 |
 |
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.