I need help from the wise. :P
My mother teaches English to this group of older women, and this morning she got a message from one of them in their group chat which was basically a bunch of homophobic prejudices, slurs and preconceived notions on what gay people do such as, "Faggots want to fuck each other in classrooms" and "Dykes want to piss on the flag in front of public buildings".
:wtf: you say?
WTF is right. That's what she got.
It was a pro-Bolsonaro message. Remember him? The fascist creep who just got elected president of Brazil?
My mother doesn't want to let this pass without some sort of rebuttal but at the same time lose this woman as a student (hard times, and any lost income will make her life more difficult). She wants to tread lightly on those bigoted eggshells.
She asked me for help dealing with the situation, I suggested she talk to this woman in private, not in the group chat where she might feel compelled to defend herself in front of the others.
How would you reply?
Maybe suggest that the old bat doesn't fully grasp English, and ask if she needs any remidal education.
Quote from: No one on November 16, 2018, 08:44:36 PM
Maybe suggest that the old bat doesn't fully grasp English, and ask if she needs any remidal education.
I would still have some hope for humanity if that was the case, but the text was in Portuguese, so she understood it all. What I don't think she understood was that gays are humans too (*GASP*) and that text was not only hostile, but hurtful to anyone who is gay or has gay friends and family.
I think the woman is totally oblivious to that fact.
Stupidity is typically hand in hand with obliviousness.
Quote from: No one on November 16, 2018, 08:51:48 PM
Stupidity is typically hand in hand with obliviousness.
That's true.
Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done against blind hatred. Not to excuse them, but the older generations were never much on acceptance. They were not raised with open minds. Our only hope, is that our good friends The Interwebs and Instant Information can shine a discrediting light on these dark corners of human behavior.
Was she deliberately trying to get a reaction? It sounds almost too extreme to be true. Was she trying goad your mum into revealing her 'filthy liberal values'? It would be easy to deal with it in this country; the rest of the class would turn on her before the teacher had a chance to do anything. In your country however, with all the difficulties good people face I could understand your mum glossing over it and moving on while seething inside.
Quote from: Essie Mae on November 16, 2018, 09:14:22 PM
Was she deliberately trying to get a reaction? It sounds almost too extreme to be true. Was she trying goad your mum into revealing her 'filthy liberal values'? It would be easy to deal with it in this country; the rest of the class would turn on her before the teacher had a chance to do anything. In your country however, with all the difficulties good people face I could understand your mum glossing over it and moving on while seething inside.
I wish I knew what she was thinking but I really don't. It is extreme, but all sorts of intolerant people are voicing their once unpopular opinions now. Bolsonaro himself is no stranger to hate speech when it comes to minorities.
My mother sent me the screenshots:
(https://i.imgur.com/zkNswNJ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qn3kFL2.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vqgaKx4.jpg)
Translation:Don't worry, people!
Bolsonaro isn't a dictator, he's just upright and that is what scares [people].
Faggots will continue to be faggots (they just won't be able to have sex inside the classroom).
Thieves will continue to be thieves (only they will get arrested and stay in jail).
Transvestites will continue to be transvestites, (only they will turn tricks in nightclubs and not in a childrens' Art museum).
Potheads will continue to be potheads (only they won't be able to smoke on the streets or in schools).
Journalists will continue to be journalists (only without public funding).
Dykes will continue to be dykes, (only they won't stand naked on the street peeing on the Brazilian flag and the doorsteps of churches).
Corrupt politicians will continue to be corrupt, (only they won't have the law to protect them and [Sérgio] Moro will prosecute them) . Public money will fund productivity (not politicians).
Those who are paid to work will have to work (no more "façade jobs").
That scares [people]. Fear of ending "the Brazilian way", ending "Gerson's law". The world does not belong to the cunning, it belongs to the honest! RESPECT FOR THE CITIZEN HAS TO BE RESTORED!!!
I liked this, that's why I posted it!
::) ::) ::)
If your mother feels compelled to respond, something dignified like "I disagree with many of the things you've said, but I hope that we can focus on learning and continue to work together" may be best. If the raving bigot continues to bait her, then politely remind them that she's here to teach, not to get into political disputes.
Don't think i'll Be visiting any time soon. I feel for you having to live with that.
That's good Recusant! I would have opted for something a little more...scathing. It would have been counterproductive though. ::)
Gracias.
Quote from: Essie Mae on November 16, 2018, 11:39:46 PM
Don't think i'll Be visiting any time soon. I feel for you having to live with that.
Yeah, what is this country coming to? This kind of thing will only become more common in the future I fear. :(
I would say that that sort of language is inappropriate for a learning environment and that she, and anyone else who wished to engage in that sort of discussion, should go elsewhere if the subject is not learning the English language.
Was the group chat set up to help the students with English? If so, then your mother could just ignore the content of the message and not comment on what's been said, but reply by reminding all the members of the purpose of the group and just say that the message does not contribute to the learning of English.
