>From: colburns <[log in to unmask]> > >There is a HUGE difference between an ethnic stereotype and an ethnic >slur. reducing Irish people to nothing more than corn beef & cabbage eating drunks (of illegally imported beveragaes) is NOT humorous. It has roots deep into history, particularly in America when Irish immigrants werent' even considered "white", just smelly, vermin infested, potota eaters. Despite their acceptance into the modern "white mainstream", perhaps in part to their willingness to work jobs others wouldn't (such as in the first forming police & fire brigades and coal mines) these stereotypes/slurs persist in jokes. Telling them is NO different from telling "n*gger", "towel head", or "spick" jokes (the current hard working classes of immigrants not accepted in the white mainstream. Again, you may find it funny and harmless but to me referring to Irish as drunks is absolutely atrocious and such conduct has NO business on this list. It's not "humor", its demeaning millions of human beings based on their ethnicity. PERIOD!!! >From: Kristie Wood <[log in to unmask]> > >If you're that hyper sensitive then perhaps you should unsubscribe >for a while so that the rest of us can enjoy the posts in the spirit >that was intended. My point is that there is a general principle here - implying an entire ethnic group is alcoholic is offensive whether you say it about Irish, Blacks, Native Americans, Hispanic, etc. Its wrong and allowing such demeaning jokes about another "white" group just leads to that slipperly slope of permiting offensive stereotypes of non-mainstream groups. This isn't merely being "PC", there's a moral principle violated here; demeaning others based on ethnicity is wrong! I expected a simple "I'm sorry, I didn't realize my jokes could be considered offensive, I won't do it again" response, not a "we're justified in insulting whoever we want so leave if you don't like it" attitude! If the FML community is willing to tolerate stereotyping and demeaning attacks on people based on their ethnicity, than I will have no choice but to leave and let you tell your offensive jokes in private. END OF DISCUSSION "Intelligence is like 4-wheel drive. It allows you to get stuck in more 'remote' places." ~ Garrison Keillor ~ [Moderator's note: Yes, clearly there are varying sensitivities to such "humor" (if that's what it is) and we should try to be careful in how things are worded. That doesn't imply I'm going to scour all posts for any hints of offensiveness, but the really nasty ones (by my definiton, of course) are usually stopped, and will continue to be stopped. I do understand your concern -- I live in a multi-cultural city and hear rather nasty slurs everyday. They don't make me happy, and they especially don't make their targets happy. There are both practical and philosophical limits to my "sanitizing", however. BIG] [Posted in FML issue 5299]