The message
from (paghat) contains these words:

it is at least true that it's a stupid
idea to insist a Kaffir Lily can't be called a Kaffir Lily because on a
completely different continent Kaffir is a hate-word spewed primarily from
the trashy mouths of a bunch of butt-ugly honky-eqivalent Afrikaaners.(snip)

If not for the World Wide Web, to anyone who'd never been to South Africa,
Kaffir means "a pretty flower from somewhere in Africa," nothing more or
less.

(snip)

That may be true in America, where only a small proportion of the
population ever leaves its own continent; it certainly isn't in Britain
(or any of the continents we occupied more recently).

"Kaffir" as a derogatory term, was seeded over half the world by British
Colonials and the British Army. There are still enough white Brits using
it that way to ensure that all black Brits are well aware of the insult.

Janet.

Judy wrote in message ...
David Hill wrote:
"...........I'm not surprised that you still are using the highly offensive
racist name for the plants ..........."

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...with the names you use at
times????

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".
Short people are "Vertically challenged"
People with a disability are not disabled they are "Differently able."
And it goes on and on


And Brazil nuts are still called ****** toes

How'd they get that name?

-
theoneflasehaddock

I think this says it all..........

During the 1990's a former UK officer serving with the Bermuda constabulary
for a number of years was accused of calling a black officer a 'kaffer'.

The allegation was treated seriously and instead of dealing with the issue
by way of discipline, the officer found himself summonsed to appear at
Magistrate's court in Hamilton, Bermuda for an offence of 'insulting words
and / or behaviour'.

One questions whether the UK officer could have been treated fairly; the
matter was investigated and considered by the prosecution service. No one,
when handling what was a career destroying allegation against the former UK
officer, could find in his favour, the matter progressed to Court. What
could the prosecution team do, call the black officer a liar?

As is the way in Court proceedings, the prosecution put their case at the
Magistrates Court. The evidence against the officer was the word of the
person he allegedly called 'kaffer'; a fellow serving officer. The evidence
was given and apart from refute the allegation and stress that the words
were never uttered, what could the officer, or his defence counsel, do?

Before the black officer, making the allegation, was released (allowed to
leave the witness box) the Judge put a question to him:

"officer, what do you understand the term 'kaffir' to mean"

The reply from the black officer:

"I don't know what it means"

Case dismissed.

If you do not know what something means then they cannot cause you offence,
the offence is not complete


--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

David Hill wrote:
...Before the black officer, making the allegation, was released
(allowed to leave the witness box) the Judge put a question to him:

"officer, what do you understand the term 'kaffir' to mean"

The reply from the black officer:

"I don't know what it means"

Case dismissed.

If you do not know what something means then they cannot cause you
offence, the offence is not complete




The solution is so obvious. We should *educate* people about all the words
in common usage that they should be offended by. The more arcane the word
is, the better -- that way we get to show off how educated and clever (and
therefore superior) we are.

Best regards,
Bob

"......."Kaffir" as a derogatory term, was seeded over half the world by
British Colonials and the British Army. There are still enough white Brits
using it that way to ensure that all black Brits are well aware of the
insult.
Janet.

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

Janet ........"

Thank you so much Janet for pointing out the error of my ways, though as far
as I know no one grows either kaffir berries or ****** berries.....just
Black berries.
Just a pity that your views are so bigoted and seem to relate to a different
country to the one I live in.......
I was at a training course once on the subject of political correctness
where the lecturer was Female, in a wheelchair and with both a hearing and a
sight loss.......she insisted that all people who were not Caucasian should
be referred to as "Black" which she seemed to think wouldn't offend Asians
or Chinese and Japanese.....
Her attitude was "That is what I say , and that is what it is.......I am the
expert."
It is just as easy to be offensive in the way that you say something as it
is by what you say.
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/xft/

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

David Hill wrote:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/xft/


Who are you replying to with that?

