I read the article about Gyp - Gypsy, and it seems like it is a pretty clear correlation. As for the intent of the comment.... I'm not sure the intent is as important as the feelings that actually get hurt as a result of the comment.
yerfatma, The fact that gyp, welsh (or welch), jerry-rig, and all of the other examples that are extant, are used without realizing the etymology of the word is exactly the reason why the PC crowd takes up arms over them. They may be seen as pejorative by those most likely to be offended, and continue to be used, innocently in a vast majority of the cases, by the public at large; much like spaz was in this case, most likely. That is the reason I would come to the defense of Tiger. He was most likely unaware, at least on the concious level, of the fact that he may have offended anyone. So much of the connotations behind words that are labeled "pejorative" is subjective that one may mean one thing and someone will take something else from it. The prime example in sports is, of course, team mascots. While the etymology of jerry-rig is in dispute, the American Heritage dictionary states that it derives from jury-rig (non-offensive and from the Old French, meaning 'aider') but was probably influenced by 'jerry-built' coming from the noun Jerry, which the American Heritage also lists as chiefly British slang for German, esp. German soldier. As for the link about the dispute of the origin of 'gyp', even the link seems to come down on the side of its being pejorative. Regardless, I hope that this is something that ends up being a non-news item, as Tiger most certainly did not mean to be offensive. (as an aside, Wikipedia lists among its redirected links for jury-rig a term that seems to be cleansed from something that IS patently offensive, the cleansed term being 'ghetto engineering)
I really don't think this has a much to do with Tiger being offensive as it does the exploitation of his name for cheap publicity. Scope used to be known as the Spastic Society. They changed the name to get away from a word that's become increasingly distasteful to people afflicted with the condition. I don't think this is exploitive at all. "Spaz" just hits harder outside the U.S., and I'm guessing it will join "tard" and "retard" as words that most people avoid.
It's getting to the point you can't say anything to anyone without pissing someone off. Ease up people.
I'm from New York. We don't avoid any words here. If I called myself a Dick ummmm will it stand up?
what he should have said is that he putted like a person whose muscular dexterity is challenged.
what he should have also said is that he putted like a guy who chokes in majors when he is behind going into the last round...0-35
It's getting to the point you can't say anything to anyone without pissing someone off. Ease up people. There are over a million words in the English language, with dozens more being made up or added from other languages every day. I wouldn't worry about losing the ability to express yourself if a word or two falls into disfavor.
I bet Tiger was pissed when he missed those putts.
I think Tiger should just start making up words to see who he can offend that way. Here, I'll start him off, "I played like a scog today" and "My putts were rackling me down today". Or he could just start making up gibberish. This is ridiculous and I hope Tiger couldn't give the first shit about it.
To me there is a bigger issue here than Tiger's utterance of the word "spaz". The issue being various media entities intentionally opted to either omit "spaz" from their story or they requested Tiger to provide an alternative quote. Isn't the media supposed to report the whole story objectively?
So would the 'world' have been happier if he would have said, "I putted like shit out there today" which is what we all think he WANTED to say?
First, I think it is harsh for the international community to criticize Tiger for his use of a word that is not widely considered offensive in the U.S, even if it is so elsewhere. I had no idea that spaz could be offensive to people with disabilities and Tiger probably didn't either. Second, now that we are aware that it is offensive, there is no excuse for continuing to use it.
A Scope spokesflack explains why they take offense at the word spaz: "We shouldn't limit people's horizons by continuing to use the nasty labels of the past. The low expectations that the term 'spaz' conveys are something that undermine young disabled people's hopes from a very early age." Woods apologized quickly. I think the international publicity that this had generated will probably be helpful in sticking a fork in the word.
I think the international publicity that this had generated will probably be helpful in sticking a fork in the word. That's probably why he did it. You'll see - next week, he'll be claiming he putted like a cheese-eating surrender monkey, just to try and stop people bandying that expression about so much.
Isn't the media supposed to report the whole story objectively? I fell out of my chair laughing at this one. The media stopped reporting objectively a long time ago. Every story is slanted these days.
Every story is slanted these days. Says you...
Says you... Indeed. I realized right after I posted that someone would jump on my sweeping generalization of journalists. The sad fact is that 'newsertainment' has broken my trust in the media. I read every story with a pile of salt these days.
Curious ... do Brits still call cigarettes "fags"?
Yeah. That has to stop, too. I mean - you're offending a whole buncha people an ocean away. And the Aussies, well, we should listen to them; the bastion of tolerance and good graces that they are. Or maybe this whole thing is yet another example of my seminal Masters work: "The Earth is Stupid." Seriously - extraterrestrial intelligence, if you're out there, just bypass the blue marble. Save some time. The micro-baterial folk on Mars might be less annoying, I don't know. They seem to be avoiding us too.
You gotta start out with a whisper and after a few minutes your yellin out spaz at his next tournament the fans should do it and he'll miss the putt just like the real spaz did in meatballs but spaz just dropped the egg on the spoon damn they didn't win that part of the competition
Actually, someone whacked the guy with the sligshot, who mistakenly hit Spaz's opponent, and I believe it was the glass-stacking relay...
wankers.
Tiger putted like a wanker
it's more like Tiger putted like a Tard
I can't bear it anymore. Everytime I see the title of this tread I just have to say it so here it goes. Whatever floats your boat. Yes I know that had no value what so ever but that phrase entered my head everytime I saw the title so I had to say it.
Who cares what the British or the Austrailians think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!
SPAZ SPAZ SPAZ!!! Yes I can say that, I'm in the early stages of parkinsons and was not offended with TIGER saying that. If the Brits and Aussies don't like it they can kiss my spastic behind.
Poor Tiger. What a terrible predicament for our favorite media darling and multimillionaire. I hope he can overcome this harsh criticism. Maybe he can sleep better knowing that: 1) The media is stupid 2) He's got the cabbage to produce a music video to make "Spaz" socially acceptable. I.e: "Phat" or "Stuupid". 3) As long as he wins...he's our hero! I think he'll rise above it. After all...he's a golf-god. and chick's dig the "Long Ball"!!!
I think "wanker" should actually be acceptable. We don't have a separate Olympics for chronic masturbators, do we? Uh, do we?
I've been hitting the long ball for years, but have found the chicks surprisingly unreceptive. *hand in the air* Can I make a joke about the stiffness of the shaft in my driver now?
