IndoMike
Very well known Exeweb poster
It is true that we have all said things we regret and it is true that as people grow older they can change their minds. I'm sure when I was a kid at school I used terms like Krauts, Itis, Frogs, Chinks, Pakis (but never the N word). I would hope I have now grown out of using that kind of language.Ok, in that case please can you give us some guidelines as to what age it's OK to say the 'N' or the 'Ch**k' words? From what you write there, you imply it's ok to say them before 18, but not after. Would be good if you could clarify what is good vs bad racism, thanks.
Also, don't you think it's possible that people can change their minds and attitudes from their early 20's moving into their early 40's? I don't see we should have 18 (or 16) as some kind of dividing line.
The problem is the adults who never grow out of it.
We have laws which clearly treat kids differently from adults. A kid who murders is not treated so harshly as an adult who murders. So an arbitrary line drawn for tolerance of unacceptable comments could indeed be at 18 years of age.
As far as I'm concerned, if a person made a sexist, racist or homophobic comment in the past as an adult they should make an unambiguous public apology and be forced to do 2 hours a week public service for a year, focusing on school visits and talking about the -ism or -phobia that they suffer from.