--
--------------
Peace,
Delta Nine


Life is very difficult. Once you understand that, life becomes easier.
-Buddha

I'm tellin' ya D9, you can't go wrong with gallons and gallons of urine.
- T.D. Shadow

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.

On 3 Apr 2004 22:16:02 -0800, (theoneflasehaddock) wrote:

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".
Short people are "Vertically challenged"
People with a disability are not disabled they are "Differently able."
And it goes on and on


And Brazil nuts are still called ****** toes

How'd they get that name?


I know this is an attempt at a troll, having cross-posted to all of these unrelated groups, but I'll
post this article I found anyway:

http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1991/...in_911125.html

The Scientist 5[23]:0, Nov. 25, 1991




Opinion

Racist Relics: An Ugly Blight On Our Botanical Nomenclature
By Melvin Hunter

Date: November 25, 1991

Racism is a disease afflicting every level of society. The symptoms are as obvious as a cross
burning or as subtle as a schoolteacher's subconsciously lowered expectations. Its presence casts an
ugly shadow across society--unfortunately, even into our flower gardens and the language that
scientists use to describe their inhabitants.

Sad to say, a number of racially offensive common plant names long ago slipped into the vernacular
of gardening, and some have found their way into horticulture's most important reference books.
Sadder still is the fact that several of these offensive names are still in common use. And most
amazing has been the reluctance of the horticultural establishment to confront the issue and remedy
it with appropriate revision of the offending nomenclature.

A prime example is the term ******head--painfully offensive, yet in use throughout the world as a
common plant name. In Australia, Edward Rotherham informs us in his book Flowers and Plants of New
South Wales and Southern Queensland (Wellington, A.H. and A.W. Reed, 1982), ******head is the common
name for Enneapogon nigricans, a stiff, black-green grass of the shrublands of New South Wales.
According to John Salmon, the author of New Zealand Flowers and Plants (Wellington, A.H. and A.W.
Reed, 1963), ******head reportedly is used as the common name for Carex secta, a swamp grass that
rises out of the water to form a mound. And Nicholas Polunim writes in Arctic to Eastern Siberia:
Circumpolar Arctic Flora (London, Oxford University Press, 1959) that ******head is used in the
Arctic to refer to Eriophorum vaginatur.

The names ******'s-hand cactus and ******finger cactus have been given by Margaret Martin and her
coauthors in the popular Cacti and Their Cultivation (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971) for
Opuntia clavarioides, a small cactus with bizarre, slender, cylindrical branches. Alfred Graf,
author of the widely used botanical guidebook Exotica (East Rutherford, N.J., Roehrs Co. Inc.,
1980), gives ******-wool as a common name for the New Zealand Wire Vine (Muehlenbeckia complexa),
apparently in reference to the basket plant's twining, wire-like purplish brown stems.

Occasionally one can still hear Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) referred to as ******-toes.
Meanwhile, horticulturist P.A. Munz's California Flora and California Desert Wildflowers (University
of California Press, Berkeley, 1970) lists ******head cactus as the accepted common name for
Echinocactus polycephalus, a small barrel cactus native to California's southern deserts.

Zambia floridana, a beautiful dwarf native American cycad, has been called a Coontie, a reference to
the tree's long, slender, green leaves. And in Australia, grass trees (Xanthorrhoe minor) are
sometimes referred to as Blackboys, apparently because their palm-like trunks, often burned black by
grass fires, remind some of Australian aborigines.

A religious or an ethnic reference in a compound vernacular name is bound to connote or imply the
existence of an inferior or socially unusual quality. Thus, common names such as Pope's Nose
(Proboscides jussieui), Jew Bush (Pedilanthus tithymaloides), and Jew's Mallow (Kerria japonic) have
derogatory religious and ethnic origins. Jew's Beard (Tacca chantrieri) is a reference to the
tropical plant's whisker-like inflorescence, which to some botanists seems to bear a resemblance to
the beards of Orthodox Jews. Other, more appropriate common names for this plant include the
Bat-flower and Cat's whiskers (with all due respect, of course, to bats and cats).

