From: st1ns@elroy.uh.edu (Ault, Russell W.)
Newsgroups: rec.humor
Subject: Re: Credit Validation
Date: 30 Dec 1992 19:42 CST
Organization: University of Houston
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: elroy.uh.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    


(multiple attribs and many lines deleted) 
>   <>   This reminds me of a story told by a colleague of mine who was on an
>   <>   airplane one day seated next to someone whose native language was not
>   <>   American English.
>   <>-----
>   >Although true stories, passing around anecdotes like this "for a laugh"
>   >further enhance stereotyping of "foreigner"s as speaking "funny english".
>   >
> 
>      Well Naeem, I think it has to be pointed out that a lot of foreigners do
>   speak "funny english". I speak funny french. Should I be offended if someone
>   points out that my accent is about as appealling as nails on a chalk board?
>   No, of course not. 

>Steve, you raise a legitimate point. But, I am unable to take such things
>as lightly. Do you get attacked for your different-ness? Of course not?
> 
>In New Jersey, there is a gang of white skinheads who specifically formed
>to attack Indians in the area. They call themselves the "Dotbusters"
>(after the dot Indian women wear as ritualistic make-up on their foreheads).
>The have killed Indians in the area.  

Naeem, you have a valid point, but the wrong audience.  While it is perfectly
true that there are intolerant and idiotic people here in the US who would
willingly ridicule and abuse persons of other nationalities, this is neither 
the only country in which it happens, nor the average behavior here, nor the
behavior of the persons who were making the original observation.  Anything 
can become the focus of intolerant abuse, but those who choose to find amusement
(as distinguished from finding an excuse for ridicule or atrocity) in the
acknowledged unintentional utterances of others are also often the ones who
are willing to offer an explanation and enlighten the one who was unaware.
An unfamiliar language, whatever it may be, will often make even the most
intelligent and well-educated person say the wrong thing...and if that person
has a problem with the fact that others who do have a sense of humor may find
such things to be funny, then he's be better off hiring an interpreter to
avoid the embarrassment (or prewrite all of his speeches for him) or stick
to the language he knows and the country in which it is spoken.  Although I
speak a very small amount of French (with a horrible American accent) I 
refuse to go to France because the reaction there (in Paris, at least) to
any imperfection seems to be predictably hostile.  But go to Mexico and
try to speak Spanish, and you'll meet with about the same mix of reactions
that you get here.  A choice malaprop will get giggles or even guffaws, 
followed by a gentle explanation of the error, in the majority of cases.
Only someone whose company no one would be likely to want does otherwise.
I infer that your experiences here to date have included a disproportionate
concentration of unpleasant encounters.  I make no excuses for the behavior
of those responsible, I will presume it to have been inexcusable on your
assumed assurance.  But I suspect that if this is the average reaction that
you have been getting, then you are in an area with an atypically high
ratio of persons who would do such things.  

But I, for one, will continue to keep my sense of humor, and the ability
to laugh at the malaprops I create myself in other languages.  I've done
it more than once, and often the only clue that I had (and the only reason 
that I knew to ask what I *should* have said) was that it drew a chuckle...
sadly, I don't seem to have enough of a talent for that sort of thing to be
able to make a living at it.  


Enough, already!  The subject hits the killfile after I edit this!


ObJoke:  Politically Correct Term Proposal.
   Politically Incorrect Term 
     (Devalues the opinions of the so-labelled):  "Politically Incorrect"
   Proposed Politically Correct Term: 
     "Sensitively-Inclusive Terminology Impaired"

  (Recursively, then, the proposal OUGHT to be reworded, but then the
   people who need to consider it wouldn't get it, so they have to be
   politically incorrect to talk about being politically correct...)



  My wife went to Harvard and all I got was this lousy .sig!
      Russ Ault, aka st1ns@jetson.uh.edu 
      (For the moment, anyway.  I reserve the right to
       polymorph myself into something more formidable.)

Newsgroups: rec.humor