Quote:
Originally Posted by EAGLE5
If you're going to call other people "illegals", can I call you "a racist pile of shit"? Just wondering about forum rules.  |
You certainly could (assuming it's within the forum rules); being able to state your views and your opinions freely (unless you are a conservative on Twitter, FaceBook, or YouTube) is one of the many great freedoms we have in this country due to the selfless sacrifice of others.
Of course, in doing so you would be showing your ignorance. We have "illegal immigration," and therefore we have "illegal immigrants," or "illegals" for short. There is nothing offensive about that... just a statement of fact. We have crime; those that commit crimes are criminals. We have gymnastics...those who "commit" gymnastics are gymnastic athletes, or "gymnasts" for short.
Since an "illegal" refers to anyone entering our country illegally, there is no racial component to the term. Any race, ethnicity, creed, whatever, can be an "illegal" if entering or residing in the country without permission. The oft-quoted/sloganed "No human being is illegal" is incredibly vacuous; no one has ever said that an entire human being is illegal. We call humans who break the law "criminals"... should we also chant, "No human is a crime?" Such stupid.
So... "illegal" is not a racist term. It can not be, as it does not refer to any race.
Next... if you've read Atmo's posts, especially the one regarding his actions in helping others as a teacher, you'd know that he is far from being a racist.
Next ... the .. umm... "Random vertical arrangement of feces" comment. Completely, totally uncalled for. What is your goal? If it's to bring others around to your point(s) of view, being incredibly insulting is rarely the way to do so.
Yes, you should apologize, and yes, such completely baseless personal attacks should definitely violate forum rules.