The name Coolie's Cap, which makes reference to the pill box-like hats worn by 19th-century Chinese
immigrants, is still sometimes used as the common name for Holmskioldia sanguina.

In his book Common Names of South African Plants (Pretoria, Department of Agriculture Technical
Services, 1966), Christo Smith points out the unfortunate frequency of use in compound vernacular
names of the term Hottentot (as in Hottentot's Head for Strangeria eriopus). Smith writes: "Kaffir
is not infrequently used in a derogatory sense to indicate some alleged inferiority..." He then goes
on to list 75 common South African plant names that use the term.

In an article in the Cactus and Succulent Journal (51[5]:238-41, 1979), author Bruce Hargreaves
wrote about Talinum caffrum, a succulent from Africa's Kalahari Desert, noting, "I apologize for
using a racist term;~ `caffer,' or `kaffir,' a term derived from the Arabic for unbeliever, is the
South African equivalent of `******'--but I didn't name this plant."

Hargreaves's dilemma stemmed from caffrum's being the scientific rather than popular botanical name;
that is, in his scientific writings he had no choice other than to use it. However, we certainly do
have a choice in our use of plant names.

How many subtropical gardeners in the United States realize the racially derogatory implications of
referring to Kaffir-lilies (Clivia minata or Schizostylis coccinea), Kaffirboom Coral Trees
(Erythina caffra), or Kaffir plums (Harpephyllum caffra)?

The origin of some derogatory or racist names that remain in the common botanical vernacular without
malicious intent--or so one prefers to think--are so obscure that they are used by people who would
never dream of using such obviously offensive common names like ******finger cactus or Coolie's Cap.

The widespread use of Digger pine for Pinus sabiniana is a good example. The tree grows on dry,
rocky slopes, below 4,500 feet, on hills bordering California's Central Valley and interior coastal
ranges. Sunset Books' widely used New Western Garden Book (Menlo Park, Calif., 1980) designates this
tree as a "marker plant"--a plant delineating an important Western climatic gardening zone.
(Sunset's Zone 7, "California's Digger Pine Belt," is a several-thousand-square-mile area with hot
summers and mild, but pronounced winters.)

When the gold-seeking Forty-Niners poured into California during the last century, they had little
respect for the native people they encountered. Secure in their belief of racial and religious
superiority, they mockingly called the Native Americans of the area "diggers" when they saw them
foraging for roots and bulbs. Pinus sabiniana's common name originated when the prospectors noted
the tree's value to California Indians.

Understandably, many Native Americans find the term digger offensive. A spokesman, who requests
anonymity, for the California State Native American Heritage Commission says, "The word `digger' is
very derogatory and insulting to California Indian people." A historical interpreter, who also
requests anonymity, for the California State Indian Museum in Sacramento agrees: "To call a
California Indian a `digger' means you are either ignorant or you are purposely trying to insult
him. It is a very derisive word." These observers concur in the opinion that the term digger is as
offensive to California's Native Americans as the term ****** is to African Americans.

Of course, terms like ******head and Digger pine should have been purged from botanical literature
long ago. However, botanical books and magazines containing these offensive common plant names are
currently widely available.

Surprisingly, there is a great reticence among botanical scientists to challenge the existence of
these racist relics in the garden. Before The Scientist agreed to publish this article, the idea had
been rejected by a half-dozen regional and national horticultural and garden magazines. The editor
of one scholarly West Coast journal, which represents a number of influential horticulture
societies, rejected the idea by responding, "I feel it would stress the sociological implications at
the expense of the botanical. Into an article [on plants] the origin and implication of the
vernacular name might fit with a sentence or two." A prominent California horticultural society also
shied away from a discussion of racially derogatory common plant names. The editor of the society's
journal commented: "The subject is inappropriate and appears to create a quarrel where there isn't
one at present . . . your charge of racism is a little dramatic, I feel."

