Posts: 4,673
Threads: 154
Joined: Nov 2003
Reputation:
13
Gender:
Hilary Clinton got into trouble recently for making a joke in which she said that she thought Mahatma Gandhi was her gas station attendant. Obviously, she was playing on the Indian working at the convenience store stereotype (Apu). I'm a little torn on this one. On one hand, it was kind of offensive. On the other hand, it was clearly meant as a joke. I like it when you can tell when people aren't being serious.
"I looked up and saw you;
I know that you saw me.
We froze but for a moment
In empathy."-Rise Against
Posts: 161
Threads: 28
Joined: Jun 2003
Gender:
Somehow I can imagine Bill begind her air-humping throughout the whole thing.
"He's Jimmy Carter with a fox attitude!"
Well, unfortunetly, there is no universal standard by which everyone can tell whether or not someone is just trying to be funny. No matter how broad an appeal you think you might have, there is always a group of people, small or otherwise, who won't see it that way.
Hell, even if you used a heavy sarcastic tone, it wouldn't be foolproof. There are languages out there where saying the same word with a different tone gives the word an entirely different meaning. Sarcasm doesn't exist in some societies.
I personally wish people would lighten up some. Hell, I'm Canadian AND half-French, so I see a lot of ribbing coming my cultures' way, but I don't blow my ass for every little joke I hear. (Hey, some of what I hear happens to be funny) It's like that saying goes:
"People who take everything too seriously deserve to."
...or something.
Posts: 1,012
Threads: 80
Joined: Feb 2003
Reputation:
3
Gender:
As my father had put it, "A lame joke from a lame person." Not much else to comment on it.
See, I like Hilary Clinton and don't think she deserves all the bashing that she gets. You just know that nobody is going to forget she said this, and they're doing to pull it out on her whenever she decides to run for President (2008? 2012?).
But it was a stupid thing to say. Maybe it was just a joke, but when you have a microphone in front of you there's really no excuse for letting something that dumb slip out.
Posts: 1,012
Threads: 80
Joined: Feb 2003
Reputation:
3
Gender:
Actually, that's not true at all. When Bush was still campaigning, he was talking with Cheny about one of the press members being an asshole while he was still on the podium and forgot to turn the microphone off. Yet here he is now, leader of the free world and creator of wars with Iraq and other countries.