WELLL...I really appreciate Aine' posting this.My request was for a personal msg,in case a potential poster would feel it inappropriate for a thread.So,Kat,I don't think she was bullied into it,but I think it was the right thing to do.

Having said that,I would not call it unmitigated crap,or whatever Catspaw said. It is fairly cleverly written,and has moments that caused me to smile.(Sorry about that.)But I wonder if the writer would have come up with a similar situation involving Hispanics,Blacks,Comanches or Vietnamese? I very much doubt it.Why did he choose gypsies?Because they are a small,nearly invisible minority,and highly unlikely to be a part of the Blarney's target demographic.Easy target.

And,you know what? If I hadn't had conversations with folks like Aine and InObu on the Mudcat,I would probably have laughed and thought it a hilarious little tune,so sparse was my familiarity with the Roma and the prejudices against them. But I have changed in the way I see Gypsies.And so it was right that Aine tell me of the pain this caused.And it was right that Joe ask that we see the work in question before condemning it.

Do you see how much Mudcat is teaching me? Thanks to all of you.Now if we can just get the Blarney Brothers a clue.