On the bright side, some editors have taken an active role in eliminating racially offensive
cololoquial names for plants. James C. Hickman, editor of The Jepson Manual--a botanical reference
work soon to be published by the University of California Press--reports that, in the manual,
"Echinocactus will be called `clustered barrel cactus,' a simply descriptive name. Pinus sabiniana
will be called `gray pine' or `foothill pine.' " However, Hickman notes, "Because it is so widely
and innocently known as `digger pine,' we included a note asking people not to use that name because
of its pejorative origin. I think this is better than not mentioning the issue at all." Hickman
adds, "The other name I know of that will not be used is `wandering Jew,' for Tradescantia
fluminensis; it will be called spiderwort--which is possibly derogatory toward arachnids."

Additionally, Hickman notes, "The dilemma, of course, is that truly colloquial or truly common names
cannot be controlled, but are a matter of usage. I believe our challenge as authors and editors is a
long-term one of swaying usage toward less offense without leaving innocents high and dry."

Those who continue to use racially offensive plant names should be challenged. Elizabeth Knoll,
sponsoring editor for science and the history of science at the University of California Press,
says, "I will make it a point of telling the authors and the advisory board members--if they don't
have the sense to realize it already--that racist and derogatory terms are unacceptable." However,
she expresses her concern that "the very nomenclature of some sciences carry racial prejudices. My
guess is that other scholars could point out more examples--a depressing and important undertaking."

The problem of purging racist common names from gardening's vernacular is relatively simple compared
to the much more complex problem of expunging racially based scientific names, such as Erythina
caffra, Harpephyllum caffra, and Talinum caffrum.

The issue of derogatory proper botanical names is more troublesome. If scientists persist in using
them, and insist on their being published verbatim, writers and editors of botanical journals
should, at a minimum, footnote their own objections when clarity or expedience dictates the use of a
proper plant name that has been derived from a racially offensive term.

The use of a racial epithet as an accepted, published botanical common name perpetuates and
legitimizes bigotry, even if it does so unintentionally. Botanical editors, botanists, and gardeners
should know common names such as Kaffir-lily, Digger pine, and ******head cactus are racial slurs,
and they must play a forceful role in eliminating their use. To do less would leave the appearance
of condoning bigotry in botany.

The enlightened efforts of Knoll, Hickman, and others like them are laudable. Without their efforts,
young African American or Native American scholars, perhaps just developing an interest in botany,
will understandably be discouraged and disillusioned to find racist terms in botanical literature.

One can only imagine the damage that already has been done in this regard.

Melvin Hunter is an Atascadero, Calif.-based science writer specializing in botanical subjects.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Scientist 5[23]:0, Nov. 25, 1991


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Information

paghat wrote:

So anyone who wishes to clean the word "Kaffir Lily" out of their
personal
vocabulary because, hey, this is the world wide web, & it really is
like
hanging out at least partly in South Africa -- then for that choice I
say
"Ahu!", hooray!, how polite you are. But if someone just thinks it's
a
vulgar word in every context & nobody should use it anywhere ever who
isn't a racist, then to them I also say "Ahu!", stupid!

-paghat the ratgirl


Words are nothing but letters or sounds put together, depending on
whether you're writing or speaking. In and of themselves, those letters
or sounds are not offensive alone or together. Context makes them
offensive.

There is the context of the writer or speaker, and the context of the
reader or listener involved here. Some people are so offended when they
read or hear particular words that they can't or won't consider the
context of the writer or speaker.

My personal opinion is that our problems, in order of severity and
importantance a
1. Writers/speakers who intend their words to be offensive in
context,
2. Readers/listeners who are so offended by particular words that
they don't consider the writer/speaker's context,
3. Readers/listeners who misinterpret the writer/speaker's context,
4. Writers/speakers who don't take reasonable care to see that their
context is not easily misinterpreted to be offensive,
5. Writers/speakers and readers/listeners who aren't even aware that
they words could be offensive in certain contexts.

