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Subject:
From:
Ben Wise <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:53:49 -0400
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What an interesting and revealing commentary.  It could only have
been uttered by someone who does not belong to any of the designated
ethnicities, since, as one who does, I found myself reacting with a
really visceral cringe to the designation that would have targeted
me.  To conflate the impropriety of "naughty words" with
sexual/scatological/religious referents  with those expressing
disrespect and contempt for people belonging to a particular racial
or ethnic group is to miss the point of this discussion entirely. The
two have very different kinds of histories and social impacts.   But
it is revealing to me that one can be that oblivious to such
distinctions.  Only in Academia!

Ben
Professor Emeritus
Keene State College
Keene, NH

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