Matt Murray wrote:
>
> Paul:
>
> Though hardly a voice of reason, lemmy step up here.
>
> As George Carlin noted in his "Seven Words you can't say on TV", they
> indeed are just words. But as we all know some words can contain
> powerful meanings and sentiments.
>
> Without getting specific, it is the same as using various terms to
> name certain ethnic groups. Asian, Afro-American, Latino, Italian,
> Irish, etc. all have nick-names that are degrading, demeaning,
> threatening, etc. As a Safety Steward,if you call me a Safety a--hole,
> then you have not offended me, my wife or anyone else's religion,
> race, and the like. You have voiced an opinion of a
> decision/perception of a course change or operating procedure.
>
> Since you are on my joke list, you know I am not easily offended.
> However, in a "public" forum I think a certain amount of caution must
> be used. If one of our elder racers happened to have a number tattooed
> on to their arm, they could indeed take offense to the nick name.
> Should anyone be a son/daughter of one of those people, again, they
> might be more sensitive to the term.
>
> It all has to do with who your "audience" is. If you are sitting
> around in your own house talking about how great Buford Furrow is,
> that is your right. But if you are sitting at the back end of your
> trailer in the paddock, and someone next to you might be offended,
> then restraint should be exercised. The racism will still exist, but
> no one will have to hear about it. We already know, from Teamdotnet
> posts, that there are racists who will be parked at this year's
> Nationals. They are free to attend, but I certainly do not have to
> communicate with them.
Hi Matt,
We have traded enough jokes over the years that I think you know I am
not anti-Semitic. Some of my best friends are Drewish. ;-)
If we called them Safety WASPS, Safety Yankee Doodle Dandys, or Safety
Blondies then perhaps I could see the point since this would obviously
be an attempt to demean or degrade _my_ race. But by calling them
members of an organization that doesn't even exit anymore, I don't see
how this could upset a group that was outrageously violated in the past
by the same group. I would think they would like the idea that the term
is still used in a pejorative manner as a means of remembering the past
atrocities.
As an example, if we used the term "Safety Fascist" or "Safety Commie"
would we be upsetting the liberals or the conservatives amongst us? What
if we called them "Safety Iraqis"? Would this be demeaning to the
Israelis who were the victims of Scud missile attacks???
Or am I just a fuddy duddy who's time has come to be the next Archie
Bunker?
Paul Foster
BTW, since I now live in Orlando - home of Disney, how about "Safety
Rat"?
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