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[charliesmum]

Saw this article on CNN.com that I just thought I'd share. Seems that Walmart has no sense of humor. It's George Carlin for cripes sake. Of course he's going to be offensive. That's part of his job.

Just because he is parodying Da Vinci's Last Supper picture (which, if you totally believe Dan Brown isn't terribly pro-Christianity anyway) they are taking the book off the shelves (selling it online though) so as not to offend some of the people who shop there.

To me, that's a slippery slope. Maybe they'll have to take off The Da Vinci code next for the aforementioned reason, to go by this logic. And hey, what's to stop me from saying I'm offended by, let's say a book with Rush Limbaugh on the cover. Or romance novels because they make women look stupid? Or encourage sex. Or whatever I decide to be offended about.

Sheesh. Just sell the darn book and if someone really has nothing better to do with their time then look at the book cover and be offended by it, that's their right. Have them fill out a complaint form and send them on their way.

Gah!

Sorry. Didn't mean to rant there.

Oh. This is kind of amusing. We got our Holiday cards in this week - the ones that are going to be sent to our clients. They're cute, they dipict 4 drawings done by child artists in Hassan, Mirriam, Philile and Sandile and are orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. My company has made donations to this center. The pictures are 'framed' in ornament shapes, and are dangling from a drawing of some sort of unidentifiable greenery, tied with a red ribbon. Apparently some people have complained that the cover is too overtly Christian, which technically it isn't because ornaments and greenery are really not part of the birth of Christ. But whatever. Frankly I think people worry too much about that sort of thing. No one really cares. They get the card, glance at it, and then the secretary or admin or whoever displays it somewhere in the office or they just throw it away. It's a card, for feck's sake, not a political statement.

The thing that really made me laugh though was that some people are offended because the explaniation on the back is written in "British English" rather than "American English". We're an international company and since the majority of the world uses "British English" when they use English, it makes sense, right? Plus it looks prettier, but that's just my opinion.

One guy wrote this in response to the above explanation: Last time I checked, this is America! Is American English a bad thing? and it is taking all of my will power not to reply thusly:

"Considering the fact that the rest of the world pretty much hates America thanks to our current president, yes, using American English can be considered a bad thing."

But I won't, because work email isn't LJ and I don't want to get in trouble!

And now lunch is over. Back to work!

Comments

[dindin.livejournal.com]

http://yahoo.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,159,00.html?yhnws


The irony is that in fact Wal-mart was caught selling guns to minors.

[fourthage.livejournal.com]

Walmart only gets offended if Christianity is involved. They can stock what they want, since they're a private business, but yeah. Walmart sucks. I try to avoid shopping there.

[camwyn]

Wal-Mart's pretty well evil to begin with, given how they treat their employees, how they pay their employees, how they used to take pride in selling American produts but have since decided cheap stuff is the way to go and therefore sell almost entirely foreign-made stuff best characterised as 'crap', etc. I'll admit, I've bought from them on multiple occasions, but I have some trouble doing so with a clear conscience. Seeing this kind of thing, though, just makes me laugh. Not in a happy way, admittedly, more in an 'oh, yes, this is the store of the same demographic that voted for the President, I forgot' way. But still.

[zambonigirl.livejournal.com]

LOL. Walmart. That's hilarious. Freaking hilarious. George Carlin is so odd...do you remember that movie? Outrageous Fortune with Bette Midler and Shelly Long, and they were taking all his shirts and stuff...

Man. Good times.

[slammerkinbabe.livejournal.com]

Oh, Wal-Mart's been doing stupid stuff like that for years. They won't sell Jon Stewart's America (The Book), a few years back they wouldn't sell a pregnant (and married) Barbie doll. Sure do sell lots of guns though.

[jessii-6.livejournal.com]

This is so unbelievable it's almost more sad than funny - almost.
The fact that Americans, as a nation, have nothing better to waste their time on than having silly arguments over whether or not to sell comic variations on art seems funny - right until the part that you all mentioned Walmart is sells guns. Don't you have some law regulations on who can purchase and own guns in US? Seems rather weird to me that a big chain-store can simply have guns and firearm as one of it's sections
And the same Walmart refusing to sell Cheryl Crow's album - well, I expect nothing better of people who obviously have no sense of humor.

Exactly the same about 'American or British' English argument - although I would have to disagree and claim most of the world speaks American English rather then British - simply due to the fact most of the world speaks really bad English, so therefore it is much closer to American (no offense,okay? I surely can not claim anything remotely close to even correct American in my English knowledge)

[drakonlily.livejournal.com]

What if I decide that morality and Christianity offend me? Huh? What if I am offended by a man and a woman having sex if they are married? huh? Oh and, salt, yes, salt could be offensive.

and I agree that British English is much prettier. Colour :)


-_- God I hate most people.