February 15, 200917 yr SOURCE: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-..._100124283.html Text for a gag services racist joke angers Muslim student November 27th, 2008 - 5:09 pm ICT by ANI - Send to a friend: London, Nov 27 (ANI): A Muslim student was stunned when he received a racist joke about Asians by the 118 118-phone service. Kameron Abbas, a student at Prestons University of Central Lancashire, had used the companys new joke text service after seeing it advertised on TV. Kameron, who’’s family live in Pakistan, had borrowed the mobile phone of a pal to try out a new 60p-a-time gag line. However, he was outraged to be sent back the message: Whats the difference between ET and an Asian? ET got the message and went home. He and fellow student Imran, both 21, are now considering legal action against the service. My friend and I texted 118 118 after seeing their advert on TV, the Sun quoted him, as saying. We did it for a laugh as we were bored and wanted to see what jokes they had. I was horrified at what we received and couldnt believe that 118 118 would send anything like what they did. These sorts of jokes are not funny at all. They are promoting racism. I texted them asking why they send racist jokes but they replied claiming they dont send any of that kind. Im going to seek legal advice about this. They shouldnt be allowed to get away with it,” he added. A spokesman for 118 118 said: We are investigating. This is a breach of our standards. We dont do jokes like that. This is a disciplinary issue and we would like to apologise. He should not have received it. The 118 118 brand is operated by The Number from three call centres based in Cardiff, Plymouth and Manila in the Philippines. (ANI)
February 15, 200917 yr "ET and an Asian? ET got the message and went home" Class me as "too uptight" then, because i think that joke IS offensive.
February 15, 200917 yr It's just as offensive as if people were making jokes here along the lines of "whitey go home."
February 15, 200917 yr It more than crossed the line, it's gross! I wonder if there are some racists sending these without the company's knowledge?
February 16, 200917 yr So some joker looking for a quick buck says 'I know, I'll sell jokes on a telephone subscription service. If it gets too busy, I'll outsource.' He gets on to a tinpot company somewhere that recycles gags from Internet joke sites at very little cost. A few offensive ones get thrown into the mix. (Or some variation on this theme) Nothing surprising about it at all... So the company realises it needs to spend a small quid to ensure that dubious jokes are weeded out. Since they're already established and making money for virtually nothing - no problem. Fixed. These mobs that advertise ringtones and jokes and the like - including the current, particularly tasteless one of a 'fart' ringtone - remind me of carnys. Trailer trash companies.
February 25, 200917 yr Racist? Yes, but I wonder if he would have complained if he received a joke about the Scots, Irish or Welsh? Or a joke against women or gays? People can be very selective in their tolerance level.
February 25, 200917 yr Well, yes, most people don't find mean jokes at their own expense to be funny.
February 25, 200917 yr Racist? Yes, but I wonder if he would have complained if he received a joke about the Scots, Irish or Welsh? Or a joke against women or gays?People can be very selective in their tolerance level. I concur Phil. And some have a sense of humour. I work with a coloured/black american. And he was the one who told me the joke about Barrack Obama being the first black guy, to go into the Whitehouse without a mop and bucket. He thought it was hilarious but someone else wouldn't. Probably no room in this world now, for likes of Bernard Manning etc.
February 25, 200917 yr I do agree the point about tolerance level, but i also believe it has to do with timing, the situation, and the personality of the joke deliverer. If someone I know well or know to be generally good natured made a joke on the risky side, on any subject, I can often see the funny side. But, if i dont know the person well, or know them to have a problem with the joke subject, I wouldnt. I appreciate some risky jokes, but there are some which to me seem to go too far, such as the one above (which isnt including the people that the joke is about. Its just plain mean (imo)). If someone makes a joke about Scots (Im Scottish), i can often see the funny side. But if it is constant and/or is said venomously, then of course I start to feel offended. My own brother, who i love dearly, is very homophobic and seems to find it funny to make some racist jokes also. I tried, in vain, to get him to open his mind up about these things. As it didnt work the only thing I could do was tell him I no longer wish to hear those jokes from him anymore (or any of his comments/opinions on the matter.) We agree to disagree on our feelings on these things. I really think there is a line that shouldnt be crossed, but as suggested, maybe that line is down to our own tolerance level. But maybe there really is a clear general line that everyone is aware of that shouldnt be crossed.
February 25, 200917 yr Probably no room in this world now, for likes of Bernard Manning etc. And thank God for that. A more horrible man one could not imagine (though I've never been to Pattaya).
February 25, 200917 yr Yes I have worked with some blacks and Asians who have had a wicked sense of humour and appreciated jokes against their own people. But I guess the line is the underlying message. In the topic example the message is; Asians are not wanted and should get out which totally overlooks the positive impact the Asian community has had especially in the UK. The traditional Indian curry would be just about extinct if it weren't for the stalwart efforts of all those flock wallpapered establishments. Just joking. The human race has, throughout it's existance, always cracked jokes against particular sections and usually picking on a trait irrespective of how inaccurate it may be. The Irish are stupid, the Scots are mean, women are poor drivers etc etc. In ruling out offensive racist jokes society has made a step towards integration but take that too far and elevate one section to being untouchable only breeds resentment.
February 25, 200917 yr Probably no room in this world now, for likes of Bernard Manning etc. And thank God for that. A more horrible man one could not imagine (though I've never been to Pattaya). Err... well.... that's where you would be wrong. I had met Bernard several times (past tense as it isn't going to happen again) I played quite a few gigs at his club in Manchester, and off-stage he was a genuinely decent chap. His public profile was only delivering what the vast majority, if not all, of his ticket buying audience wanted at that time.
