Bringing up someone’s weight is rarely a good idea. And sure enough, not everyone appreciated when the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California recently tweeted a photo of its otter, describing it as “thicc.”
The animal in question, Abby is an 11-year-old sea otter, one of five at the facility who serve as surrogate moms to orphaned otter pups. Abby weights 46 pounds, which is one pound over the average weight of an adult female otter.
Image credits: MontereyAq
Some people started criticizing the tweet for its “appropriative language,” saying the nonprofit was inappropriately borrowing it from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) while also comparing black women to animals.
@IBJIYONGI later also added this: “I’m certain that @MontereyAq didn’t realize that they were basically comparing Black women to animals by using AAVE developed to talk about Black women’s bodies to describe an animal. But that’s pretty bad, MBA.”
Image credits: thespinsterymc
Eventually, the aquarium released a four-part apology tweet
Image credits: MontereyAq
Image credits: MontereyAq
Image credits: MontereyAq
Image credits: MontereyAq
And while some people appreciated the apology
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Most thought the otter tweet was funny and there was no need to apologize
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Damn. Soon we won't even be able to breathe without someone getting offended. The tweet was FUNNY. Stop poking s**t all the time.
I agree completely. In this modern age apparently everything is "offensive". Soon we can't even walk without someone being "offended". Makes me wonder what will happen to society as a whole in the next 10 years.
Load More Replies...Calling an otter thicc is the same as calling black women otters??? Wtf
if a term is common outside of ebonics/aave then it should lose said connection. meaning if a term becomes common it should lose connection to the folks who started it. Thicc isnt just a black language word anymore. now it is non-exclusive. that should remove any one group from feelings of butthurt.
Load More Replies...From first read, I thought the outrage was going to be about overfeeding as a form of animal abuse that the aquarium was responsible for, and now poking fun at. It's getting harder and harder to predict which specific reason people will choose to lose their s**t over.
"It's getting harder and harder to predict which specific reason people will choose to lose their s**t over." Pro tip: did someone say/do something? Someone else was offended by it.
Load More Replies...I imagine that most people who saw the Tweet thought it to be quite funny. But, there is a segment of the population whose sole purpose in life to find things to get offended by, and post Tweets about it in an attempt to get "woke" points. Based on the headline at the top of this article, I'm willing to assume the author is one of those oversensitive babies.
The people who are offended don't want us to speak each others languages if we aren't that ethnicity. These are the same people who think cultures need to be absolutely segregated... These people are such morons they don't even realize they're trying to dismantle everything the civil rights movement gave us. The aquarium should not have apologized.
C'mon, humanity. Don't we have better things to get offended over than calling a sea otter thicc? (That sea otter IS thicc, by the way.)
Love how they assume that everyone at the Aquarium is white when they talk about appropriation.
Yep. But, they're too ignorant to see their own racism.
Load More Replies...What even. So wait, "thicc" is supposed to be an insult? I don't understand.
I've only heard it used as some fun form of praise or appreciation. Just like unit actually. Also have heard unit used to describe a guy who was a big slab of muscle in jest. Words are what we do make them I suppose.
Load More Replies...Oh this has got to be a f*****g joke, those are terms that come from MEMES!! Sis, I can’t even with this c**p. It’s like people are trying to get offended.
What an offensive post on Bored Panda! Wait...Pandas are so offensive! And it is so offensive to be bored. Oh no, English is not my first language. How offensive that I use it. How offensive that I need to think in a language that is not native to me. And having a keybord in fron tof me is so offensive. Oh. my. god. The post button is red and not green. This is sooo offensive. And green would be even more offensive! All this offensiveness is offensively offensive. Offensive.
This is otterly offensive
Load More Replies...We are constantly slicing off the deviations from the medians in our society. One day we will need to be identical lest we be perceived as outlaws for the slightest variance from the 'group.' We simply cannot tolerate diversity in our culture...
