On Sun, 4 Apr 2004 18:36:57 +0100, Janet Baraclough.. wrote:

The message
from "David Hill" contains these
words:

Yes there is a lot of political correctness gone mad.I believe that you
still talk about "Black berries", Here some of the Politically correct
brigade insist that they be referred to now as "Bramble fruit".

To help you avoid being offensive due to ignorance; the term kaffir
equates to "******", not "black".

Yeah, but it relates to "******" in SOUTH AFRICA. A third world country just about as far away on
the planet as any place can be from the US. I would understand offense IN THE UNITED STATES if
someone IN THE UNITIED STATES called a plant a "****** Lily". I wouldn't use the term myself. But
I do not CARE if the word is offensive in some distant country in some way that is not meaningful in
my own country. I don't CARE if the word "kaffir" is a slur against ethnic Bantus in South Africa,
because I'm never going to go to South Africa and am most likely never going to meet a Bantu. The
thing is, many, many, many words used in one language or country has a different meaning if you go
to in a different language or country. Take for instance (since you are in the UK) the word
"fanny". It means "butt" in the US, and "pussy" over there. What about "shag"? Means a dance over
here, and "****" over there. And that barely even touches the surface of the problem.

I, personally, neither have the time or the interest to make sure that every word that I use is NOT,
in some language and in some country, offensive to some individual or group.