Still on the topic of taboos or things we can’t say, guess which recent court case I was thinking about when I read this:

When there’s something we can’t say, it’s often because some group doesn’t want us to.

The prohibition will be strongest when the group is nervous. […] To launch a taboo, a group has to be poised halfway between weakness and power. A confident group doesn’t need taboos to protect it. […] And yet a group has to be powerful enough to enforce a taboo.

Yup. I was thinking about the ’seditious bloggers’.

How come we don’t hear people getting into much trouble for saying nasty stuff about the slant-eyed yellow things like me infesting this land?

Something to think about.

P.S. The quote is from chapter 3 (“What You Can’t Say”) of Hackers & Painters. (I’ve reviewed other parts of this book earlier here: Hackers & Painters, Why Nerds Are Unpopular, What You Can’t Say (part 1).)