From the horse's mouth, as it were.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Musket
Date: 18 Jun 12 - 07:52 AM

Let's all practice running his practise, just to make the grumpy old bugger happy....

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 18 Jun 12 - 04:30 AM

I do get offended when I see "practice" used as a verb or "practise" (other than in the USA) as a noun.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Musket
Date: 18 Jun 12 - 04:11 AM

Being offended on behalf of others is a bit of a pastime for some.

In The UK, we had a lady back in the '70s called Mary Whitehouse who set up some committee or other other (google it if you are not as lazy as me) that tried dictating to The BBC and government about moral standards etc. Not so much giving a voice under free speech of course, but to stifle voices of others.

In the meantime, officials who carry out the silly antics mentioned in this thread do so because they are taught to work to protocols, the bane of the public sector. They tend to interpret in the name of equality because they have been told to by management that sees initiative as a risk.

There are some extreme examples of how petty officialdom lead to adherence of government policy that could only be implemented if the petty officials played ball game with the political leaders. Sadly, to give such an example would denigrate this debate to the levels of The Godwin Principle.

Best to tell them to bugger off with their warped process they call equality. I do.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Rapparee
Date: 17 Jun 12 - 06:36 PM

Life is too short to worry about unintentionally offending someone. "First Nations" and "Native Americans" call themselves "Indians" -- at in American Indian Movement. As a Potawatomi fella once said to me, "Call me an Indian or better still, a Potawatomi. Anybody who was born here is a native American."

"African-American" has its own problems -- what do you call a white guy who was born into a family which has a long history in, say, Kenya or South Africa, but who immigrated and is now a US citizen?

Forget it, I'll take people as I find 'em. Always have.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Crowhugger
Date: 17 Jun 12 - 11:52 AM

That Guest was me.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jun 12 - 11:42 AM

Thanks ranger1. After reading the cartoon I enjoyed a nice while poking around the crochet patterns to be found on other pages at robotfromthefuture.com.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: ranger1
Date: 17 Jun 12 - 06:41 AM

Bloom County's Opus covered this rather nicely many years ago.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Little Hawk
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 07:47 PM

Jeri - "It's as if they cruise around the internet actually looking for reasons to be act upset."

That is exactly what they do, Jeri. And people do it off the Internet too in their 3-D lives. It's called "recreational outrage". It suffices to provide a little excitement and self-justification, even a sense of martyrdom, in an otherwise empty and frustrated life.

Newspapers and news shows are big on recreational outrage too, because it attracts listeners, and that pleases the sponsors.

And then there are the politicians! Even recreational outrage there to power the whole electrical grid if we could just find a way to harness and distribute it effectively.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 10:44 AM

That's right. But they don't care if YOU drink alcohol, coffee, tea, cola, or poison for that matter (yes, there are fanatics everywhere, but the average one doesn't care). Consider a few things: first, beer was brewed and drunk in Nauvoo. Second, "Valley Tan" was a bad whiskey distillery in SLC by the Mormons and sold all over The West. Thirdly, there is another distillery in Park City. Fourthly, a "boutique" distillery is planned for SLC itself.

Even gay Mormons have come out of the closet -- a "Gay Rights" parade was held a couple weeks ago in downtown SLC in which most of the participants were Mormons.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 10:41 AM

' The constantly offended ' actively look for things to be offended by.

Dave H

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 09:54 AM

Never mind the polygamy, aren't Mormons supposed to be teetotal?
Or is that "no longer practiced" as well?

The only Mormons I've met wouldn't even drink tea or coffee.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: meself
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 09:48 AM

So - we're all in agreement? Can we move on?

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 09:13 AM

Down in Ogden, UT there is a business called "Ogden's Own Distillery." Ogden, as you may know, is a far suburb of Salt Lake City and is heavily Mormon.

This distillery recently started marketing "Five Wives Vodka." It's sold in the Utah state liquor stores.

Idaho's liquor commission decided NOT to sell it in Idaho's state stores because "It offends Idaho's community of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because is references polygamy, which is no longer practiced."

Weeeeeeell -- they decided you could special order it after Ogden's Own threatened a lawsuit citing the example of Polygamy Porter ("Bring Some Home For the Wives!") which is brewed in SLC and sold in Idaho supermarkets. "Hold on!" said Ogden's Own, "special orders are a nuisance and people won't do it -- stock it!"

And so, very soon you'll be able to go into an Idaho liquor store and buy a bottle.

P.S.: The Mormons I know think the whole this is silly and ridiculous.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 08:31 AM

I remember an incident, a few years back, wherein some official was censured (or maybe even fired) for using the word "niggardly" (definition: petty in giving or spending) in a speech. His boss, who handed out the punishment, was a white man. His most vocal defender, a university grammarian, was a black woman.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 07:29 AM

Quite agree treewind. It's as if the 'targets' are not capable of dealing with it for themselves, very disempowering. Anyway, often the 'targets' aren't in the least offended. Eg A Norfolk library refused to put up a flier for a First School's Nativity play on the grounds it might 'offend other religions'. But Jews and Muslims in the locality protested and said they supported the school and the play. Vociferous and defensive complaints on others' 'behalf' may actually incite anger. ("How come those Muslims don't agree with our play?") It's mischievous and arrogant. I wish folk would relax about these things. Then it would all pass off without any trouble at all. They ought to calm down and shut up!

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: treewind
Date: 16 Jun 12 - 04:57 AM

"the constantly offended"

I stop taking anyone seriously as soon as they start taking offence on behalf of someone else.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Jeri
Date: 15 Jun 12 - 09:43 PM

Not how I feel, gnu.
People who try to offend come off as needy, weak, and trying too hard to get attention. People who "attempt to make light of the situation" maybe just misjudged how humor would be received (and can be defensive enough to not admit they screwed up). It's a major personality defect vs. a mistake.

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: gnu
Date: 15 Jun 12 - 09:30 PM

Jeri... "I think the constantly offended piss me off more than those who are trying to offend."

I would agree if you added, "to attempt to make light of the situation." If they are simply trying to offend... well... ???

Subject: RE: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: Jeri
Date: 15 Jun 12 - 09:21 PM

I think the constantly offended piss me off more than those who are trying to offend. It's as if they cruise around the internet actually looking for reasons to be act upset.

There are comedians whose whole careers hinge on looking for things that annoy other people so folks can laugh at those people.

It's not just race. I got into a polite (just barely) argument with a guy who believed wholeheartedly that the Smurfs were indoctrinating children into Satanism. Don't mention the Smurfs to him, don't mention "the dark side" to somebody else. Or "white bread," or "red tide," or ...it goes on forever.

Subject: From the horse's mouth, as it were.
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 15 Jun 12 - 01:58 PM

"There are people who when they hear, Ba Ba Black Sheep, or blackboard, scream "RACIST"
Well we have a name for people like that: WHITE. We black people are too busy dealing with real shit!"
I may not have quoted her absolutely verbatim, but this essentially was what was said tonight on Ragio 4, by a VERY funny black comedian called Ava Vidal, in the Now Show.
Nice to know that the 'Right on' peeps are dissed by more people than just me.
Listen to her if you get the chance, she's very very funny!