February 25, 200917 yr Tell us more Thaddy.............Are you really Rod Hull, and what did happen to Emu ?
February 25, 200917 yr Probably no room in this world now, for likes of Bernard Manning etc. And thank God for that. A more horrible man one could not imagine (though I've never been to Pattaya). I thought he was hilarious. When you went to his World Famous Embassy Club, nobody, whether black, white, tall, short, thin or fat, was immune from his piss taking. Sometimes it was close to the bone but that's why people went. And believe me, you had to book way in advance.
February 25, 200917 yr Yes I have worked with some blacks and Asians who have had a wicked sense of humour and appreciated jokes against their own people. But I guess the line is the underlying message. In the topic example the message is; Asians are not wanted and should get out which totally overlooks the positive impact the Asian community has had especially in the UK. The traditional Indian curry would be just about extinct if it weren't for the stalwart efforts of all those flock wallpapered establishments.Just joking. The human race has, throughout it's existance, always cracked jokes against particular sections and usually picking on a trait irrespective of how inaccurate it may be. The Irish are stupid, the Scots are mean, women are poor drivers etc etc. In ruling out offensive racist jokes society has made a step towards integration but take that too far and elevate one section to being untouchable only breeds resentment. Does having a padlock on my purse make me frugal or mean?
February 25, 200917 yr Tell us more Thaddy.............Are you really Rod Hull, and what did happen to Emu ? Oh God.. Rod Hull and Emu running amok in Bedlam.....???
February 25, 200917 yr When you went to his World Famous Embassy Club, nobody, whether black, white, tall, short, thin or fat, was immune from his piss taking. I take it you're a black lesbian in a wheelchair, yeah? There's an apocryphal tale of a Asian heart doctor from Leeds who, every year, would take his staff out to the Embassy for a bit of a do. An integral part of the show would be a section where a spotlight would be shone around the room before coming to a halt on a member of the audience. Every year the spotlight would fall on this Asian doctor, and Manning would say "Nice to see our Pakistani friend here tonight. Closed the shop early, have you?" To which "our Pakistani friend" would reply "Actually, I'm the chief cardio surgeon at Leeds General." Lovely. The comeback, I mean, not Manning. He was just a racist hate-mongerer.
February 25, 200917 yr Jokes on racial, ethnic, sexual orientation lines, etc, run a fine border between funny and innocuous and outright offensive. This joke was not funny, but the amin point is that it is offensive. The key insinuation of the joke is that Asians are not welcome and should leave. As such, it went over the line. Many times racial jokes are sly digs at certain stereotypes or observations, and these can be funny to most people, even the people who are the brunt of the joke. One of my favorite jokes is about a priest and a rabbi, but the joke has to be about them as it is about both dietary laws and celibacy, and I would imagine both priest and a rabbi hearing it would laugh. BUt when a joke gets mean-spirited, well, I think it crosses the line.
February 25, 200917 yr Manning. He was just a racist hate-mongerer. A quote from elsewhere. Manning's family and friends insisted his controversial ways were all a stage-based act. He also lived next door to an Indian doctor's family, who over the years have appeared in a number of newspaper articles including the Daily Mail, defending Manning as a "perfect gentleman". Recently, the poet widow of Visveswara Rao Rudravajhala, Satya Rudravajhala, wrote a eulogy that was published in the local paper, the Middleton Guardian, conveying the family's sentiments His act was just that, an act.
February 25, 200917 yr Manning. He was just a racist hate-mongerer. A quote from elsewhere. Manning's family and friends insisted his controversial ways were all a stage-based act. He also lived next door to an Indian doctor's family, who over the years have appeared in a number of newspaper articles including the Daily Mail, defending Manning as a "perfect gentleman". Recently, the poet widow of Visveswara Rao Rudravajhala, Satya Rudravajhala, wrote a eulogy that was published in the local paper, the Middleton Guardian, conveying the family's sentiments His act was just that, an act. Some of his best friends were Indian? Is that what you're saying? Oh, I get it. Sorry, I guess I had him all wrong. Here are some quotes from various Manning interviews not performances (Google is your friend). Remember him this way: On British Asians: "Some people I like, some I don't like. These people think they're English because they're born here. That means if a dog's born in a stable, it's a horse." On Asians: "Where were the Pakis at Dunkirk and Monte Cassino?" (There were two Indian divisions at monte Cassino, fact fans) On Hitler: "I am an admirer of Adolf Hitler," he told the Sunday People. "Not everything about him, of course. I deplore his gas chambers and Gestapo as much as anyone, but I admire him for the things he got right, which I reckon was about 50 per cent."
February 25, 200917 yr On Asians: "Where were the Pakis at Dunkirk and Monte Cassino?" (There were two Indian divisions at monte Cassino, fact fans) Another fact. Pakistani's and Indians are not the same. In fact, they really don't get along, you know
February 25, 200917 yr If someone I know well or know to be generally good natured made a joke on the risky side, on any subject, I can often see the funny side. But, if i dont know the person well, or know them to have a problem with the joke subject, I wouldnt. I appreciate some risky jokes, but there are some which to me seem to go too far, such as the one above (which isnt including the people that the joke is about. Its just plain mean (imo)). If someone makes a joke about Scots (Im Scottish), i can often see the funny side. But if it is constant and/or is said venomously, then of course I start to feel offended. Are risky jokes those ones told about Kiwis and their affection for sheep in a club the All Blacks are visiting?
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