We Pass Into April As If Into A Colder Month

[News Gal]

News Gal wrote:
>Actually, I am Cherokee Native, and we didn't ship slaves. The British started the slave trade. You have no argument, and you make a grave mistake lumping a Native American in as just "American."


And I am not British. My father was a ship's carpenter from Karlskrona and my mother a tinker with unknown eastern block origin. I don't know much about Red Indians except that they murdered that nice Colonel Custer at Little Big Horn. Everybody still talks about that.

Yeah, it's obvious you don't. "Red Indians?" Mine are light olive, like some Italians.

I don't have the time for this kind of ignorance.

[Geoffrey]

News Gal wrote:
>I don't have the time for this kind of ignorance.


well, i agree that ignorance is a frustrating handicap. why not join a book club - or become a member of your local library?

[News Gal]

News Gal wrote:
>I don't have the time for this kind of ignorance.


well, i agree that ignorance is a frustrating handicap. why not join a book club - or become a member of your local library?

Reported. You are probably the single rudest poster on here, and nobody deserves some of the comments you made to me. Learn some respect for others or shut up. Until you can do that, you're on my Foe list.

If you knew me well enough, you'd feel very guilty.

[Violet]

Hi News Gal,

I am so familiar with where you are coming from with this, as I felt similarly when I first started posting here. In hoping to ease tensions here a bit though, I'd say that although I don't know this Geoffrey person he seems to be something of a kidder, looking to get a real rise out of people, in this case, out of you. If at all possible, see if you can step back a bit. He might actually be a very funny and like-able sort, once you get over his very bad manners (!)... Again, I don't know him, but that's my initial sense, at least...

I hope this helps, and I hope you continue posting here, I think your perspective very interesting and valuable to all of us here...

my very best to you,

v i o l e t

[News Gal]

Hi News Gal,

I am so familiar with where you are coming from with this, as I felt similarly when I first started posting here. In hoping to ease tensions here a bit though, I'd say that although I don't know this Geoffrey person he seems to be something of a kidder, looking to get a real rise out of people, in this case, out of you. If at all possible, see if you can step back a bit. He might actually be a very funny and like-able sort, once you get over his very bad manners (!)... Again, I don't know him, but that's my initial sense, at least...

I hope this helps, and I hope you continue posting here, I think your perspective very interesting and valuable to all of us here...

my very best to you,

v i o l e t

HI there Violet,
While I get what you're saying, he crossed a line with me. This is an ethical and moral issue, and I choose not to talk to racists-"Red Indians" is a racist term akin to the N word, and the comment about Custer was insulting. If he thought that was funny, he'll most assuredly think again. I don't think he gets just how offensive that was.

If this keeps up, I'm probably not coming back.

[Geoffrey]

Violet wrote to Newsgal:
>If at all possible, see if you can step back a bit.


And also invest time in an anger management programme, perhaps - even if only once a month.

[Violet]

Oh, dear Geoffrey... please don't make me look bad in trying to smooth things out here!... Perhaps you might even indicate to this good and sincere person, who I hope will continue posting here, that you are not a racist, as I suspect you're not, but just a very distasteful joker... (please?)...

Sincerely,

v i o l e t

[Sideways]

Geoffrey is a very talented and funny poster. However, his teasing here with newsgal has been very poorly judged and offensive. It will be an interesting test of his character to see if he can apologise.

People do come and go here, just as they do in my real life on the Competitive Ironing Circuit. A little while ago my friend mickey-one left this forum in frustration at the standard of writing and, worse still, has even stopped emailing. But this is different when one poster drives away another.

Come on Geoffrey, surely you don't want to be seen as racist.

Sue

[Geoffrey]

Violet wrote:
Oh, dear Geoffrey... please don't make me look bad in trying to smooth things out here!... Perhaps you might even indicate to this good and sincere person . . . that you are not a racist


Well, I am not a knowledgeable person, and reasoning with a neurotic is not easy, but I like a challenge. I am not a racist, in the accepted sense - although I do advocate the preservation of world cultures. I use the term 'Red Indian' with no detrimental allusions - it is merely repeating the innocent description given us by the great hero Christopher Columbus. All through my childhood Hollywood portrayed Indians as a simple but hostile race, either naively swapping their gold for worthless coloured beads or scalping any poor pacifist who stumbled into their midst. This is the American cowboys and Indians culture as taught on the big screen. The white man lived on a sprawling ranch, the Indian in a tiny tent. Why attack me all the way over in Scandinavia? I have done nothing but absorb what I am told, and my only involvement is observation.

[News Gal]

Violet wrote:
Oh, dear Geoffrey... please don't make me look bad in trying to smooth things out here!... Perhaps you might even indicate to this good and sincere person . . . that you are not a racist


Well, I am not a knowledgeable person, and reasoning with a neurotic is not easy, but I like a challenge. I am not a racist, in the accepted sense - although I do advocate the preservation of world cultures. I use the term 'Red Indian' with no detrimental allusions - it is merely repeating the innocent description given us by the great hero Christopher Columbus. All through my childhood Hollywood portrayed Indians as a simple but hostile race, either naively swapping their gold for worthless coloured beads or scalping any poor pacifist who stumbled into their midst. This is the American cowboys and Indians culture as taught on the big screen. The white man lived on a sprawling ranch, the Indian in a tiny tent. Why attack me all the way over in Scandinavia? I have done nothing but absorb what I am told, and my only involvement is observation.

