Just as a reminder, I did apologize to the offended party personally as well as
to the group as a whole.  I will try to remember to be more thoughtful in what I
send so as not to offend anyone.  I care about all of you.  Whatever color,
race, religion, whatever anyone is is not for me to judge.  I forget that on the
internet, you don't know anything about who you are addressing so I will remind
myself to play it safe.
Jennifer

Kleynscheldt, Gerrit wrote:

> Ernie wrote:
>         The point is that the joke HAS, unintentionally or not, given
> offence.  Would it not therefore be so much nicer and in keeping with the
> nature of this group, if an apology was made to a Maryhelen? Surely that is
> not asking too much?  After all, what is being defended? Not a deep
> religious belief or a major point of principle, just a joke!
>         Most people are rightly proud of their people and background and
> this should - MUST - be respected. I am sure that Maryhelen deserves and
> would accept a simple apology saying that there was no slur against Mexicans
> intended and that you understand her feelings.
>         I do hope that you will be big enough to do so.
> Oh! But are we sensitive!
>
> This super sensitivity has lead to the banning of songs like "Baa baa BLACK
> sheep..." ; "I'm dreaming of a WHITE Christmas..." etc.  When the boxing
> match of Jackson vs Johnson is televised they will state e.g. that Jackson
> wears the BLUE pants and Johnson the RED pants - not realising that people
> watching on black & white TV's perceive the same shade of grey.  TV will
> however never say that Jackson is the BLACK boxer and that Johnson is WHITE.
>
> Life is becoming a grey and unflavored experience as a result of our
> attempts to always be politically correct.  When I read (and enjoyed) the
> fisherman- joke I did not for a moment experience a perception that the
> Mexican was depicted as of lower standard and I particularly enjoyed the
> fact that academic brilliance is often quite a hindrance and not a benefit
> (this is the que for all the professionally qualified to pull your keyboards
> closer).
>
> I am proud of my race, clour and creed - not to the detriment of anybody
> else - and I expect every person to be proud of his/her colour, race and
> creed as well.
>
> PLEASE do not stop telling jokes about the Englishman, the Scot and the
> Irishman who went to the pub, etc.
>
> (Incidentally - Did you hear about the piece of white string who went to the
> bar for a beer?  As he leaned over the bar-counter to order his drink the
> barman said that he was not allowed to serve pieces of string, and threw him
> out.  The piece of string got up (blackened with dust), tied himself into a
> knot,  frayed himself at the ends and strolled into the bar again.  The
> barman stopped and stared at him when he ordered his beer, and said, 'Are
> you not that piece of string that I threw out just now?'  'No, I'm afraid
> not' , replied the string.
>
> Nobody should feel differently about the story if the string was a Scot
> (although the accent would be spelled differently), or a Mexican, a Serb, a
> White Afrikaner or whatever.
>
> Greetings.
>
> Gerrit Kleynscheldt
>
> Tel:    021 947 8918    (International  +27 21 947 8918)
> Fax:    021 947 1521    (International  +27 21 947 1521)
>
> Please note the following:
> Because e-mail can be altered electronically,
> the integrity of this communication cannot be guaranteed.