So ridiculous, this is 'snowflakes' right there, getting offended at totally harmless jokes, are the words really 'black' words, you can't call a white girl 'thicc', how is 'unit' a black word, you call a big dude or an animal a unit, like that muscly kangaroo, he was 'a unit'.
Why can't people get this upset when it comes to tearing up the Earth and destroying so many animal's homes. It should be the otters offended by us. Causing global warming and all.
I agree with you except for that last sentence. Global warming, schlobal warming. How about we focus on cleaning up waterways and reducing toxic emissions right f'n now as opposed to spending billions (trillions?) to alter the climate by 2 degrees for our great great grandchildren?
Load More Replies...That's the c h o n k i e s t otter I've ever seen. Don't be offended by the thiccness of her. She's living her best life.
Fat shaming isn't so horrible. It's the one thing we can control and change. Fat shame me to get off my phat a**e and work out more and eat better. J/S
But how can you fat shame an animal? It doesnt care if it is bigger than standard. Getting offended on some beings behalf seems very silly to me.
Load More Replies...Ebonics is not vernacular. It's uneducated drivel defended by the same people who defend the use of the N word in rap and black movies. Public school has been around for a while, writing and speaking correctly is not a luxury or "privilege" anymore.
So I'm a little confused about something. Could somebody help me to understand what this comment really means? : "There's a reason we tell non-AA folks to avoid using AAVE: Our language, humor, and cultural references are borne from some of humanity's worst atrocities. If you haven't endured that pain, you can't know where the faultlines in our expression are."
I think it's the same mecanism that leads to "Only Jews are allowed to tell jewish jokes" ?
Load More Replies...Seriously this makes me want to get a twatter account just to tell them all how incredibly ridiculous they are being....
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you just compare African Americans to apes, or worse yet, their feces?! ;-P
Load More Replies...why does it seem they are comparing the otter to a black woman? I'm a non-native english speaker and I don't understand many language aspects
Maybe that's because I'm not American that I don't understand but how can words be owned by a specific group of people?
Looked her up on Twitter. She's a smart lady, but did get offended that a Dutch tv show didn't have a black,gay couple in getting married. Ummm? They're DUTCH!
So by this logic the signs for an American national ad campaign for a well know gym claiming "Stay thicc where you want to stay thicc" are offensive? The tweet seemed funny and well intentioned. 12/10 would snuggle that otter!
This is absolutely bonkers! I mean, like straight jackets and all! Who gives a flippin' flock about what you don't like!!!?????
I have no idea whether the language used was offensive or not, because I'm not part of the black culture that uses it OR the meme culture that apparently also uses it. But getting offended because someone issued an apology "because people get offended at everything these days" is rather meta. (And look at me, taking it one more step!) I just... I'm frustrated that people find it upsetting when someone learns something new and takes an incredibly simple step toward making other people feel comfortable.
May I say, the otter is overweight and that is unhealthy, why are the care givers not helping her, as any animal with too many pounds is a health risk !!!
The otter is ONE POUND over the average weight, as I read in the intro...
Load More Replies...Sick to death of snowflakes in this world. They really are pathetic, why we give these people a moment of time, is ridiculous. Go join a club or something, and stop spouting rubbish. The End
They probably weren't. In this age of "I'm offended by everything" , the SJW's getting triggered by things are almost always white.
Load More Replies...First...using the term African American is offensive because not all black people that talk this way have origins in Africa..some are from places like Haiti and the Caribbean. Second....one of the complainers talks about the language being born out of the suffering of human atrocities...,that this language was born out of slavery in the USA. But then goes on to act like she was in shackles last week being forced to work on a plantation with fear of being beaten if she resisted. Woman..puh-leez. If you think that AAVE is something only AA's can speak because of the "suffering" attached to it...then maybe stop speaking AAVE so it will stop reminding you of those horrible experiences. And before anyone gets their undies in a twist...asking her to stop speaking AAVE to alleviate suffering is as ridiculous as her saying no one but AA's should be speaking AAVE because of past atrocities....
