Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3941-3945 (18-22 February 2019)
Tova:
I don't think that "you're not a good fit for the corporate culture here" would cut it as grounds for dismissal in Australia, and depending on circumstances, would probably be considered to be unfair dismissal.
Edit: Okay, I think this is relevant.
http://www.antidiscrimination.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/legal-cases/cultural-fit-age-discrimination.aspx
Tova:
--- Quote from: pecoros7 on 22 Feb 2019, 22:19 ---Now that is an interesting question. White has often meant whatever it needed to mean to protect the power structure. When I think of various western European peoples for whom I know at least one ethnic slur, it occurs to me that there was likely a point in history that they were not considered "white". I think that we can assume that someone asking "are you white?" probably means "Do you generally receive the benefits of being assumed to be white by your peers in a majority white former imperial power?"
--- End quote ---
That's a well-considered response on what "white" might mean. I do think, though, that what the question means to different people is going to be heavily dependant on its context, and that there won't be one interpretation. To be upfront about it, my instinctive interpretation of the question in this thread's context, rightly or not, was, "Do you have the right to express a point of view here?" Feel free to send me your brickbats.
As an aside, I would probably answer "yes" to the paraphrased question you've put above, but I actually have been asked whether I'm white a number of times (I'm not really "pasty white"), and coincidentally twice in the last week. I interpreted that as curiosity both times - of course, for someone that does not get asked that question frequently and doesn't need to worry about any consequences of the answer, it is easy for me to interpret the question that way. I can certainly see how it would not be so easy for others. I also understand the potential frustration of being asked the same questions over and over (for different reasons).
In the interests of transparency, I would have to admit that I did not get taught at age 9 that it was rude to ask about people's ethnicity, and I would guess that I have done so in the past, or at least when I was younger. More recently, I would say that it's not a question I would ask of someone I'd just met, though I wouldn't have been able to articulate why, probably. These recent comics have forced me to properly consider the issue.
Drunken Old Man:
Warning: the below are idle drunken ramblings barely related to subjects at hand. seek re!Eva ce in them at your own risk.
Brun's doctor should not have told her she was autistic. He should have said that Brun had autism. Maybe she would still like doctors then. In my field were taught...and I myself have taught others...not to reduce e people that way. If you are a person ith autism you can be a person with other things too...like a knowledge of c!ocks or skill ith a harpoon. If I call you an autistic person that implies that that is all you are.
I've never asked anyone hat their heritage is based on appearance. Not claiming moral high ground...it just doesn't occur to me. I had to ask one coworker where her beautiful accent originated thiugh. Haiti, as it turned out.
I guess I just assume if you're in America with me, you must be American too.
People who make a fuss about gluten in their food who don't actually have celiac disease irk me.
I agree that some people seem to look for things to get offended about. But I have offended people before...not meaning to...and I've apologized for it. If it seems that I'm offending you a lot without meaning to though, I'm going to start avoidingng you.
While grumbling about "retarded" changing from a diagnosis to an insult, I am reminded that the swastika went from a symbol of peace to one of unfettered evil. Language and symbol!is exist to serve us, not the other way round, and I guess "retarded" is lingustic roadkill on the side if the freeway of progress.
Wonder what he next buzzword will be when "developmentally disabled"gets the bullet.
Gyrre:
--- Quote from: Bloodyloon on 22 Feb 2019, 14:50 ---*snip*
Too often I find ASD be represented as sociopathic or neurotic, which is damaging to the image of those on the spectrum, both externally and internally.
*snip*
--- End quote ---
This is why I'd like it if Dan Akroyd and a few other ASD comedians and writers to get together and do a slice of life dramedy about life with ASD.
Gyrre:
--- Quote from: Tova on 22 Feb 2019, 16:06 ---Maybe while we're at it, we could have a discussion of the meaning of the question, "Are you white?"
--- End quote ---
There's a lot of history behind that. It goes back to the end of the American Civil War, but a big bulk of it occurs around the turn of the 20th century when eugenics started picking up traction.
It would seem that Cecil 'Colossus' Rhodes and his Rhodes Round Table may have had something of a heavy hand in that. At least if Mr. Rhodes' widely published last will and testament are anything to go by.
While trying to find any image of a pamphlet that was allegedly passed out by the US government during the Reconstruction Era (I remember it from a high school American History textbook), I came across the works of W.E.B. Du Bois as well as Charles Mills’ The Racial Contract.
EDIT: fixing grammar mistakes
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