I am in particular offended by you trying to justify it.
]]>Words aren't offensive in themselves, but in context.
The various derogatory terms for japanese and germans were considered entirely appropriate during WWII, because we were in a desperate war against them. It was only after they were no longer our enemies that people tried to tone that down.
The names tell you who people think are their enemies. Capitalists have names for communists and vice versa. Libertarians have names for statists. Atheists have names for religious people. Militarists have names for peaceniks. It's just part of drawing up the lines and deciding who's on which side of the wars they want.
When you disapprove of the racist etc labels you are telling people you disapprove of their preferred wars, and they don't like that. But of course when they themselves are minorities with little support there's nothing they can do about it.
]]>Actually, as I indirectly pointed out, in some areas where islam is dominant, wearing a "towelling" head-piece is a very sensible move. And, as I also said, there are lots of areas, where wearing such apparel is not done, even though the population may be muslim-majority. The headgear, if any, is likely to be one of the very nicely-made, usually white, "lace" (for want of a better word) openwork caps. I'm sure there's a proper descriptive word ....
]]>Kufi? Fez? Prayer cap? The version the Brethren wear is called a bonnet.
http://www.quakerjane.com/images/plain_dress/caps/OGBB.jpg
The jewish version is called a yarmulke, right?
]]>Oh & S A F ... Careful. Be very, very careful. Hypersensitivity to "Percived racism" where there is none has recentl;y led ( In England at any rate ) to at least two awful results: (1) The complete disregard & ignoring of years of exploitative sex abuse of (mostly) under-age girls. [ Rotherham & other places ] (2) The complete suborning of a democratic election process, resulting in a corrupt council & corrupt mayor, plus gross financial irregularities. [ Tower Hamlets ]
Both of these came about largely (if not entirely) because, rather than examine the facts, that criminal behaviour was taking place, people carefully didn't even look, never mind comment, for fear of falsely being branded "racist". In the second case, this happened anyway, as the corrupt mayor automatically branded (almost) any accuser as a racist, & succeeded in getting away with this for several years.
]]>As for the idiocy of adherents of particular religions, I'm strongly reminded of one of my favorite professors, who teaches systematics and evolution, is the son of missionaries, an elder in his church, and foster parent to I don't know how many children, several of whom he adopted. His faith informed his actions and his life, but it sure didn't inform his science. He is far from alone, too.
Generalizing from a bias can lead to mistaken conclusions.
]]>Other readers can judge for themselves, but yr. humble reporter sees this as very like a collection of utterances from family gatherings where your black-sheep uncle drinks just a bit too much brandy and thinks he's $DEITY'S gift to social wittery and raconteurdom on arbitrary subjects.
Well, let me revise that: where your black-sheep uncle drinks far too much brandy.
The humour is quite mild in subject matter and approach, leaning heavily towards the crude, with any number of bits of a bit lame wordplay.
I'm sure some readers will find it knee-slappingly funny; I found only a few entries that inspired more than occasional grins, a pity.
Rick Moen rick@linuxmafia.com
]]>Go back to the Stephen Lawrence case, where it was screamingly obvious that the cops involved were hand-in-glove with the local "Mob" (Who actually killed Lawrence) - & were racists AS WELL, it appears. Then there was the Channel4 "Dispatches" programme a year or two ago, where undercover reporters revealed extremism ( What I'd call "true religion", cough ) in various mosques. Rather than investigate the threats to the civil peace, the cops threatened the reporters. There have been strong hints that S Yorkshire police deliberately turned a blind eye in Rotherham, with suggestions of bribery, though I must emphasise nothing has been proven. Now, it appears, after the case is over, & the full proceedings are public, that in Tower Hamlets the local MetPlod appeared to be acting in the local corrupt politician's interests. They appeared to have attempted to falsely arrest a critical witness for the prosecution, a few days before his appearance in court, in spite of public denials of pressure from the supposed complainant. The trial judge was scathing, suggesting that the cops were interfering in the course of a trial.
I don't like this seeming pattern, of police bowing to local pressure-groups, of any sort, religion or skin colour, for "preference".
Incidentally, "Private Eye" had a piece about something similar, where a publican was driven out of business, by corrupt dealings with the local politicos, which has now re-surfaced.
You do not call Jews "yids" on this blog, just as you do not get to call African-Americans "niggers": these are highly offensive ethnic slurs. Similarly you do not get to call Muslims "ragheads" or members of the Church of Latter Day Saints "morons": these are highly offensive slurs based on a perceived group identity, and are no less unpleasant for that.
