us up when we can't?

If only pain were a switch to be turned off.

Where did Lenny Bruce get his sociology Phd from, again...?

This is a side note, but due to common experience, "gay culture" is a real thing separate from the mainstream (and very general and inwardly diverse) "straight culture". Just as there's a "Nigerian culture".

Everyone has the right to say what they want, yes. In the same way that everyone else in turn has the right to call you a dick for saying offensive or stupid things.

But reading is haaard.

Could I get the p value and confidence interval of this statement?

Or you could just, like, not use the word, because it makes a significant percentage of other people feel shitty.

I bet you have a sweet ass.

When was the last time you got the shit beaten out of you for your ideas, much less who you are in essence?

Your argument might make more sense if bastards were pervasively and systemically discriminated against and beaten everyday. Again: context.

So:

Oh, I see what you're getting at now, yeah. "Personal expression" is a strange qualifier; for example, the immense quantities of art that have nothing at all to do with personal expression.

I think restriction of definition is an excellent way to be critical of something. The key is to not be too attached to any given definition, and know when to generalize.

She's great; she also has guest pieces right here on Kotaku from time to time. You've probably read and enjoyed her work!

"They missed the point. There’s no such thing as silence. What they thought was silence, because they didn’t know how to listen, was full of accidental sounds. You could hear the wind stirring outside during the first movement. During the second, raindrops began pattering the roof, and during the third the people…

I read and enjoyed the first few issues when they came out, and have been meaning to go back and catch up. Thanks for the reminder. :)

I have a 20 page paper due on the nature of national identity as seen through the archaeological history of Israel due on Friday. Haven't started much writing yet. You know.

I really love Morrison's joker interpretations, especially that concept of "hypersanity". It's almost Lovecraftian; one's mind becomes so expanded, is given such a deep, sharp insight into the nature of things, that it's irrevocably changed.