Life lesson: NEVER EVER comment on somebody’s weight. NEVER ask how heavy they weigh (except if you were supposed to eg. School work etc.). And NEVER shame ANYBODY for their appearance and/or weight, this absolutely disgusts me when ever someone does that. (have a good day by the way, sorry that this was so negative)
So, you're offended because the aquarium made fun of a FAT OTTER???
Load More Replies...Damn. Soon we won't even be able to breathe without someone getting offended. The tweet was FUNNY. Stop poking s**t all the time.
I agree completely. In this modern age apparently everything is "offensive". Soon we can't even walk without someone being "offended". Makes me wonder what will happen to society as a whole in the next 10 years.
Load More Replies...Calling an otter thicc is the same as calling black women otters??? Wtf
if a term is common outside of ebonics/aave then it should lose said connection. meaning if a term becomes common it should lose connection to the folks who started it. Thicc isnt just a black language word anymore. now it is non-exclusive. that should remove any one group from feelings of butthurt.
Load More Replies...From first read, I thought the outrage was going to be about overfeeding as a form of animal abuse that the aquarium was responsible for, and now poking fun at. It's getting harder and harder to predict which specific reason people will choose to lose their s**t over.
"It's getting harder and harder to predict which specific reason people will choose to lose their s**t over." Pro tip: did someone say/do something? Someone else was offended by it.
Load More Replies...I imagine that most people who saw the Tweet thought it to be quite funny. But, there is a segment of the population whose sole purpose in life to find things to get offended by, and post Tweets about it in an attempt to get "woke" points. Based on the headline at the top of this article, I'm willing to assume the author is one of those oversensitive babies.
The people who are offended don't want us to speak each others languages if we aren't that ethnicity. These are the same people who think cultures need to be absolutely segregated... These people are such morons they don't even realize they're trying to dismantle everything the civil rights movement gave us. The aquarium should not have apologized.
C'mon, humanity. Don't we have better things to get offended over than calling a sea otter thicc? (That sea otter IS thicc, by the way.)
Love how they assume that everyone at the Aquarium is white when they talk about appropriation.
Yep. But, they're too ignorant to see their own racism.
Load More Replies...What even. So wait, "thicc" is supposed to be an insult? I don't understand.
I've only heard it used as some fun form of praise or appreciation. Just like unit actually. Also have heard unit used to describe a guy who was a big slab of muscle in jest. Words are what we do make them I suppose.
Load More Replies...Oh this has got to be a f*****g joke, those are terms that come from MEMES!! Sis, I can’t even with this c**p. It’s like people are trying to get offended.
What an offensive post on Bored Panda! Wait...Pandas are so offensive! And it is so offensive to be bored. Oh no, English is not my first language. How offensive that I use it. How offensive that I need to think in a language that is not native to me. And having a keybord in fron tof me is so offensive. Oh. my. god. The post button is red and not green. This is sooo offensive. And green would be even more offensive! All this offensiveness is offensively offensive. Offensive.
This is otterly offensive
Load More Replies...We are constantly slicing off the deviations from the medians in our society. One day we will need to be identical lest we be perceived as outlaws for the slightest variance from the 'group.' We simply cannot tolerate diversity in our culture...
So ridiculous, this is 'snowflakes' right there, getting offended at totally harmless jokes, are the words really 'black' words, you can't call a white girl 'thicc', how is 'unit' a black word, you call a big dude or an animal a unit, like that muscly kangaroo, he was 'a unit'.
Why can't people get this upset when it comes to tearing up the Earth and destroying so many animal's homes. It should be the otters offended by us. Causing global warming and all.
I agree with you except for that last sentence. Global warming, schlobal warming. How about we focus on cleaning up waterways and reducing toxic emissions right f'n now as opposed to spending billions (trillions?) to alter the climate by 2 degrees for our great great grandchildren?
