“Adam Lanza (the murderer) should be praised as a hero. He saved the world by committing sacrifices. Praise Adam Lanza”, “So he killed about 20 children right, what's the problem here? Serious question who the hell decides right from wrong”, and “Meh we are overpopulated anyways. duno why ppl r freaking out so much we can always just have more kids”. These are all comments that have been found on a Youtube video that reports on the Connecticut primary school shooting in America. 20 children had their lives stolen from them by a 21 year old boy who was in possession of an arsenal of guns. Why do people say things like this? Society is numb to the feelings of others.

Racial stereotypes and jokes are uttered every day in New Zealand culture. The line has become so blurred to what we can or cannot say. Articles on reputable news sites like BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation) share authors’ opinions on small racial slurs, and racist jokes that are said to be harmless. The article describes how the use of the word ‘darky’ is incredibly offensive. Even though the people who call darker skinned people this say that it is harmless because they do not understand being on the other side of the slur but in some countries it is perfectly normal to say something like ‘darky’. Racist jokes are said everyday such as “What is the difference between a Maori and a park bench. A park bench can support a family”, or joking about how Maori people always steal things. Even if the people say these things as a joke it is offensive but is accepted as a joke in society because the majority finds it funny.

“Man, that’s gay” suggests that something is lame, “You are a faggot” describes that you dislike someone, and “You are a poofter” has the same meaning as “You are a faggot”. One thing that all of these insults have in common is that they also mean that someone is homosexual. Using a minority as an insult is not just insulting the person it is being said to, but 1.7 percent of the world’s population. 1.7 percent seems small, but 1.7 percent of the worlds population is 119,000,000 people. Meaning that every time you call someone an improper description of someone who is homosexual about 119,000,001 people are being put down. It is things like this that make it hard for someone to admit that they