Hollywood was wrong. Do some research on the Mound Builders--those are my ancestors. We never lived in tents like you think we did, rather fairly large towns in the Tennessee River valley. Columbus was hardly innocent, almost exterminating the Taino people in the Caribbean. Scalping came from the French traders in Canada.

There is no excuse for this kind of misinformation in the Information Age. Use the Internet and do some research. Maybe then you'll see me as a human being and treat me accordingly.

[Violet]

... it seems our posts crossed, N.G....

Well, I am not a knowledgeable person, and reasoning with a neurotic is not easy, but I like a challenge. I am not a racist, in the accepted sense - although I do advocate the preservation of world cultures. I use the term 'Red Indian' with no detrimental allusions - it is merely repeating the innocent description given us by the great hero Christopher Columbus. All through my childhood Hollywood portrayed Indians as a simple but hostile race, either naively swapping their gold for worthless coloured beads or scalping any poor pacifist who stumbled into their midst. This is the American cowboys and Indians culture as taught on the big screen. The white man lived on a sprawling ranch, the Indian in a tiny tent. Why attack me all the way over in Scandinavia? I have done nothing but absorb what I am told, and my only involvement is observation.

Wow Geoffrey... it seems we all misunderstood who the injured party is here -- apologies from all involved I'm sure!!

I'm afraid N.G. that his is the closest thing to an "apology" that any of us are likely to see from the incomparable Geoffrey, but again, know that there are those of us here who would love to have you stick around...

again sincerely,

v i o l e t

[News Gal]

... it seems our posts crossed, N.G....

Well, I am not a knowledgeable person, and reasoning with a neurotic is not easy, but I like a challenge. I am not a racist, in the accepted sense - although I do advocate the preservation of world cultures. I use the term 'Red Indian' with no detrimental allusions - it is merely repeating the innocent description given us by the great hero Christopher Columbus. All through my childhood Hollywood portrayed Indians as a simple but hostile race, either naively swapping their gold for worthless coloured beads or scalping any poor pacifist who stumbled into their midst. This is the American cowboys and Indians culture as taught on the big screen. The white man lived on a sprawling ranch, the Indian in a tiny tent. Why attack me all the way over in Scandinavia? I have done nothing but absorb what I am told, and my only involvement is observation.

Wow Geoffrey... it seems we all misunderstood who the injured party is here -- apologies from all involved I'm sure!!

I'm afraid N.G. that his is the closest thing to an "apology" that any of us are likely to see from the incomparable Geoffrey, but again, know that there are those of us here who would love to have you stick around...

again sincerely,

v i o l e t

I don't think a person like him will ever understand. I speak six languages, keep a radio station newsroom running and enjoy comparative religion--does that sound like a member of a "simple but hostile race?" Not at all, because we're just as human as the Scandinavians from whom Geoffrey sprang.

It isn't you at all, Violet, just the shock at hearing this sort of thing. I would think people on a forum like this would be more worldly.

[Geoffrey]

News Gal wrote:
>There is no excuse for this kind of misinformation in the Information Age. Use the Internet and do some research.


The internet is not the work of one person. It provides information supporting any fact or theory, depending upon its source. But don't worry about it. Let's smoke the pipe of peace.

[sirus]

Smoke the pipe of peace?
Is that a code for a blow job?

[Cate]

News Gal wrote:
>That answers many questions I had. I knew you were a European from the way you didn't understand how the author was using "we."


What else do Europeans fail to understand, according to you?

They tend to see the world as operating on their terms, without regard for the fact that other viewpoints exist. Probably the residual effects of colonialism, which was mostly European in origin. I've dealt with that attitude often in my work. It's sad to see


Just found a good link to something that may be of interest on the subject:

http://orvillejenkins.com/langlearn/pdf ... ooklet.pdf

Wow
At the risk of being ripped apart here:

They tend to see the world ...

You've made a sweeping generalization of an entire population. You asked him where he was from and then threw it back at him - as in oh that explains it, people from where you're from think like this.... You even gave him cause and effect for why his people have an attitude that's 'sad to see'. The thing that surprised me about your statement was that I just saw you complaining about people bashing Americans.

------

Okay, I'm not even going to quote what Geoffrey said, but holy Fuck. That's like decking someone who's just spilled a drink on you. Yes, words are just words and there are no bad words, it's how you use them and of course you all people understand that, that term is one meant to hurt and make others feel inferior ( a guy with you lexicon hardly needs to resort to a cheap shot).

You what really pisses me off, you have the talent and ability to say exactly what you think, and you come out with shit like that - me I'm trying very hard to say something and just comes out muddled.