Just don't do it, okay? Don't force me to ban you.
(Original comments left in place ONLY so that other commenters can see why I'm issuing this warning.)
]]>The term for what you are doing is "derailing". If this was a discussion of feminism, it'd be "mansplaining". Stop it at once: the context of Greg's remarks is obvious and trying to position them otherwise is just disingenuous.
]]>WHY hasn’t our ever so popular U.K. Author Lionel Fanthorpe been nominated for a Retro HUGO?
SEE HERE...
"During the late 1950's and early 60's, The Rev Lionel Fanthorpe wrote over 150 pulp fiction novels under various names for Badger Books.
"His methods of writing are almost as bizarre as the books themselves. While hiding under a rug, Fanthorpe would let stream of consciousness dictate the fate of his characters. While good always prevailed, heroes would sometimes meet a sticky end, only to reappear, mind and body intact, some chapters further down the line.
Through incredible padding illusions and herculean feats of literacy (aided at all times by his trusty thesaurus, just how many ways can you describe Black space?), Rev Fanthorpe, aka Karl Ziegfried, a.k.a, Bron Fane a.k.a John E.Muller, a.k.a Leo Brett, a.k.a Pel Torro, wrote 89 of his books in a three year period. That's one every 12 days, while holding down a teaching job. "
Clearly Our Lionel is being singled out by the New York of US of As Literati...AS WELL AS BY the Jealous Puppies!! .. As being unworthy of recognition when he is at the Very Least More GOOD than the Sad Pups on this Writing Pop Fiction of the SF variety stuff and the literary stuff as advocated by the New York Literati! It is a Joint conspiracy and the entire Hugo Wars ' Slate' controversy is a distraction that is intended to divert us from The Truth...which is “OUT THERE”
Just consider Fanthorpes amazing opus, " March of the Robots" Which is SO good it is written under a pseudo name lest he discourage the likes of US of A authors such as Robert A. Heinlein..
" March of the Robots, by "Leo Brett" (1961) FROM 1954 to 1965, Lionel Fanthorpe produced almost the entire SF/supernatural list of the sleazy British imprint Badger Books—in his spare time. His output under many pseudonyms ran to well over two hundred novels and collections. At this pace, padding became a way of life. Alien races in Forbidden Planet (1961) can teleport in different ways about a sixty-four-planet battleground…cueing a voluminous, barely disguised exposition of chess. Galaxy 666 (1963) devotes pages to nuances of landscape color:
It gave an overall impression of greyness streaked with pink and white, rather than an over-all impression of whiteness tinged with grey and pink, or an overall impression of pink streaked with grey and white.
A favorite for reading aloud is March of the Robots, especially when the eponymous invaders land:
Terrifying things, steel things; metal things; things with cylindrical bodies and multitudinous jointed limbs. Things without flesh and blood. Things that were made of metal and plastic and transistors and valves and relays, and wires. Metal things. Metal things that could think. Thinking metal things. Terrifying in their strangeness, in their peculiar metal efficiency. Things the like of which had never been seen on the earth before. Things that were sliding back panels…Robots! Robots were marching…Listeners find themselves chanting along to the inexorable rhythms:
The city slept. Men slept. Women slept. Children slept. Dogs and cats slept.In 2002 the author, now the Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe, celebrated fifty years in print. The best or worst of his Badger excesses are collected in Down the Badger Hole (1995) ed. Debbie Cross.
—David Langford "
And Fanthorpe is more religious than all of the Pups put together ...so there!
See here for examples of Deathless Prose that even Our Gracious Host would be hard put to match...
http://www.peltorro.com/miscquot.htm
They don’t make them like that anymore!
Or there’s Fanthorpes masterpiece...
“ A 1,000 YEARS ON “ ..
Who were these fantastic women..... Why did they disturb his eternal rest? “
https://pushstuffblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/fanthorpe2.jpg
Written as John E. Muller and just as good today as ever it was in the Golden Age of Science Fiction at which time it cost 2and 6 pence - aka Half a Crown - in real money.
Why NO HUGO? It’s just got to be as a consequence of an Evil Conspiracy by the Social Justice Worriers.... AND the SAD / Rabid Puppies acting in concert as an Evil Conspiracy that is bent upon depriving the British Empire of its RITES to Recognition in the HUGO AWARDS.
This MY COMMENT, made with My Very Own Brain, will NEVER appear in Mike Glyer's File 770 on account of The Puppy Worrier Conspiracy...which is more distantly spread and far deeper Anchored in SF & F society - and in The Greater World - than you can possibly imagine.
]]>