SC - gays-an apology (and a rant)

[Siegfried Heydrich]

    There's a difference between lighthearted humor (whatever the level of
insensitivity) and nasty. You can tell when something is meant in a snide,
derogatory, denigrating manner. There's a malevolence that cannot be hidden.
But bantering jokes that don't demean shouldn't be scrutinized for nuance
and hidden insensitivity. Down that road lies the Orwellian world of
Newspeak, and the kind of rigid PC thought control now infesting college
campuses around the country.
    Humor is humor - there shouldn't be classifications of who can tell what
jokes. If a bit of banter isn't malicious in tone, just accept it as banter!
Hey, they're only electrons. I have a personal policy of never ascribing to
malice that which can be explained by simple stupidity, and it generally
works.
    I do find it rather interesting, though, that people who are NOT members
of a given group tend to be the loudest in denouncing perceived slights
against that group. Another doctoral thesis topic, anyone?

    Sieggy

> I guess some of us found it insensitive because we were unaware of your
personal
> life.  I do know that it seems to be a common thing among various
> religious/racial/sexual preference groups that it is ok for jokes of this
nature
> to be told by a member of the group, but that it is unacceptable for the
same
> joke to be told by one who is not a member of the group.  As most of us do
not
> know each other personally but only through what we read on this list, we
have
> no way of really knowing who belongs to which group, if any.  I know that
it is
> perfectly ok for me or someone who also has an amply-endowed body to tell
"fat"
> jokes, but I do get a little hurt if a lovely slender person tells one!
>
> I guess, if we're going to make comments like this, we might want to
preface our
> remarks somehow to let others on the list know that we are part of the
group we
> are joking about...that might make it a little better!
>
> Kiri
>
> Siegfried Heydrich wrote: