I had to look up that absolut ad with the ruler cuz I didn't get it...

... now I do...

And yes, very all over sensitive.

i think people need to grow a pair and get over it

um, unrelated, but is there a reason the entire moscow times post was deleted?

i think cuz it was fraudulent! haha!

no biggie!

well yeah, but an "update" would have been better imo.

People seem to go out of their way to find something to be offended about.

People need to get over it. That Vodka ad doesn't offend me nor does the word monkeys. It's ridiculous nowadays.

People are extremely over-sensitive about everything. There's a need to feel self-important I think; people don't feel fulfilled unless they're complaining about something, anything.

cabaker you're so mean!

sy - don't be a

jk!

xoxo

Oh please!
I call my son a monkey butt all the time!
The vodka ads are just liquor ads...
Stupid humor.

Now, the girl getting attacked and not being allowed to call her dad is wrong. She did her assignment and was attacked for it. She has a right to be against illegals, just as others have a right to support them, literally. $$$

i (white) am a babysitter of two black boys whom I refer to as "little monkeys." Their momma calls them that, so I figured it was okay! I don't think any of us ever thought twice about it. Their mom always jokes about how dark they are, and if we go out in public people probably think I caught the "jungle fever." She says those kind of things all the time! I just keep my mouth shut.

I think it's just personal, how things strike you. Here in TX, there is a Dairy Queen commercial where two redneck sherrif deputies are interviewing a cheeseburger. They have it under the spotlight, and they keep calling it "BOY." Now to me, that sounds a little racist, even though there is nothing overtly racist about it. I hate that commercial, and it scares me. Becuase I know there are parts of TX where that treatment is not just in the past. They keep running the spot every year, so I guess no one else sees it that way!

Yeah, everyone is WAY oversensitive. And actually, I wouldn't mind too much if Mexico did extend to that part of the United States. There, now I've offended someone!

I've so had it with PCness. It's an ad. If that's up there on your importance in life scale, perhaps you need to re-evaluate your priorities.

I agree with Licia 100%

Barak needs to STFU. I call ALL children monkeys. My company's name is "something" monkey. I used to call my nephews little monkeys and I call my neices my neice-monkeys.

And for cripessake when my nephews took dance lessons from Patsy and Patrick Swayze, Patsy called every child in her studio her "little monkeys".

Only a freakin' moron who just discovered his "supposed" racial identity would get all uptight about a woman referring to children as monkeys and demand that she recuse herself as a delegate. I bet she was a Hilary delegate.

And I guess Barak and Michelle never sing "10 little monkeys" to their daughters while they jumped around. What a freakin' moron. His ignorance knows no bounds since he decided that he's a "black man" not a bi-racial man.

(Ok, now I'm curious about the Moscow Time article - can anyone offer a quick summary? Feel free to send it privately so as not to disrail this convo any further - )

As for the subject at hand, whether or not someone is "overreacting" is such a subjective concept. If you've not been in someone else's shoes, it may not always be possible to understand how hurtful something might truly be. At the same time, though, sometimes it does seem that the "punishment" may not fit the "crime" very well. Pushing the delegate out because she told kids in a tree they were "acting like monkeys" can, I'm sure, be very hurtful to many African-Americans given how the term "monkey" has historically been used against them and helped perpetuate the idea that blacks are inferior to whites, or, worse, not truly "human" at all.

So I get why people were upset - but I'm not sure her stepping down as a delegate is truly necessary. I'd like to think this is something that could be resolved with a sincere apology and maybe having the delegate be involved with doing PSA's about how its important to choose your words carefully. Of course, if she hadn't resigned, you just KNOW that both the Clinton and McCain camps would jump on Obama accepting the support of a racist (or something of that nature) - not because they're genuinely offended by what she said, but because they think it can win them votes. Politics are disgusting that way.

As for the Absolute "Ruler" add, I got the implication of the add immediately, but was surprised when I flipped over to the article to find that it was being used to specifically target the Gay & Lesbian community. Straight guys are just as obsessed with their, uh, dimensions, so it seemed to me that the ad was just poking fun at *all* men, not just gays. Weird.

Specific to the Monkey statement, that was just stupid. Frolicking climbing children have been referred to as Monkeys for decades because of the obvious inference. What is this crap too about her being ticketed for the comment? WTF!

I'm gay and I don't' get how the ruler targets the gay community.

As for the little Latinos attacking the little Anglo it was not racially motivated. It was patriotically motivated and racially perceived.

so now its a crime to call children monkeys? is it all children or just black children?

the only thing I find upsetting is how the girl was treated for completing an assignment...

Hi everybody. Thanks for noticing the missing story. It contained some factual errors and was taken down. Thank you for your patience with my early morning confusion. Please let me know if you have additional questions.

In addendum to my last comment this is precisely why people need to examine the context of statements and actions before they react quite possibly as illustrated in some cases above with ignorance.

In my opinion, in most cases it does not matter what something sounds like or looks like. What matters is the intent.

like chuck said

Political correctness is tyranny with manners.

I call little kids monkeys all the time, and Hoodlums, and I say "the natives are restless"

"Barak needs to STFU."
"What a freakin' moron. His ignorance knows no bounds since he decided that he's a "black man" not a bi-racial man."

That was really articulate. Have you listened to anything he has said about race recently, like that 20 minute long speech? You should re-read that. He is quite familar with the knowledge that he is half white, being that he was raised by his white mother and grandparents.

Can you really blame politicians for being a bit paranoid about anything that a supporter says? Things have been taken so out of context in so many ways, I understand why he would want to distance himself from anything controversial.

"Of course, if she hadn't resigned, you just KNOW that both the Clinton and McCain camps would jump on Obama accepting the support of a racist (or something of that nature) - not because they're genuinely offended by what she said, but because they think it can win them votes."

Exactly.

Yeah, I have a hard time with how the girl was treated for her assignment. I would have had no problem if the Latinos who attacked her had - instead of taking physical retaliation - had opted to make their own protest signs or otherwise *peacefully* expressed their opposition, but I hope that they were punished appropriately for attacking her. I find it almost unbelievable - especially since in the article, the school district says that they do have a tape of the event - that they sent her back to class and told her she couldn't call her parents. Not "unbelievable" in the sense that I think she's lying about it, but unbelievable that the school would actually consider that in any way appropriate!

Why are we always worried about people being overly sensitive?

What about the insensitive people like Cine, Cabaker and Sy.

people are becoming overly-sensitive, no doubt. but the girl who got assaulted by other students? that seems a little extreme to not let her call her parents. although i'm not sure if it's a "racially motivated crime."

I agree that we are way oversensitive as a country. We have been brought up looking for ways that comments could be construed as offensive, and not necessarily taking the comment at face value. The delegat who was asked to step down and ticketed has been unfairly treated, and she has my sympathy

None of those are offensive to me. I'm not really offended by anything unless it is directed at me personally--either by confrontation, or cowardly passive-aggression--and I think it is a waste of time to get riled up over something so trivial. If people find ads or a little girl's opinion offensive and want to spend energy and time rolling it over in their minds, then I just find it sad that it isn't something that will result in a positive outcome. Something such as world hunger or animal welfare; something that will make them get off their butts and do something to better the world rather than sit and stew over something harming no one. But, perhaps if there weren't people who got offended over ads and other seemingly trivial things, maybe there would be less sensitively in general and that would be a very bad thing for humanity. I guess it's all copacetic (I swear I'll never use that word again), and everyone plays a part in the grand scheme of things. Like Mosquitoes.

I'm actually really offended that you think I'm too easily offended. Where the hell do you get off, Citizen!

But Hypnotic, we do not know that it was not racially motivated.

I grew up in Texas schools and there IS racism against Hispanic people. It's often subtle, but it's pervasive. She has a right to speak her mind, but in my opinion it was very poor judgement on her part to cover that topic in her assignment. anybody with sense knows that is playing with fire. I don't condone what happened to her, but that was a pretty dumb choice of topic. what did she expect would happen? I mean, hispanic kids here in my city have actually left school in oranized protest over this topic. It's not relegated to the adults.

i really don't buy it that she was just completing an assignment. I would have to hear more about it I guess. like, what provoked the Hispanic kids, other than just the sign?

The only people who have an excuse in this matter are the little kids as unfortunate as their actions were. I hope the adults involved took the opportunity to teach them something wise about responding to things like this.

Jillness - no I refuse to listen to any career politician. Any or all of the candidates can continue to promise the moon all they like - but do not honestly think that they will be able to deliver on any of their pie-in-the-sky promises. And yes it was rather articulate considering my pounding migraine.

And what exactly does anything that he's said recently in staged rehearsed speeches have to do with asking someone to forgo being a delegate because they called some children 'monkeys'. You seem to be comparing Apples to Asphalt.

And listen to Barack speak? No, thank you I have a life to lead and the man is so freaking long winded and full of hot-air that I think I'd prefer to listen to people getting their teeth drilled without novocaine to hearing one of his pseudo- "I have a Dream" speeches. He should actually audition for Man of La Mancha. Geez I thought Bill Clinton was long winded and full of hot-air but Barack is currently on-par and about to surpass him with all of the posturing. Bring back Jimmy Carter! He was straight forward , to-the-point and done.

Yes, I can fault/blame some politician and his political team of vipers for trying to censor someone's free speech, when it was not offensive or meant to be offensive. And when failing that they remove them from a position that they had "earned".

I "studied" Barack back when he first ran for IL legislature. As yet I've seen nothing original or special from him or about him to warrant me devoting time to pushing for his election. I've been politically aware since I was 7 - way back in 1978 when I cast my mother ballot for her at out local polling place and then started volunteering for our small local democratic office. I've said it before I've never missed an election or not cast a ballot since I turned 18, 18 years ago. Barack's campaign and supporters seem to be really dead-set on trying to sell him and his ideas as something new, when it's all old hat.

