Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
Posts: 6,121
|
Post by Stomski on Nov 15, 2010 11:01:29 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Nov 15, 2010 11:07:19 GMT
Haha okay, that's actually genuinely funny! |
|
primenova
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 6,057
|
Post by primenova on Nov 15, 2010 13:07:07 GMT
Saw advert on tv yesterday for PCC
|
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Nov 15, 2010 13:28:20 GMT
Anyone had a reply from Hasbro yet?
|
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Nov 15, 2010 13:49:51 GMT
Anyone had a reply from Hasbro yet? Nope!  |
|
Dave
Empty
Posts: 1,811
|
Post by Dave on Nov 15, 2010 14:38:02 GMT
Only found out about this when I got up this morning (via the Shortpacked strip) and have e-mailed Hasbro to express my astonishment.
|
|
|
|
Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Nov 15, 2010 16:21:55 GMT
It's actually a misquote from Wikipedia (see my link in an earlier post) which refers to a 2003 survey that placed it below "retard" as an offensive disability-related word. I've seen the same thing misquoted elsewhere. Though of course, the word 'retard' is only offensive in English when used as a noun. When used as a verb, it simply means to slow (something) down. And in French it is simply a noun that means 'delay'. Martin |
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Nov 15, 2010 19:22:24 GMT
Anyone had a reply from Hasbro yet? Nay. -Ralph |
|
|
|
Post by skillex on Nov 15, 2010 22:05:45 GMT
Truly, truly appalling, even though this has been done with ignorance rather than malice. I too have e-mailed Hasbro to complain, as detailed below... Sir/Madam I have never before felt compelled to write to a toy company but I am quite appalled to discover that your US arm has named a Transformers action figure "Spastic", as listed here.... tfsource.com/products/view/product_id/1995/As I am sure you are aware, this is an exceptionally offensive and derogatory term and it frankly beggars belief that a children's toy should be labelled as such. As a long-term aficianado of Transformers, but also as a secondary school teacher who works with children of very varied backgrounds and someone with a very close family member affected by cerebral palsy, I am quite disgusted. This is a reaction which I imagine any right-thinking person would have, and I would not like to speculate on how the tabloid press will report this matter. I appreciate that words may have different meanings in the UK and the US but I would entreat you not only to refuse to distribute this item in the United Kingdom but to request your US arm changes the name of this item. |
|
|
|
Post by KnightBeat on Nov 16, 2010 11:46:55 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy Turnbull on Nov 16, 2010 12:49:27 GMT
Dear gods of the internet.
Please ensure that the posters of Seibertron do not have children. That is all.
Andy
|
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Nov 16, 2010 13:28:48 GMT
Wow. Seibertron really is the cesspool of the Transformers community
|
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Nov 16, 2010 15:16:32 GMT
And I thought the TFW reaction was poor.
Andy
|
|
Dave
Empty
Posts: 1,811
|
Post by Dave on Nov 16, 2010 17:46:05 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Nov 16, 2010 17:48:05 GMT
Just got a response from Hasbro UK. It seems the Hasbro US response is a form response they've copied and pasted, though in true Hasbro UK style they've managed to mess even that up by misspelling 'product'
|
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Nov 16, 2010 17:49:21 GMT
I recieved the very same e-mail.
-Ralph
|
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Nov 16, 2010 18:05:18 GMT
Just received the same response from Hasbro. Shocked by some of the comments.  Messing it up was Hasbro's fault. If they'd have called it Dragstrip we'd have all been happy. |
|
Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
Posts: 6,121
|
Post by Stomski on Nov 16, 2010 18:12:25 GMT
If they'd have called it Drag Strip, I'd be offended as I'd be thinking of Lilly Savage showing us Paul O'Grady's wobbly bits.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Nov 16, 2010 18:24:32 GMT
I generally avoid the other wesbite mentioned.
If a toy is not released because it has an offensive name then quite frankly grown adults should be able to cope.
-Ralph
|
|
|
|
Post by grahamthomson on Nov 16, 2010 18:38:04 GMT
For all the information we have at our fingertips, the Internet sure is an ignorant place.
|
|
Nigel
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 5,101
|
Post by Nigel on Nov 16, 2010 19:51:08 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2010 21:48:46 GMT
gah, just read all those Seibertron posts...I think I got dumber with every page
|
|
Nigel
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 5,101
|
Post by Nigel on Nov 16, 2010 22:35:43 GMT
I couldn't help but think how "dumber" could be construed as offensive in just the same way as "spastic". Weirdly, the Oxford Dictionary notes how the proper use is the one that's likely to cause offence: "Usage Although dumb meaning ‘not able to speak’ is the older sense, it has been overwhelmed by the newer sense (meaning ‘stupid’) to such an extent that the use of the first sense is now almost certain to cause offence. Alternatives such as speech-impaired should be used instead" oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0248770#m_en_gb0248770I'm intrigued by Hasbro's statement that the toys won't be sold in the UK through "traditional channels". It sounds to me like they're washing their hands of any that are sourced by UK-based retailers directly from the USA, or any that may turn up through cheap grey market imports. |
|
|
|
Post by bertie on Nov 18, 2010 21:52:40 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Nov 18, 2010 22:06:02 GMT
Good, this is one of the few times I don't mind the Daily Mail leaping on something. Hasbro deserve everything they get over this. |
|
|
|
Post by bertie on Nov 18, 2010 23:28:21 GMT
Although the Daily Record got to it first it seems.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Nov 19, 2010 8:13:01 GMT
The Record is essentially the Scottish edition of the Mail, though both can be found up here.
-Ralph
|
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Nov 19, 2010 8:17:04 GMT
aha,thank you.
|
|
Nigel
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 5,101
|
Post by Nigel on Nov 19, 2010 8:59:47 GMT
Quotes from The Mail...
"An American toymaker has scrapped the UK launch of its latest Transformer model..."
Nah, I reckon they weren't going to release here anyway.
"The latest figure in the hugely successful Transformers franchise... was expected to be one of the biggest sellers of next year."
Hmm. Well, technically, yes, if you have a very long list of the biggest sellers.
"Spastic forms part of the ‘Power Core Combiners 2011 Wave 2’ range."
Ah, reporting on something they don't really understand, I see. A wave isn't technically a range, Maily boy.
"Hasbro moved quickly to stop the UK launch after it was besieged with complaints."
See above.
Sensationalist, hyperbole-laden reporting. Oh, wait, it's the Mail. Still, might be justified for once.
|
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Nov 19, 2010 9:11:25 GMT
Has the story appeared in print yet?
|
|
