Good on you Dave. You and Mark are the life of the list and long may you continue to bring a smile to our faces! And my wee wifey Morag agrees! Peter Grant London ex NZ -----Original Message----- From: ScotHeritage@aol.com [mailto:ScotHeritage@aol.com] Sent: 07 September 2000 18:50 To: SCT-INVERNESS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SCT-INV-L] Off-topic posts In a message dated 07/09/00 9:41:13 AM Central Daylight Time, hdckwth@cc.UManitoba.CA writes: << Dear friends: Well, it seems to be time to get back up on my soap box. The problem with the Olympic swimmer story is not so much that it's a dirty joke, and that people who find that sort of thing offensive should have their privacy respected. The problem is that this mailing list is for *Scottish genealogy*, Inverness branch. That's why people have subscribed, and that's the common factor. Just because we share an interest in Scottish genealogy with a lot of others round the world, doesn't mean that they are also interested in dirty jokes, or in modern Scottish politics for that matter. Even discussions about Hogmanay customs, or recipes for haggis, are a bit dodgy, in my opinion, though at least they're not offensive. It would seem then that the list has changed greatly as it used to be used as a place for Invernesians to have a wee blether, get in contact with those who moved and those with an interest in things Scottish and Invernesian. Not just for people to look up the dead or what tartan to wear when and on which shoulder which is what most of these lists have deteriorated to. It was about the living of Inverness and also for those seeking information about ancestors and what their lives were like the social, spiritual and other aspects of a town, a shire and its culture. Who had been at The Ploughman for a dram, what they were doing in Eastgate, The Palace and The La Scala, Morganties on Academy St. And other topics of interst.and yes Mr. Duckworth even a wee bit Highland humor. But if things have changed I can accept that and do as it seems most native Inverneasians have done and leave the list to the foreigners and tartan police. We have already, most of us, gone to voice contacts anyway. But and I caution you, every time a Scot or an Invernesian leaves this list you loose a bit of the culture and those of us who remember Inverness before it was all built up and what and where all the wee villages and nooks and crannies are. What the market was like on a Saturday, or the stockyards behind the station. Who 40 pockets was, Anny BoBo and Alecy Duff and the laddie with the fiddle on the High Street Bridge, or Greg St. Bridge, What Culloden and the Castles along the Ness Road were like before the tourist councils tore them up. What the Cally was the Cameron Barracks and the Navy from Invergordon. A thousand wee bits of daily life not recorded in any sterile book or death records. But I shall lay quiet and I do promise that when I do share a bit of a joke, which by the way Invernesians like MYSELF are known for it will be to like minded people. The people of Inverness, and the Highlands who have dealt with starvation, genocide, poverty and discrimination for centuries with a wee joke here and a wee joke there to help ease the misery. By the way the joke originated in Inverness and thus is a basic part of the towns culture, told to an Invernesian and by an Invernesian. Perhaps after this we shall just tell our jokes in the Gaelic and that way those of different minds can just be insulted by the language. The subscribers to this mailing list are not like-minded in every respect. We know almost nothing about one another. We come together for one particular purpose, and no one should presume that a common interest in genealogy means a common interest in everything else. It's an invasion of privacy to drag in other topics. Get a grip man the sun will still shine tomorrow, well perhaps not in Inverness but that is not uncommon. As we say in Inverness "You are just opening yer mooth ta let yer bellie rumble" its just not that important in the scheme of things. Those who protest that they didn't find anything offensive in the joke may rejoice privately in their broad-mindedness, but they're missing the point - they have no right to tell others what is offensive. That is why you have a delete button. You are a most fortunate man if you have the time and energy to find this such an issue. I have seen several mailing lists, and more newsgroups and unmoderated discussions, degenerate into "darkling plains, where ignorant armies clash by night", just because a few enthusiasts couldn't keep to the topic. Sincerely, Harry Duckworth And I sir have seen the tartan police, and precocious self righteous wee mannies ruin many a good list because they only want to accept the death certificates of a sterile and imagined past. We of the Highlands were never know for our sobriety of our chastity or our diplomatic skills. We are not scared of a wee joke. That sir is OUR culture and perhaps if that is not acceptable you would be more comfortable in your country, but please do not dare to enter MY culture and attempt to dictate behaviour or cultural expectations. We have had quite enough of that nonsense in our history. I am more than delighted to share my culture and that includes our wee jokes. You are more than welcome to question me, and I dare say QUESTION my actions and state opinions but do not I repeat do not ever attempt to dictate to any Highlander his or Her behaviour or what OUR culture should be in His or Her own realm. Now away and get on with your life. This is just not that important an issue and I am sure when you finish your huffing and your puffing you will realize you have not only heard but spoken much worse yourself. By the way the U.Of Manitoba was that not the University that sent that professor around telling everyone about the different size of mannies willy's and how it affected their intelectual abilities, the Asians being the most intelegent with the weest willies, the Balcks being the least inteligent with the biggest willies and the whites some where in between? Aye that's the one. Good God man talk about offensive I supose you lot must be experts on the subject by now. Dave MacLean. British by law. Scottish by birth Highlander by the grace of God. ----------------------- Headers -------------------------------- Return-Path: <SCT-INVERNESS-L-request@rootsweb.com> >>