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)
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