Feb
15
A Slap from the Censors
February 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Have you ever wondered about the power of words? How about winker? An editor on the BBC forums expressed horror that I had let this evil word slip through while moderating some debates . . . Well, that’s not the full story. The actual message that someone posted to the BBC’s Have Your Say debates (an excellent forum for online discos — if you havent visited then please do so) was this:
Doesnt matter to me where he pokes his winker when he off the court. This lifestyle seems pretty disgusting to me but so does the money being paid to these guys today. The real question is why is he sensationalizing it now?Â
The story in question was the US NBA player who ‘came out’ (although we note he did so only once his playing days were well and truly over) and the person who sent that message used the word winker. But winker is not in the BBC’s list of banned words so in the words of Eminem: where’s the beef?
Was it the word itself or the mildly laddish way in which the poster conveys his message? Are we really so sensitive that we can’t handle a crude bit of banter like this?