Second thoughts
The Laughing Man (the_laughing_man@hotmail.com)
Tue, 07 Dec 1999 16:34:51 +0000 (GMT)
Those bored by questions of ethics (I will mention no names) may stop
reading after this summary-sentence:
I'm in a relevant aspect regretting my careless quotation of Ignatius
yesterday.
There. Some of you, however, might want to read my a bit more elaborate,
problem-oriented text:
In the joy over the dark beauty of mean letter-writing, I was somewhat
careless in my quoting of Ignatius letter beginning, "Dear Mr Mongoloid".
Mongoloid, the old term for a person with Down's Syndrome, is a pejorative
epithet carrying both (negative) historical connotations and an
often-inappropriate reference to superficial aspects.
The quoted "Mongoloid" was contextually used meaning 'idiot'. In bringing
that epithet forward and especially stating my joy in the use of it in such
a context, I'm asking for trouble. And I'm not only talking about
misinterpretation here. Probably everyone reading the quote understood my
joy was for the to-the-point insulting effect for the letter addressee. And
many people, having heard my previous agitation against sloppy use of
epithets, probably didn't think I generally okayed the use of the term.
The problem is in the fact that using a pejorative epithet, if so only in
quoted form, does not help those fighting the misuse of the same. It does
not show much respect for those being hurt by such a usage.
Is my reflex to share my personal, esthetic joy in the mentioned quote worth
more than the hurt it may cause? Or the opposite, is it better never to say
anything that might (rightfully) hurt anyone else?
We've talked quite a bit about ethics on this list. In this example, I'm not
satisfied with my own options. I had the option to
a) avoid mentioning my (then secret) joy for the quote
b) mention it with a comment, a disclaimer stating for example the specifics
in which it should, according to myself, be interpret and judged (and maybe
when it should not be used at all)
c) mention it in itself, leaving every aspect of interpretation to the
reader
d) mention it with exclamation marks
I chose d), and the aftertaste of it is not entirely pleasant.
/TLM
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