Posted by Robert Dilley on March 28, 2002 at 00:44:45 from 216.211.68.96:
In Reply to: Re: Forbidden Words posted by andy bolger on March 28, 2002 at 00:01:41:
I think Andy (or andy) has touched on the critical point -- we shouldn't refer to others by names they find offensive. In Canada we have largely stopped referring to "Eskimos" because these people don't like the word -- it's a term used for them by the Algonkian Indians meaning "Eaters of raw flesh". The general term now is "Inuit" (people). That seems fine to me and I happily go along with it. My real objection is to ardent PC-enthusiasts who sniffle around for what they think might be offensive to someone else and then make a career of pursuing that issue. I get PC students criticising me from time to time for referring to "Blacks", although some 75% of the relevant population in the US has said they prefer that term. Also for talking of "Indians" (rather than "Aboriginals", or the uniquely Canadian "First Nations People"). I point out that the community centre here in Thunder Bay calls itself "The Indian Friendship Centre" and that my eldest daughter's boyfriend of the past four years has a full-blooded Ojibwe mother, and she calls herself "Indian". Still on PC matters, some years ago my university followed many others and created an office of Ombudsman to handle student complaints that didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Only now the position is called "Ombudsperson". I can't wait for the province west of ours to get renamed "Personitoba".
As for AR (see, I am getting back on topic) I did what many others report, and edited the odd bit that made me uncomfortable and, when my daughters got older, told them what I had done. Incidentally, when I read Lord of the Rings to them I edited out some of Sam's more cringing "Yes Master, No Master" bits -- and have been delighted to see them absent from the movie (we've been to see it three times so far). I guess the point is I want to do the editing; not have someone else act as a PC-Bowdler on my behalf. (Can't resist adding that when I was taking "A" Level English at school -- just upstream from Pinmill -- we were issued Bowdlerised versions of Shakespeare. However, the Examination Board was using the regular edition, so we had to start each play by carefully going through and writing in all the dirty bits....)
Final thought -- If people would rather be reading the books than discussing them in detail, why are they wasting valuable reading time logging on to TarBoard?