Well, Paddymac, I think the US view of racism is quite broad. We have a long, fine tradition of disliking anybody who's a hair different from ourselves. We've certainly had a healthy dose of antisemitism lately, and I've noticed a resurgence of anti-Catholic sentiments, including a full-page ad in USA Today last month that condemned Catholics and others for following the papist tradition of going to church on Sunday. As an employee of the Federal government from 1970-96, I sometimes found myself to be a target of hatred and potential, just because of where I worked.

We Americans can think up all sorts of prejudices, and we can come up with all sorts of "evidence" to defend the righteousness of our prejudice. It has become commonplace in the U.S. to stereotype Catholic priests as sexual predators, and I'm sure there are a number of people right here who believe that unfair stereotype to be true.
Same with nuns - the old nun stories are kind of fun, but they need to be presented gently. The Broadway show Nunsense and its sequels do this quite well, as does Michael Smiths's song "Sister Clarissa." Too often, though, nuns have been represented as horrible, hateful creatures - to the point where many people have come to believe this representation is true. I know from personal experience that the vast majority of priests and nuns are extraordinary people who are dedicated to the service of all humanity.

MMario, the words of DARKIES' SUNDAY SCHOOL as posted in the database, are racially offensive. If you sing them without an appropriate disclaimer or explanation, you could well get yourself in a lot of hot water.

There's a thin line with all this stuff, and it has to be handled with a lot of sensitivity. Even things that are presented gently can easily be taken the wrong way, and can serve to reinforce prejudices people already have.

On the other hand, I'd like to take a baseball bat and bop a few people on the head for taking offense at the least little mention of something that might somehow be construed as prejudice. One of my jobs is to investigate complaints of discrimination - I've found lots of complaining, but very little discrimination.

If we could all resolve to avoid both causing offense and taking offense, we'd all be happier. So, MMario, my curse stands. Be careful. You might not like the results. (grin).

-Joe Offer-