How freaking ridiculous. Everyday more and more of our basic right of free speech is being eradicated.

Too many people are paying a price for speaking a word that does offend or just might possibly offend someone. This is so obscene. I hate to see what the world is like if this trend continues.

I wonder what would happen if we started a story that "biggby" is a slur against overweight people?

This is as dumb as when Dairy Queen caught a bunch of flak because they came out with a latte drink they called, MooLatte as in cow (dairy) and latte. Duh. Pretty obvious, but some nuts who are always trying to find insults where none exists, who are looking at possible lawsuits, or just notoriety made complaints that the word was too similar in sound to mulatto.

Congrats to Dairy Queen for not bowing to the demands of the demented few, they still offer it.

Yep PC has gone way over the top. Better not say that tho...as it might offend someone! But then, if something offends me, I turn the other cheek and move on rather than carry on about it. I've got better things to do with my time. Like Plime and try and get more points!

There are LIMITs to free speech. And, when it comes to business, you can't afford to offend anyone. Our freedoms stop when they encroach upon another's.

I probably would go to a 'Beaners', but not to a 'Biggbys'. I did not know 'beaner' was derogatory; I would have thought ' heh heh - coffee bean - beaners - cute!'. Clearly, I'm not the only one who thinks like this!

Everyone in North America now lives in fear of the almighty lawsuit - I think that is behind these PC-oriented changes far more than anything. It would be easy to dispel associations of prejudice in situations like this if one needn't worry about getting sued.

If there is one aspect of North American culture that I absolutely, completely do not understand it's the 'sue! sue! sue!' crazy mentality that so many people seem to have.

'You hurt me, emotionally or physically, even though it was an accident so give me money' - what ever happened to 'suck it up, buttercup' ????

They didn't call the place Wetback Coffee House. It was Beaners. Yeah, I know beaners is a dirogatory term, but coffee is made from Beans! This is a rediculous claim. And there aren't supposed to be limits to free speech. When there are limits, then the word "free" needs to be taken off of the phrase "free speech".

And from my understanding, according to the latinos I work with, beaner isn't even offensive. Wetbacks (which is the example I used) is offensive, Greaser is offensive, dirty Mexicans is offensive. Beaner is as offensive as Cracker. Cracker please!

PC extends out very far and wide these days. In the late 80's, when I graduated specialty school in the Coast Guard, I became a Radioman. Oops, there are women that have the same rating, and they are not Radio MEN! They changed it to Telecommunications Specialist later on to "more thoroughly identify the scope of the job". I think not since all of the -man ratings are gone. They have been replaced by the less gender specific specialist or technician.

As a business owner even the possibility of offending someone will make them do irrational things. I, too, thought the Beaner name was cute. I am offended by the Biggby name. I am a big guy! Shame on them. Change it again! Now, where is my million dollars?

Hey, I'm big too. I'm equally offended now that my attention has been drawn to how offensive a name such as Biggby is.

Actually, I think the name 'Biggby' makes fun of the way Newfoundlanders talk.

"Aye, bys, the bigby ther can drink the most bears"

What the hell did you just say about big people?!

You are correct in that one's freedoms stop when they encroach upon another's, however please help me out here.

This link takes you to the US Constitution, can you please point out where someone has the right to not be offended?

Why we are at it, can we stop people selling crackers? There are many companies that have the name, Krackers, should those be forced to change to meet PC? Hmm, quick check shows Whitey's as a common name also.

Yeah for that matter, what about Cracker Jack? It even has a white stereotype on the box.

I'm also offended by Honky brand car horns.

My guess is that none of you guys live in an area with a large Mexican population. I've lived in Arizona for nearly my entire life, and there is a lot of intense racism towards Mexicans here, and the term Beaner is very common and very offensive.

I'm no PC nut myself, but it's just polite to change the name. If you could see the kind of hate these people get here, you would understand.

Aye, by, haven't you ever spoken to any one from the Rock?

Translated from Newfenese: Eh, boys, the big boy there can drink the most beers.

Fun Fact for Today: Newfoundlanders speak the closest dialect to Shakespearean English than any other English speakers.

Which isn't surprising, especially if you've ever had a few with Newfoundlanders - I sometimes have a hard time understanding the conversation! Regardless, Newfoundlanders are some of my favorite people in Canada.

Please go back and read the comments again. Thanks.

..........
Okay, now that you did that, you will see that argument doesn't wash unless you remove every single term that might offend any single person in any language.

Think about how silly that is. Although I was joking, changing a name of a place that has the word "cracker" or some similar sounding name is exactly equivalent.

"That just doesn't really fall within our mission to have a name that is derogatory," Faggy Mck**erson, 44, Beaner's chief executive, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We felt it was important to do the right thing and change the name."

Henceforth I shall be known as "KillerBiggby"

As someone who lives in a southwest I can understant the name change. It may not be big elsewhere, but here beaner and wetback are big insults.

Sorry, but the two are nothing alike. White people have never faced any of the discrimination that Mexicans have. How many people have been harrased, beaten, or even killed because they are white? Especially in recent times, Mexicans have gone through a lot in this country.

On a different note, someone was complaining about how out of control lawsuits have become in this country. While I completely agree, I don't think Beaner's coffee is concerned about getting sued, they just don't want to have their coffee shop associated with a racism.

Um ... says in the article that this was a completely voluntary action by the company, that they "felt it was important to do the right thing," and that "there hasn't been any broad resistance or protests against the name."

So where's the infringement of free speech? Why is everybody so worked up?

Oh, you're sorely mistaken and starry-eyed if you think Free Speech is unconditional. It is very situational. Some will get you into legal trouble. Some habits of speech will define you in a negative light. It takes personal responsibility. Something a lot of us have lost with the way our government (US) is run these days.

I wouldn't even think of calling someone a 'beaner' where I'm from. NM. And, yes, If I was having a conversation with a friend it might be funny or whatever. But, it can be offensive nonetheless. Back in the day I had friends that didn't mind being called the N word if it was meant jokingly. Ha. I didn't indulge myself on that one either.

Incidently, 'Latino' is a newly created PC term. It used to be 'hispanic.' That's pretty much what we still use here. Maybe were a bit behind. And, you can get into trouble calling someone a 'Mexican' here. Because, there were a lot of Spanish settlers who came here and they find it offensive to be called a Mexican. Mexican's are of course not offended to be called a Mexican.

All the people who are so tired of PC are not realizing that it's basically a matter of respect. That's what we try really hard to do here at Plime as well as Worth. And it works really well. There are so many times that people just need to keep their mouths shut. Not everything needs a comment. Which may sound silly to say on a site like this. But here, were asking for comments--it's a given. In the real world we need to size up the situation and decide if we really think the person cares to hear what we have to say at all.

And, it especially matters if you're a business. Would you rather risk offending a customer or send them away happy with their $5 cup of coffee? Let the coffee house keep their name. I don't care. I'd just like to hear how long they succeed. The restaurant business is a notoriously difficult business to succeed in. Why tempt fate?