Unfortunately too many people focus on the least severe and important
situation. That means either the more severe and important issues have
been resolved (ha!), or they have nothing better to do than raise hell.
(Or perhaps they're not equipped to handle the more important issues,
and draw attention away from their inabilities by making such a big deal
over the less important issues.)

But it all still comes down to context. Words are just letters or
sounds. Context gives those words meaning. It is only once they have
meaning that they can be offensive.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug: Spend your Amazon gift certificates he
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/associateshop.html

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Xref: kermit rec.gardens:270479 soc.men:912120 alt.religion.wicca:725928 alt.drugs.pot:384359 alt.law-enforcement:682377

Darren Garrison wrote:

On 3 Apr 2004 22:16:02 -0800, (theoneflasehaddock) wrote:


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".
Short people are "Vertically challenged"
People with a disability are not disabled they are "Differently able."
And it goes on and on


The funny part is, most people who are part of the PC-protected groups have
no interest in their PC names. Most black people I know want to be called
black, not "African American" as that implies that they're not American
born. Most deaf people I know are deaf, not hearing impared (hearing
impaired implies difficulty hearing, not total lack of hearing ie deafness)
The African American one brings to mind the white South African born kid
who got in trouble for applying for some sort of "outstanding African
American student" award because he wasn't black. Even though he had better
claim to the title "African American" than any American born black kid. I
mean, shit, he was ****ing *born in Africa*

Political correctness was just as much of an attack on free speech as the
people who believe that saying bad things about Bush is tantamount to
treason. More so, actually, it's been building up for a longer time and
has had much more sway than the recent war on terror trend.

Remember the financial advisor in DC who had to resign for using the word
"niggardly" just because it sounds similar to "******" Nevermind the fact
that niggardly shares no origins with ******, and has a perfectly
acceptable use given the context. It means "stingy" or "miserly" and is
completely acceptable to use when talking about finances.

See, that's what political correctness is about: It doesn't matter if
you're right or not, it only matters if people are offended. Well guess
what? There's nothing in our laws that imply you have a right not to be
offended. In fact, with freedom of speech you're pretty much guaranteed to
be offended at some point in your life. People just need to get a thicker
skin about it, and not try to coerce others into not offending them.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: People are stupid.


And Brazil nuts are still called ****** toes

How'd they get that name?



I know this is an attempt at a troll, having cross-posted to all of these unrelated groups, but I'll
post this article I found anyway:

http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1991/...in_911125.html

The Scientist 5[23]:0, Nov. 25, 1991

snip

--
--------------
Peace,
Delta Nine


Life is very difficult. Once you understand that, life becomes easier.
-Buddha

I'm tellin' ya D9, you can't go wrong with gallons and gallons of urine.
- T.D. Shadow

Xref: kermit rec.gardens:270484 soc.men:912126 alt.religion.wicca:725937 alt.drugs.pot:384370 alt.law-enforcement:682378

Ah yes, but it is the uneducated great unwashed that are the ones that are
quickly offended because they believe everyone is making fun of them anyway
and they will quickly riot if they believe they are being insulted.

They are the type of people who will drag Americans through the streets
without a second thought.

All through history it has been the great unwashed that have repeatedly
toppled great civilizations and set mankind back thousands of years by doing
so.