Who's long winded, wackdoodle?

I am *NOT* insensitive... I prefer to call it "direct".

Sure we do KrisSugar she said it wasn't and that she refers to her own kids as Monkeys.

"the woman "came outside and told the children to quit playing in the tree like monkeys." The woman says she didn't want the children to get hurt, and she even calls her own grandchildren "monkeys."

The context and intent is all laid out here. The people who asked her to step down were reacting to an anticipated reaction which may or may not have ever come but in any case they clearly went way too far.

As for the young lady who wrote the report, you can't blame her because some kids just aren't street wise. Some kids are what they should be, innocent. There was no ill intent in her report and as far as I'm concerned it was an adolescents very basic expression of patriotism.

You read my mind, mondaymoos!

I think some people in this world are highly educated and knowledgable. I don't care how long they go on, if they are insightful, I will listen to them and evaluate what they said.

I think it is sad that our politics have gotten to the point where we nit pick what people affiliated with the campaign have to say, more than the actual candidates themselves.

hypnoticmix, keep in mind you are only hearing this woman's perspective...not the children's or the mothers.

wackdoodle you want some Excedrine baby?

And if it was nothing but the sign, KrisSugar? In my experience, high school kids fight over a lot less than this instance. You don't need much to be provoked at that age.

I don't think she was "playing with fire" by choosing this topic. Living in Arizona, it'd be a relevant debate topic, and something that I would choose. Why would you make a protest sign for something that held no meaning to you or anyone else in the class?

Well I can gather what the mothers perspective is Jillness. Her perspective is that racist called my kids monkeys and the kids perspectives was hey that lady called us monkeys and now is that lady is a racist because she called us monkeys.

There reaction to what was said doesn't mean that is what the lady meant. It is the intent that should dictate terms not the reaction.

"There reaction to what was said doesn't mean that is what the lady meant. It is the intent that should dictate terms not the reaction."

Of course. But I have known many racists that have said things like "jungle monkeys" when talking about african american people. We don't really know WHAT she said, or HOW she said it. I feel that the victim's perspective is just as valid as the accused. Especially considering that this incident was a big enough deal for police to give her a ticket, that lends credibility to the fact that what she did was clearly out of line.

Given the climate of the presidential race so far, I can understand why they would want to nip any potential problems in the bud. If an officer of the law thought she broke it, it is understandable that the Obama campaign would take an impartial officer's opinion at face value.

That's what I want to get to the bottom of, what is this with the ticket? You can't ticket someone for callings kids monkeys that's absurd. There has to be a missing piece of the puzzle here in that regard.

Yes of course they have every right to react the way they want. I am not implying limits on their reaction. But when it comes down to judgment are you going to go with the reaction or the intent? I'm going to judge the intent.

I also understand why the Obama campaign reacted the way they did. As I said above they were reacting to a perceived reaction that may or may not have come.

hypnotic, i didn't say anything recently about the monkey issue. are you addressing someone else?

I am not blaming the young lady who wrote the report, or made the sign, or whatever. She is after all, young and probably innocent. but i grew up in the same state she is, and I know how white people act and the things they say when Hispanic people aren't listening. none of us know whether it was completely innocent or not, but I'm just giving my opinion about it. This link was to a really short article, and didn't outline any of the details other than her side. What happened in the class when she gave her presentation? Did other kids rat on her, or what? Texas is a huge place, and each region has different sets of issues. But I'm willing to bet there was more to it than just a sign. Once again, please don't go thinking that I'm saying she deserved it. It was definitely a horrible crime that happened to her.

Yes, I only offered you an Excedren. Do you want one?

well, i agree wiht you Monday. Why would you make a sign about something that wasn't relevant? It's a totally relevant topic, and pretty emotional for the side that risks being deported! you are also right, it doesn't take much to provoke kids at that age. well, case in point! it didn't take much, that we know of.

I'm just saying, as a complete aside, not putting blame on anyone, that it was a risk. Just me running my mouth. I don't think she deserved it, and those kids should be arrested, suspended, whatever it is they deserve. And I'm not condoning illegal immigration either. We all have to follow the laws. It's just my opinion, that's all.

Directly insensitive to the sensitivity of others.

I'm just realizing that my butt is currently glued to the couch, growing wider by the minute, while debating whether or not we're too sensitive. I give up. I throw in the towel. I take responsibility for being too sensitive, and not sensitive enough.

I have actually wondered if my Travolta Urban Cowboy avatar is going to pi$$ people off. He's kind of assertive looking, like he thinks he knows better than everyone else. Maybe I should go back to the pic of my dog. Am I being too sensitive?

No, he's totally sexily assertive. And that's not something I would normally say about John Travolta.