Oh, That Rush! He's Such A *Kidder!*

[bluesqueak]

Joywitch wrote:
> Well, I'm no longer a member of the admin team, but I do remember 
> that a few months ago, while I was still on the admin team, we 
> voted to rescind the so-called "banned topics," such as politics.  
> So, for one of the admin team to announce that a topic is too 
> political seems to contradict the current list rules.

<Snip>

You remember correctly, we have rescinded the 'banned topics' rule. 
Politics is fine, provided you discuss it in a non-divisive way. 
Rules against flaming still apply.

There is one thing that the Unnamed File says that might be relevant 
though:

> Before posting, consider how other members of our diverse         
> international community might react to your post.

This particular diversely international member of the community 
would like to point out

a) I'd never heard of Rush Limbaugh before Cindy's post.

b) My idea of American football is 'is it a bit like Rugby, but they 
have tons of padding?'

c) What's a quarterback? Is a starting quarterback just a different 
way of saying 'quarterback'?

d) what is the NFL? Why does the same team seem to be in the 'NFC 
playoffs' What's the NFC? What is a playoff anyway?

e)if we're going to talk about politics, could we talk about 
something where the *entire* list has at least a vague idea what on 
earth is being discussed?

For example, we could discuss why 'firsts' from disadvantaged or 
previously disadvantaged groups are always treated differently, 
whatever they may be first in.

Some examples from my own country:

Mrs Thatcher, a British Prime Minister in the 1980's (Prime Minister 
is the title given to the political leader of the United Kingdom, 
btw) was treated very differently by the media, simply because she 
was the first woman in that job.

[And no one seemed to notice that England had had female heads of 
state quite a few times before ;-)]

Equally, the appointment of the Chief Constable (Chief Police 
Officer) for the County of Kent in England made headline news 
yesterday - because it was the first time such a senior post had 
gone to a black officer (Michael Fuller). 

Normally, the appointment of a new Chief Constable is considered 
local news - even though Chief Constables are in line for the job of 
Metropolitan Commissioner for London (top police job in the UK).

Is this similar in other countries? Do people get treated 
differently because they are the first of their background in a 
particular job or the first to reach the top in a particular field? 
Do they get noticed more if they're the first? Do the media talk 
about them more, and concentrate more on the background than the 
ability?

Pip