"Delta Nine" wrote in message
...
Darren Garrison wrote:

On 3 Apr 2004 22:16:02 -0800,
(theoneflasehaddock) wrote:


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".
Short people are "Vertically challenged"
People with a disability are not disabled they are "Differently able."
And it goes on and on


The funny part is, most people who are part of the PC-protected groups
have
no interest in their PC names. Most black people I know want to be called
black, not "African American" as that implies that they're not American
born. Most deaf people I know are deaf, not hearing impared (hearing
impaired implies difficulty hearing, not total lack of hearing ie
deafness)
The African American one brings to mind the white South African born kid
who got in trouble for applying for some sort of "outstanding African
American student" award because he wasn't black. Even though he had
better
claim to the title "African American" than any American born black kid. I
mean, shit, he was ****ing *born in Africa*

Political correctness was just as much of an attack on free speech as the
people who believe that saying bad things about Bush is tantamount to
treason. More so, actually, it's been building up for a longer time and
has had much more sway than the recent war on terror trend.

Remember the financial advisor in DC who had to resign for using the word
"niggardly" just because it sounds similar to "******" Nevermind the fact
that niggardly shares no origins with ******, and has a perfectly
acceptable use given the context. It means "stingy" or "miserly" and is
completely acceptable to use when talking about finances.

See, that's what political correctness is about: It doesn't matter if
you're right or not, it only matters if people are offended. Well guess
what? There's nothing in our laws that imply you have a right not to be
offended. In fact, with freedom of speech you're pretty much guaranteed
to
be offended at some point in your life. People just need to get a thicker
skin about it, and not try to coerce others into not offending them.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: People are stupid.


And Brazil nuts are still called ****** toes

How'd they get that name?



I know this is an attempt at a troll, having cross-posted to all of
these unrelated groups, but I'll
post this article I found anyway:

http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1991/...in_911125.html

The Scientist 5[23]:0, Nov. 25, 1991

snip

--
--------------
Peace,
Delta Nine


Life is very difficult. Once you understand that, life becomes easier.
-Buddha

I'm tellin' ya D9, you can't go wrong with gallons and gallons of urine.
- T.D. Shadow

On Sun, 04 Apr 2004 16:49:33 -0400, Darren Garrison
wrote:

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.

Interesting. To busy for common courtesy or respect. Any word
perceived as a hate word should be eliminated from common usage. Such
as, ******, Kaffir or Kafir (I used to think there was a difference).
How about Wop, Dike, Queer, Kike, Frog, Coon Ass, Mick? Has our
educational system slipped so far that the graduates from elementary
school are unable to express themselves without the use of such words?

I know it is the parents responsibility to stop such hatred.
Unfortunately it isn't happening.

zhan

Cereus-validus wrote:
Ah yes, but it is the uneducated great unwashed that are the ones that are
quickly offended because they believe everyone is making fun of them anyway
and they will quickly riot if they believe they are being insulted.

They are the type of people who will drag Americans through the streets
without a second thought.

All through history it has been the great unwashed that have repeatedly
toppled great civilizations and set mankind back thousands of years by doing
so.



I don't really think it's that so much as people who are professionally
offended. As in, people who act like they're offended because it gives
them power over others. They're usually shameless demagogues. Jesse
Jackson and Al Sharpton, I'm looking in your direction.

--
--------------
Peace,
Delta Nine


Life is very difficult. Once you understand that, life becomes easier.
-Buddha

I'm tellin' ya D9, you can't go wrong with gallons and gallons of urine.
- T.D. Shadow

Interesting. To busy for common courtesy or respect. Any word
perceived as a hate word should be eliminated from common usage. Such
as, ******, Kaffir or Kafir (I used to think there was a difference).
How about Wop, Dike, Queer, Kike, Frog, Coon Ass, Mick? Has our
educational system slipped so far that the graduates from elementary
school are unable to express themselves without the use of such words?

I saw a queer thing this morning. A frog was sitting on a dike. I asked him,
"How come you are sitting on your ass lookin' like Mick Jagger?" He told me
that a big rock fell out of the sky and hit the water right in front of him
it made a sound like "wop" and threw him up on the dike. Then along came a
possum and a coon and he was so scared he decided to spend the day until all
the big animals went away.

Words are just words until someone let's them get under their skin. Use 'em
right or use 'em wrong, but they're just words.