It seems the fire's been suffocated. The woman apologised and said she won't post any more messages with political content in the group.
Quote from: No one on November 16, 2018, 09:09:14 PM
Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done against blind hatred. Not to excuse them, but the older generations were never much on acceptance. They were not raised with open minds. Our only hope, is that our good friends The Interwebs and Instant Information can shine a discrediting light on these dark corners of human behavior.
Not only that, but a part of the prefrontal cortex which processes new ideas
tends to become less flexible with age, so some older people can prefer to find refuge in old notions and become more conservative. Especially if they were conservative to begin with.
The Interwebs and Instant Information can be double-edged swords, though. A lot of people receive a lot of those types of info via messenger apps, and a lot of it is wrong, distorted and even absurd information, such as all that nonsense on homosexuals. I can't believe that anyone could find that believable.
People are dumb. They'll believe almost anything. Except for maybe evolution.
Quote from: No one on November 17, 2018, 07:50:38 PM
People are dumb. They'll believe almost anything. Except for maybe evolution.
Funny how that works! :lol:
I have a guy at work that used to say things like that to, about how disgusting gays are and how "what they do was so perverted" etc..
One day I said to him, "You know for a guy that's always saying that you think gays are disgusting, you seem to spend a lot of time thinking about it."
He doesn't talk like that (at least around me) any more.
He also asked a female employee if he could have a photo of her, and she said no. But I said "you can have photo of me if you want".
He doesn't like me.
Well, not only are you Unsapien, you are also unstupid. So your coworker's tiny brain hurts when he? sees you.
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on November 17, 2018, 06:12:39 PM
Quote from: No one on November 16, 2018, 09:09:14 PM
Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done against blind hatred. Not to excuse them, but the older generations were never much on acceptance. They were not raised with open minds. Our only hope, is that our good friends The Interwebs and Instant Information can shine a discrediting light on these dark corners of human behavior.
Not only that, but a part of the prefrontal cortex which processes new ideas tends to become less flexible with age, so some older people can prefer to find refuge in old notions and become more conservative. Especially if they were conservative to begin with.
The Interwebs and Instant Information can be double-edged swords, though. A lot of people receive a lot of those types of info via messenger apps, and a lot of it is wrong, distorted and even absurd information, such as all that nonsense on homosexuals. I can't believe that anyone could find that believable.
In my case rejecting religion at a rather advanced age along with loads of entrenched ideas that Christians thought were the right thing, (eg homosexuality practices are wrong, wives subject to their husbands, no women's right to choose etc etc) luckily trumped any advancing pre-frontal cortex inflexibility. 😀 Now I watch out for any thoughtless opinions and I think being able to embrace new ideas actually makes coping with life easier.
Quote from: Unsapien on November 19, 2018, 08:17:38 PM
I have a guy at work that used to say things like that to, about how disgusting gays are and how "what they do was so perverted" etc..
One day I said to him, "You know for a guy that's always saying that you think gays are disgusting, you seem to spend a lot of time thinking about it."
He doesn't talk like that (at least around me) any more.
He also asked a female employee if he could have a photo of her, and she said no. But I said "you can have photo of me if you want".
He doesn't like me.
:thumbsup:
Quote from: Unsapien on November 19, 2018, 08:17:38 PM
I have a guy at work that used to say things like that to, about how disgusting gays are and how "what they do was so perverted" etc..
One day I said to him, "You know for a guy that's always saying that you think gays are disgusting, you seem to spend a lot of time thinking about it."
He doesn't talk like that (at least around me) any more.
He also asked a female employee if he could have a photo of her, and she said no. But I said "you can have photo of me if you want".
He doesn't like me.
He's not very socially adept is he? :grin:
Quote from: Unsapien on November 19, 2018, 08:17:38 PM
I have a guy at work that used to say things like that to, about how disgusting gays are and how "what they do was so perverted" etc..
One day I said to him, "You know for a guy that's always saying that you think gays are disgusting, you seem to spend a lot of time thinking about it."
He doesn't talk like that (at least around me) any more.
He also asked a female employee if he could have a photo of her, and she said no. But I said "you can have photo of me if you want".
He doesn't like me.
Too funny! Offering him a pic was great.
Quote from: Unsapien on November 19, 2018, 08:17:38 PM
I have a guy at work that used to say things like that to, about how disgusting gays are and how "what they do was so perverted" etc..
One day I said to him, "You know for a guy that's always saying that you think gays are disgusting, you seem to spend a lot of time thinking about it."
He doesn't talk like that (at least around me) any more.
He also asked a female employee if he could have a photo of her, and she said no. But I said "you can have photo of me if you want".
He doesn't like me.
HA! :lol:
Yeah, I don't get that. What with all the supposedly heterosexual obsessing over gay sex?
But anyway, people like that clearly have some unresolved issues. I wouldn't want to be around them.