On 11 Jun 2005 11:23:51 -0700, wrote:

Those who can not laugh at themselves, live a very boring life.


********************

You're right, assuming that JimH is black.

JimH, if you're black then you were merely disrespecting your own
ethnicity and not that of someone else. My criticism would still be
warranted, but my comment less than accurate if you are black. We have
no information upon which to base an assumption that you are white, and
it isn't important either way.

I often laugh at myself. I'm frequently pretty ridiculous, as are we
all.

The problem with this "joke" is that it perpetuates a myth that black
people are unable to enunciate well. Look at Tim's comment in this
thread. Jesse Jackson is very well spoken, but Tim was quick to hang
this demeaning racial stereotype on Jackson. One of the classic
idiocies in life is assigning stereotypes to a member of one group or
another merely because you might disagree with that individual's
politics or philosophy. Mike Tyson may not speak as well, (at least to
the "white" ear), as Jesse Jackson but that has nothing to do with
race. There are enormous differences in speaking ability among members
of any race.

The fact that the joke relies on a racial stereotype as a substitute
for humor can be demonstrated by the response accusing Jesse Jackson of
speaking as Mike Tyson is alleged to speak. There is little these two
individuals have in common beyond their ethnicity.

Stereotypes are always stupid. Doesn't matter whether one says
*All*.......conservatives are mean, hard-heartred
*******s.......liberals are socialist traitors.......black people like
to eat fried chicken and watermelon.....white people have small body
parts and can't jump......etc, etc, etc, etc......when one defaults to
a single statement intended to include all the members of any group it
simply shows that the person knows little, or could care less, about
any individual members of the group.

Hey Chuck, how come no complaining about the anti-Catholic joke a few lines
earlier?
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

Hey Chuck, how come no complaining about the anti-Catholic joke a few
lines
earlier?
--
*****

Didn't see that one, either.

On 11 Jun 2005 23:01:39 -0700, wrote:

Hey Chuck, how come no complaining about the anti-Catholic joke a few
lines
earlier?

Here, I wouldn't want you to miss it.

Probably already made the rounds by now but here goes:

Cardinal Ratzinger was not the Cardinals' first choice for Pope. That was,
interestingly, Cardinal Hans Grapje. Grapje was raised in a Catholic
school in The Hague and, as a young man, aspired to become a priest.
However, he was drafted into the Army during WWII and spent two years
co-piloting bombers until his aircraft was shot down in 1943 and he
lost his left arm. Captain Grapje spent the rest of the war as a
chaplain, giving spiritual aid to soldiers, both Allied and enemy.

After the war, he became a priest, serving as a missionary in Africa,
piloting his own plane (in spite of his handicap) to villages across
the continent. In 1997, Father Grapje was serving in Zimbabwe when an
explosion in a silver mine caused a cave-in. Archbishop Grapje went
down into the mine to administer last rights to those too severely
injured to move. Another shaft collapsed, and he was buried for three
days, suffering multiple injuries, including the loss of his right
eye. The high silver content in the mine's air gave him purpura, a
life-long condition characterized by purplish skin blotches.

Although Cardinal Grapje devoted his life to the service of God as a
scholar, mentor, and holy man, church leaders felt that he should
never ascend to the Papacy. They felt that the Church would never
accept a one-eyed, one-armed, flying purple Papal leader

--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."