The New Zealand sporting public needs to wake the FUCK up and realise that the world is changing. Their reaction to the now infamous Ma'a Nonu interview (in which he swore seven times in three minutes) shows their complete detachment from the rest of society. The controversy steamed from an interview Nonu did with Radio Sport after his Hurricanes beat the Chiefs in last weekend's super 14 clash. His comments sparked a lot of controversy and lead to a forced apology in which he said "It wasn't meant to be like that but it was a bit of intense emotion coming out. I was just trying to speak the truth –it's a shame it all happened like that. It was a tough game and that's the way it came out".
I understand that the older generations are still offended by foul language. I get that. But society has become so desensitised by TV and movies that fuck, fucking and fucked are now everyday run of the mill words. I challenge you to watch a night of TV and not here fuck at least once, Chef Gordon Ramsey is even celebrated for his masterful use of swear words. Yet when a rugby player swears he must apologise?
For me it is all about context. For example:
"That was fucking awesome!" is perfectly fine as the F word was used in non-malicious way.
"That guy can get fucked!" is potentially not OK, as the F word is used in a malicious way.
The context apparently doesn't matter to the NZRU who are holding a disciplinary meeting to discuss the issue with Nonu sometime this week.
The whole situation surrounding swearing places the younger generations in very a difficult position. For us fuck is an everyday word. It is used frequently when conversing with friends, family, lecturers, managers and even complete strangers. Ninety-nine percent of the time it's not an issue because they throw fuck around just as much. Yet when used in front of an older person it is still met with looks of disgust.
Nonu was obviously just caught up in the moment and was talking the way he normally would. He wasn't intending to offend. He wasn't saying fuck in a malicious way. He was talking the way the vast majority of the country talks, using language that the vast majority of TV programs and movies include.
His offense wasn't saying fuck. It was saying fuck on radio sport. A station whose audience is made up of old people who are stuck in the past. They felt they deserved an apology and they got one. That is where it should've ended.
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