Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

Dear Larry: For nearly 20 years, I have seen different groups argue that some minute issues are offensive or not politically correct.

I remember one fad during which some people wore T-shirts with pictures of the characters from "The Little Rascals/Our Gang." One of the members of the gang was called "Buckwheat." The T-shirt was discontinued because many black groups found the shirts offensive and demanded that they be banned from society. Obviously, that was done.

A few years ago, an earthquake hit our area. Local T-shirt companies profited from the earthquake and printed the words "Shift Happens." It is a pun on a famous slogan. My nephew got one of those shirts for his birthday and wore it to school. He was told to cover up the shirt or to go home because the shirt was insinuating. Obviously, he removed the T-shirt.

At the same high school, a student wore a Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt one day. Why not? Other students wear rock T-shirts of the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, AC/DC and Def Leppard; country music shirts of The Judds, Garth Brooks and the Dixie Chicks; and hip-hop shirts of their favorite artists.

Like my nephew, he was told to cover his shirt or be sent home because one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's logos is a Confederate flag. The administrators feared the shirt would offend some African-American students.

Larry, what difference do logo images make when some students are wearing hip-hop T-shirts of people whose music insinuates violence, degrades women, and constantly uses the N-word?

The student asked the faculty how his shirt differed from those that bear the logos of sports teams that are offensive to Native Americans.

He said Native Americans have complained for years about the derogatory name of the Washington Redskins and about the Cleveland Indians, who have the offensive image of Chief Wahoo.

The school staff's only reply was no Native American students have complained. Maybe the students at that school haven't complained, but I know the Native American community has complained, because other schools have changed their mascots.

Another issue along the same lines concerns the former Washington Bullets, who changed their name to the Wizards. Many black groups found the name offensive because "wizard" is the title of a leader in the Ku Klux Klan.

The team's publicist reminded the protestors that the name only refers to a magician or sorcerer from folklore. I don't know whether they still are arguing about that case.

Here's my question, Larry: Why does society tend to be sensitive to one group but turn its back on another? — Pat

Dear Pat: The problem with trying to please the politically correct is there are no standards. The only standard is how someone happens to feel about a situation. If a person who is a member of the "put-upon" group complains, then appeasement methods are initiated. What is a shame is how certain "put-upon" groups fall in and out of favor. There is no consistency, and there are no definitions of what is acceptable.

What is also shameful is how there is seemingly no rational discussion of the issues. Everything is about feelings. Too many people say, "If I think it is wrong, then it is wrong."

To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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