Gender, dialect, and taboo vocabulary in court
In case (like me) you haven't been following the murder trial of Karen Read, this article provides the background: Kim Stelloh, "Karen Read is accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend. Here's what we know about the murder trial", NBC News 6/7/2024. The current media fever focuses on the testimony of (Massachusetts State Police investigator) Michael Proctor, forced on the witness stand to read some text messages that hit a trifecta of gender, regional, and vocabulary biases:
Proctor spells c u n t and AJ objects, Auntie Bev said they are your words, so use them.
Friend – "Is she hot"
Proctor – "She's a whack job cunt, yes she's a babe, weird Fall River accent though, no ass" pic.twitter.com/Vdx3wY9uPW
— FreeKarenRead (@Free_Karen_Read) June 10, 2024
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