[rtrombone]

You still don't get it. Jokes poking fun at Asian accents are sometimes as lighthearted as jokes about Southern accents, but they're often not.

Look, I know flawless didn't mean any harm by his title. I know he's not racist. He seems like a good guy. I wasn't offended, and it wouldn't surprise me if nobody on 2+2 was. The 2+2 audience, by and large, isn't comprised of the types that would be.

So if he didn't mean any harm, and no harm was done, what's the problem? If that's the case, there isn't one. In this particular context the wording of his post isn't offensive at all.

The point I'm trying to get across is that we've gotta be careful with blanket statements that something is or isn't offensive. If you're not a member of the affected group, how are you supposed to know? You think you can put yourself in their shoes, but you can't.

Black people complain all the time about things to which white people can't relate. Many conclude that said black people are simply making stuff up, causing trouble. There's a disconnect there because white people don't know what it's like to be black. They only think they do.

Back to the Southern accent jokes. The difference between these and other, more malicious, jokes is that they're not a shot at a race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc. You guys know that around the world entire groups of people are persecuted for being different. In more civilized countries like ours, the mistreatment doesn't rise to the level of persecution. Still, these groups have to deal with a hell of a lot more [censored] than members of the majority.

So you're from the South. Were you ever truly hurt by a joke about your accent? Were these jokes followed by comments that your family should go back to Mexico or whatever boat it was they got off of? That you're inherently dumber than white people and good only for carrying a football? Did it ever get so bad that you questioned your self-worth and began rejecting everything to do with the South?

What is it that Jim Mora said? "You think you know, but you don't. And you never will."

But we can try.