I mean, it's not like I've never said anything potentially offensive on the show in pursuit of a laugh. But I do try to think, if only very briefly, whether the laugh outweighs the possible offense. If it does, then I'll say it and risk the criticism, but I acknowledge (if only to myself) I'm risking it. And I'm sure I've made the wrong call from time to time -- but like Eddie says, I think anyone who looks at my pattern of statements and actions over the course of the show knows when I'm saying something I believe and when a joke has gone awry.

Perhaps we should also think more about contextualizing ourselves. A sound bite or blog post can travel around the world in an instant but the broader context often takes familiarity.

Which reminds me rather of our lord Joss Whedon! /topic

Actually, I missed it at the bottom of the page, but I agree with what you said about the difference between offensive and hurtful.

If you're offended someone said "fuck," well, walk it off. It's not a malicious word, we're just taught it's impolite.

On the other hand, if you're hurt because someone said the n-word -- well, that's come part and parcel with some real pain for real people, and I think the negative reaction easily goes beyond just being "offended."

And you can have a conversation about it without spelling it out, so in my view there's no need to do so. The DIF forums are not meant to be a comprehensive reference source as Wikipedia is, so the circumstances are different.

My Jiu Jitsu coach was a special guest at an MMA event in England some years back, and during a break in between fights was interviewed in the ring.  He was going to tell a funny story about this Korean guy next to him who smelled awful.  He started by saying, "So I'm sitting next to this smelly Asian guy...."

He was immediately booed out of the cage.  Because in England, Asian means being from the Middle East, and a racist stereotype over there is that all people from the middle east do not bath.  He said the Yank equivalent of "So this loud colored fellow..."  Now, is he racist or a bad guy?  Of course not.  But he displayed a certain culutural ignorance for which he is ultimately responsible.  Anyone who has traveled internationally runs the risk of this.

Now take that word I just used.  Colored.  Here, it's an awful phrase that is a leftover term from our deplorable history with slavery.  But let's say you go to South Africa and someone says, "Oh that nice Coloured gentleman," what they would be referring to is a specific ethnic subset of Afrikaners from Cape Malay, of European and Kohsian and/or Bantu decent.  That is a self applied term that has no racial history, and perfectly acceptable.

So my point is, look before you leap, even if only a little.

Yeah, we're all good, sir, thanks for scoping out the landscape.