Load More Replies...That's the c h o n k i e s t otter I've ever seen. Don't be offended by the thiccness of her. She's living her best life.
Fat shaming isn't so horrible. It's the one thing we can control and change. Fat shame me to get off my phat a**e and work out more and eat better. J/S
But how can you fat shame an animal? It doesnt care if it is bigger than standard. Getting offended on some beings behalf seems very silly to me.
Load More Replies...Ebonics is not vernacular. It's uneducated drivel defended by the same people who defend the use of the N word in rap and black movies. Public school has been around for a while, writing and speaking correctly is not a luxury or "privilege" anymore.
So I'm a little confused about something. Could somebody help me to understand what this comment really means? : "There's a reason we tell non-AA folks to avoid using AAVE: Our language, humor, and cultural references are borne from some of humanity's worst atrocities. If you haven't endured that pain, you can't know where the faultlines in our expression are."
I think it's the same mecanism that leads to "Only Jews are allowed to tell jewish jokes" ?
Load More Replies...Seriously this makes me want to get a twatter account just to tell them all how incredibly ridiculous they are being....
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you just compare African Americans to apes, or worse yet, their feces?! ;-P
Load More Replies...why does it seem they are comparing the otter to a black woman? I'm a non-native english speaker and I don't understand many language aspects
Maybe that's because I'm not American that I don't understand but how can words be owned by a specific group of people?
Looked her up on Twitter. She's a smart lady, but did get offended that a Dutch tv show didn't have a black,gay couple in getting married. Ummm? They're DUTCH!
So by this logic the signs for an American national ad campaign for a well know gym claiming "Stay thicc where you want to stay thicc" are offensive? The tweet seemed funny and well intentioned. 12/10 would snuggle that otter!
This is absolutely bonkers! I mean, like straight jackets and all! Who gives a flippin' flock about what you don't like!!!?????
I have no idea whether the language used was offensive or not, because I'm not part of the black culture that uses it OR the meme culture that apparently also uses it. But getting offended because someone issued an apology "because people get offended at everything these days" is rather meta. (And look at me, taking it one more step!) I just... I'm frustrated that people find it upsetting when someone learns something new and takes an incredibly simple step toward making other people feel comfortable.
May I say, the otter is overweight and that is unhealthy, why are the care givers not helping her, as any animal with too many pounds is a health risk !!!
The otter is ONE POUND over the average weight, as I read in the intro...
Load More Replies...Sick to death of snowflakes in this world. They really are pathetic, why we give these people a moment of time, is ridiculous. Go join a club or something, and stop spouting rubbish. The End
They probably weren't. In this age of "I'm offended by everything" , the SJW's getting triggered by things are almost always white.
Load More Replies...First...using the term African American is offensive because not all black people that talk this way have origins in Africa..some are from places like Haiti and the Caribbean. Second....one of the complainers talks about the language being born out of the suffering of human atrocities...,that this language was born out of slavery in the USA. But then goes on to act like she was in shackles last week being forced to work on a plantation with fear of being beaten if she resisted. Woman..puh-leez. If you think that AAVE is something only AA's can speak because of the "suffering" attached to it...then maybe stop speaking AAVE so it will stop reminding you of those horrible experiences. And before anyone gets their undies in a twist...asking her to stop speaking AAVE to alleviate suffering is as ridiculous as her saying no one but AA's should be speaking AAVE because of past atrocities....
Life lesson: NEVER EVER comment on somebody’s weight. NEVER ask how heavy they weigh (except if you were supposed to eg. School work etc.). And NEVER shame ANYBODY for their appearance and/or weight, this absolutely disgusts me when ever someone does that. (have a good day by the way, sorry that this was so negative)
So, you're offended because the aquarium made fun of a FAT OTTER???
Load More Replies...
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