Peace, I love you man, but I think you might have been a little too harsh on Shambles for is 19 Nov 05 - 06:24 PM post. Despite his legendary inability to be clear and concise, I kind of understand where he's coming from. Someone said further up that context is important (and it is), and the same holds for backgrounds. Roger's background shapes a lot of his perspective, and so does mine. Neither of us grew up in the US, we only know some of the pressures that have existed in these matters second hand (films, books, friends). We lived in a different world to yours, with different pressure points.

Now, if a Turk calls me "giaour", the term for "Greek slave" in the Ottoman days, I know he's joking, and he usually is.

I don't want to offend anyone - neither does Roger, I am sure of that. And I try to be sensitive to such issues and choose my words accordingly. But I also cannot help feeling increasingly oppressed by a sense of political correcness that (in my view) is tending towards becoming a cause by itself. The sensitivity is real, I accept that, and some PC rules are needed to help; but the real balm for relationships is true acceptance (not just with words) of the differences in each other, to a point where they no longer matter.

I repeat - some PC rules are needed. But I argue that excessive political correctness, instead of breaching that gap, can highlight it and so become a barrier to achieving true "comfort" with each other.

I don't pretend to know any answers. I sympathise with those who are sensitised by the past. But I would also ask for sympathy for those who strive to ignore such differences altogether, and find it oppressive having to learn new rules for behaviour (year on year), that seem unnecessary to them. I think Roger is one such, and so am I. It isn't ignorance or callousness - it's trying to go "one better".