More on the Aust factor...
As Chuck Colson used to say, "If you grab them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow."
One person by the name of Papyrus2006 who participates on Mark Tabladillo's Jesus Loves Fellowship, probably did that. Regarding Jerold Aust's lame attempt of a "joke" on his website, here's the action what papyrus took:
You will see that the offensive piece is now removed.
I sent him a brief email asking that he remove it and suggested he post an apology. I tried to do this with kindness and genleness, and spared him the diatribe I posted here.
So, it is gone now, and while there is no apology on the site I have received one in my email. The apology, however, is qualified by two statements. He is sorry for the offense, but also states (1) the piece came from the internet and (2) he has Chinese friends who were not offended.
Not quite the graciousness I hoped for, but there you have it...
I sent him a brief email asking that he remove it and suggested he post an apology. I tried to do this with kindness and genleness, and spared him the diatribe I posted here.
So, it is gone now, and while there is no apology on the site I have received one in my email. The apology, however, is qualified by two statements. He is sorry for the offense, but also states (1) the piece came from the internet and (2) he has Chinese friends who were not offended.
Not quite the graciousness I hoped for, but there you have it...
Nice work Papyrus! Now if someone can get that Aussie minister to apologize about black women calling them bubble butts and all...well I guess you can't win 'em all. I let the Judge of All handle that comment.
Papyrus blushes at your description of her motivation for emailing Mr. Aust, and wishes to clarify. :-)
After I posted some thoughts on the appropriate uses of God's wonderful gift of humor in the JLF forum, I pondered further and felt that perhaps this choice of humor was nothing more than an unfortunate error in judgement on Mr. Aust's part. We all think something is a good idea at the time and only later see the bigger picture.
It was in this spirit I contacted him, and while he has privately apologized to me in an email, I didn't see any public statement on the website, but I have not looked at it since the day that these events transpired, so I don't know for sure.
Perhaps a public statement of apology is forthcoming, so I wish to give him the benefit of the doubt and time to ponder the issues, as his initial apology appeared to me someone defensive.
I am not questioning whether the piece is funny or not. I laughed at it a little myself. The issue is not the funniness of the material bur whether it is appropriate.
That Asians may themselves have found it funny is also not at issue. "In-group" humor exists in all types of social groupings, but the locus of power and control of that form of humor is situated within the group. That is, we might observe black people calling each other by the n-word in fun or casual conversation. We might hear two wheelchair users calling each other "crips". This does not give persons outside of that particular ethnic or "insider group" permission to use those terms.
There has been plenty written on the use of humor, including its use in congregational and pastoral settings, so I will go no further in commentary on the issue myself, as I would just be going over well-worn ground. Humor is a subject far more complex that it appears at surface level, and it is important that we look at how we are using it and from what spirit it come forth.
Papyrus
Posted by
papryrus |
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Thank you for your lengthy and thoughtful clarification and response, Papyrus!
Posted by
Felix Taylor, Jr. |
Wednesday, June 21, 2006