Since I belong to an abnormally large number of distributions, including the Kwaku Network which is that one I refer to from time to time as the black backchannel, I get all sorts of mail. I get Progressive mail from groups like Move On, and I get whatever CNN and the WaPo deem of special interest to black intellectuals and bloggers, I get mail from Stratfor and the Institute for the Study of War. I get mail on Israel and stuff from Libertarians. I get included in Data Warehousing groups, hacker groups, Occupy groups and organizational management groups. I get mail from Katrina contractors and Twitter spammers. I get mail from law enforcement and national security groups and just about every freaking retailer on the planet. I also get mail from oddball individuals including attorneys who think I'm their client, doctors who think I'm their patient, headhunters who think I want to work for their clients, and writers who think my blog is a good place for their creations. 99% of the time, I never respond. I just read this instead of ever watching network news. I get to know what I want to know.
But the other day, I got an email from one of the above groups which included a very tasteless and juvenile joke about saggin' people. (If you have a difficult time understanding, spell saggin backwards). I expect that the excrement will impact on the reticulating cooling device some time within the next week - or maybe not. That is because, although there is a public website where this sorry joke originates, I'm not particularly interested in outing the culprits. Interestingly enough, I find some ethnic jokes funny, but this one is merely pathetic.
So it struck me as something of a perverse test of nerve. Having been a race man for many years, I know very well what my tolerance for BS is, but it certainly varies from topic to topic. I don't particularly waste my time on the obvious, except when current events seem to demand obligatory seriousness. But what about you? Do you feel it is your responsibility as an x-person to speak out whenever something offensive or damaging to x-people is done?
For the moment, I am a spy in a house that harbors someone who is spreading tacky junk. I'm not particularly cool with it, but I'm also not making a fuss. Interesting position.
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