Personally I think that there need to be people who expert and
knowledgeable of WWII. You are not a bad guy for loving history. I
believe we must understand history in order to not repeat its mistakes.
However as an American I have no understanding of how those in Europe
feel about some of these terms. I also know that these terms are not
unique to Germany, Italy or WWII.
American football uses the term blitz probably most every game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitz_(gridiron_football)
Just as you educated us here as to your context and reference. Educate
your audience on your other forums. Everybody wins. Truth, intellectual
and artistic integrity win. This is the best way to combat
hyper-sensitivity and political correctness. Negative context do not own
the definition of these words. But we do need to demonstrate that they
are being used in a different context.
Also, a thought. You might consider putting a signature and a link to
your about or educational pages about your handles in your emails. That
way someone new to you can learn.
And thank you for the passion to help in the marketing of Smalltalk and
Pharo.
Jimmie
On 1/18/2015 2:02 PM, horrido wrote:
Excellent advice! I shall do exactly that.
Again, I apologize if anyone was offended by my use of the world
"blitzkrieg". I was trying to be clever and it obviously backfired on me.
My love of WWII history should not paint me as a bad guy. To be honest, I
had no idea that modern Germans still feel very touchy about the subject. As
a Canadian growing up, my friends and I loved to play war, esp. WWII, and
this has been ingrained into my character. I had a profound admiration for
great tactics and strategy (which may also explain my love of chess), and
there's no question that blitzkrieg ranked high in that regard.
Jimmie Houchin-5 wrote
As an USAmerican, I would not have associated Generalissimo with WWII.
It is a common term for a leader in many Hispanic nations or armies.
Many of them unfortunately are dictators.
I also not being a WWII buff, was not familiar with horrido. It meant
nothing to me and I didn't look. It was merely a label you were using to
represent yourself.
That is one of the interesting things about this list is it is very
global in representation. So it is very difficult to know name
associations that people will make.
When representing ourselves we can make any choice we want, wise or not.
But hopefully if we are doing something which represents some community
(this or any other) we should make decisions within that context.
Considering what has been learned about global perception. You might
take the opportunity on your blog on an about page or something to
educate as to what your chosen names represent, to you, whom they are
representing. This could present an opportunity to educate on one of
your favorite topics and to allow people who might otherwise have the
wrong understanding to obtain the correct one for you and your context.
Just some thoughts.
Jimmie
On 1/18/2015 11:22 AM, horrido wrote:
You make some valid points. I shall reconsider my position. However, the
articles I write, such as "The Smalltalk Revolution" and "Dart is Dead",
as
well as my "stream of consciousness" blog at Tumblr, must remain true to
my
style. Artistically, I have no choice.
I'd like to make one further note: the handle Generalissimo was NOT
selected
from the Italian army during WWII. So no one should take offence here. It
was used in an excellent Chinese film called " Back to 1942
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2113822/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_12> ",
which
impressed me so much that I glommed onto the handle. If you think this
reflects poorly on everyone, then I apologize.
Jimmie Houchin-5 wrote
I do not think anybody is trying to compel you to be politically correct
or intellectually dishonest.
However, most of what you have been doing is being done in the name of
marketing. When marketing you choose what words you use and what words
you don't use. You choose in order to effect a certain result.
The words you choose have consequences. From the handle you choose to
label yourself by, to the words you choose to describe Smalltalk or
Pharo.
You are a free person, living in a free part of the world. You make your
choices for your words. And you accept the consequences of those
choices. Whether for accolades or rebuke or somewhere in between.
However, in this context you are also attempting to represent a larger
community. You are attempting to represent and market Smalltalk and
Pharo. There are many here who are a part of that community will also
bear the consequences of words chosen by members of this community.
To my understanding all that is being asked is. Look at the big picture.
Choose your words, handles, labels wisely.
Is it politically correct or intellectually dishonest to call you
Richard?
Can you not be intellectually and artistically honest and choose words
for who you are and who you are writing to and for?
Are there no other handles which are just as appropriate for you but are
better in this context?
I think it can often be just as intellectually dishonest to say,
"tough", "deal with it". I like these words and I do not want to make an
effort to choose others.
It is not the English language that constrains.
Regarding Paris. My heart and prayers go out to the people of France.
You are not writing political satire. You are attempting to make certain
technical, business, policy, ... arguments to market the adoption of
Smalltalk and Pharo.
You are not being attacked at all. You are simply being advised of
consequences to certain choices.
Choose. Choose well. For the consequences good or bad, are yours.
Jimmie
On 1/18/2015 10:16 AM, horrido wrote:
This is a fine line to tread. I have several problems with
self-censorship:
First of all, "Generalissimo" is just a handle. My previous handle,
"horrido", was surely objectionable as well, since it's a play on the
battle
cry associated with the WWII German Luftwaffe ( Horrido: Fighter Aces
of
the
Luftwaffe
<http://www.amazon.ca/Horrido-Luftwaffe-Raymond-F-Toliver/dp/0553126636>
).
I admit to being a WWII buff. I have been for many years. Should I
apologize
for this?
Second, I am firmly and philosophically opposed to Political
Correctness.
I
find it intellectually offensive to my very core. I guess that would
make
me
a lousy politician.
One thing that no one can accuse me of is being intellectually
dishonest.
Third, my self-censorship is hardly different from what Muslim
terrorists
were trying to achieve in Paris last week. Free expression should be
protected (as long as it is not foul or vulgar). Any language you use
will
offend /someone somewhere/ at /some time/ in the world. I try to be
sensible
and I try to be artistically honest. This is reflected in my writings.
There
will always be people who find my style distasteful. There isn't much I
can
do about that.
sebastian@
wrote
Sometimes you want to polarise people but there is nothing interesting
as
output of this particular one, please consider review that inner joke
Richard
So I agree, that this particular vocabulary will polarise people in an
inconvenient way.
On Jan 18, 2015, at 6:30 AM,
jtuchel@
wrote:
Horrido,
You are aware that there are regions on this planet where mails
containing vocabulary like Blitzkrieg or Genaralissimo will evoke
reactions that will not help at ll. You are at risk to simply be
ignored
in the best case. In the worst case, people will hsake their heads
and
associate Smalltalk with a certain kind of political spam they
receive
from time to time.
Joachim
Von: horrido <mailto:
horrido.hobbies@
>
Gesendet: Samstag, 17. Januar 2015 16:15
An: Any question about pharo is welcome <mailto:
pharo-users@.pharo
>
http://horridohobbies.tumblr.com/
<http://horridohobbies.tumblr.com/>
*Today is the one-month anniversary of the SRP.* We have made good
progress,
but there is still much work ahead of us.
Shortly, I will be seeking corporate sponsorship. As well, I'm trying
to
coordinate activities with the Smalltalk Foundation.
Later this summer, I will be pushing my "Small Minds Initiative," a
sub-campaign of the SRP to get Smalltalk into the classroom. I will
begin
with the Toronto District School Board.
Are we pumped yet?!
Generalissimo
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