[WikiEN-l] More colonialist ravings

[Ray Saintonge]

Stevertigo wrote:

>>Listen: I will make it simple.  When you have an
>>intellectual disagreement with someone, don't descend to
>>racial or ethnic stereotypes or slurs.  We don't want bigots
>>here. Is this so outrageous?
>>
>
>This is agreeable. The problem is Robert that - for a great many
>reasons -its not clear to us that your *not a bigot, Robert.  Here, in fact,
>what your attempting is - as Toby (I think) alluded to - is to provoke
>Godwin's Law. Youre by far the quickest to call people the name "bigot" -
>etc... (Which reminds us of another law - "He who smelt it - dealt it.")
>
Just because someone occasionally uses a streotype or even a slur 
doesn't make them bigots.  What may seem like a slur to one reader may 
have had a perfectly innocent intent in the hands of the writer.  Unless 
somebody is persistently and clearly showing bad intent he should be 
given the benefit of the doubt.  When someone is too quick to shout 
"anti-semitism" the first victim of that is often the shouter's credibility.

>>Further, if someone is unable to clearly express what they
>>mean in English, then what they are writing here is almost
>>useless.
>>
>
>This is wrong - even a broken, unintellegible stub can be transformed. Your
>wanting to oust people for not writing English well is at the very least,
>elitist - and smacks of the same kind of bigotry you espouse countering.
>
>At least your tone seems more reasonable. I dont want you to leave - youre a
>valuable point of view. You simply need to tone down the acrimony. Others
>have told you this - I'm sure your Mother probably has too - at one point or
>another. I know mine has.
>
I tend to cut a lot more slack to non-native speakers.  Some very 
innocent statements in one language can easily have outrageous false 
friends in another.
Ec