[78-L] ^^An apology to hopefully end the N-word discussion

[Chris Zwarg]

At 17:24 22.01.2009, you wrote:
>For what it's worth, or not...
>
>I actually missed the original post. I also missed the hasty departure
>of DrJazz.  I started reading the thread when it was apparent that
>fireballs were being thrown every which way.  People forget that these
>things erupt on 78-L from time to time.
>
>Before people start huffily and hastily leaving 78-L because of one
>person's unfortunate choice of vocabulary, I would suggest that people
>consider that perhaps Chris Zwarg was not fully aware of the
>repercussions, connotations, and general social anathema of that word in
>today's American society.  

No I indeed wasn't aware of that, and I am very sorry for this state of affairs (the current US society I mean, not my being unaware of it). My forbears were taught, and I think for the most part willingly learned, so immensely much about democracy and freedom from your country - "the land of the free and the home of the brave", indeed. And now, sixty years later, all that should be history? Sorry but I still cannot fully grasp how a mere five or six letters could have raised such a thunderstorm as happened here in the past 24 hours (although I have learned my lesson and will not push my luck in that direction in future!). Among "free" and "brave" people a simple "sorry but you should not say this or that anymore today" would have been enough, wouldn't it - especially as I was not calling anyone *actually on the list* by that unfortunate epithet. It was a new, and deeply disturbing, experience to me; the last occasions I heard of similar incidents were in the former GDR an

>He does not live in the United States, he is
>not surrounded by American culture, has no day-to-day contact with our
>societal issues (which, really, do not affect Germany), and is probably
>as ignorant of how persons using that word are perceived as we are of
>how Europeans would perceive an American using an old word or phrase
>considered perjorative against...oh, I don't know, the Flemish maybe.




>I mean, hell...my fellow Americans, how many of you have annoying
>acquaintances who still tell "Polack" jokes? My guess is that these are
>told in ignorance of how they would be perceived by Poles living in
>Europe, much less Americans of Polish descent.
>
>78-L has long had a sense of moderation and self-correction,
>occasionally having to learn from our own mistakes or those of others. I
>like to think we still do.
>
>Michael Shoshani
>
>
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