stop the PC madness

[phoenix1224]

Sorry, but I had to bump this.

My kids are having their fall party at school tomorrow, and it's not a Halloween party. It's a "Fall Celebration." That way the children whose parents believe that those who celebrate Halloween are going straight to hell don't have to pull their kids out of school for the afternoon like they did when I was a kid.

Imagine what it's like for those of us that celebrate SAMHAIN... Hell, they used to burn us at the stake...

Whatever. In a couple of months, we'll be having a "holiday" program instead of a Christmas program. Hell, my kids don't care what it's called, as long as they get to participate and they get candy or gifts out of the deal.

You have to remember the un-official motto of the PC movement: Can't offend anyone (except the traditionalists, of course)...

 

[Quoll]

Now here's a queer story.

Gay old time over a little fairy bird
By ADRIAN TAME
15apr06

PHILLIP Island's iconic fairy penguins have been renamed "little penguins" in Queensland to avoid offending the gay community.






In an act of political correctness gone overboard, Sea World theme park operators on the Gold Coast changed the name of their star attraction to avoid being "offensive".

Rebecca Smith, spokeswoman for Sea World, confirmed: "We didn't want to upset the gay community.

"We didn't have any complaints about the name of the penguins, but someone thought it could be seen as offensive so we decided to change it to little penguin instead.

"The name is more politically correct. We're not treating it as a big issue."

But the name change has had the opposite effect. Queensland's gay community described it as ridiculous and unnecessary.

"If they were called poofter penguins or something more direct, it might be a problem. But I don't see the name fairy penguin as a mickey take," Kamahl Fox, chairman of gay support group Gold Coast Breakers, said.

On Phillip Island, where the colony of 60,000 penguins attracts 500,000 visitors a year, operators are quietly amused by the Queenslanders' sensitivities.

"Technically, the name little penguin is closer to their scientific title, Eudyptula (meaning "good little diver") minor, so we do call them that as well," Phillip Island Nature Park spokeswoman Sally O'Neill said.

"But it's nothing to do with the gay community.

"And the parade is still widely known as the fairy penguin parade."

Fairy penguins are found only in the southern hemisphere – particularly off Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand. They were given the common name "fairy penguin" almost 100 years ago as the smallest of all penguin species.

Gay lobbyist Ms Fox said: "I don't think our community is sensitive about those things. Sea World deals with kids and children love fairies, so they should have left the name as it was. It's cuter."

Another gay-rights group spokesman said "fairy" had not been offensive to gay people for about 30 years. And a spokeswoman for gay and bisexual teenagers said young people grew up recognising the birds as fairy penguins.

Judith Henke, spokeswoman for Melbourne Zoo, said the zoo's fairy penguins were properly titled "little blue penguins", but she added that it hadn't "crossed anybody's mind to rename them because of the gay community".

 

[Quoll]

"nontraditionally handsome"