My joke too colourful?

[Turtle]

Being a moderator is a duty to keep it all running smoothly, and within the bounds of good taste.

Absolutely, and it's not an easy job.

You can`t open the mod`s decisions to debate, because what one person finds offensive, the other person doesn`t, so the mods have to go with what they think is the right decision, and accept the ridicule, praise, and/or wrath of the readership.

Of course you can, especially since whoever deleted this thread did so without taking responsibility for it. They've used their own personal views on something to influence everyone else, and did so by stealth. If they feel they are right in the matter, they should have the integrity to stand up and take responsibility for their actions, and explain their decision. They've hidden themselves from ridicule, praise and wrath. There's a word for that, and it starts with chicken and ends with ѕhіt.

 

[DougTravels]

I guess maybe, I started some more crap.

1stly I believe Turtle is correct and that when a thread is removed or even moved, it would be nice if the Mod would state why they did it.

I thought the joke was pretty tasteless, I commented on it, something to the effect that, I thought OVM was better than posting something like that. No biggee, no asking for removal or anything like that. I just expressed that I thought OVM had more class than that.

I was really surprised when, the next time I refreshed the screen it was gone.

I do understand it because, they want to grow this site well past the 10,000 members they now have. We all see expediters of many different nationalities, threads like that do not help to grow the membership. If I were a Mod (ok stop laughing) I don't think I would have yanked it though.

One other thing, the title of the thread mis-represented what it was about. You thought you were clicking travel info and got a joke about Obama being black.

Playing the devils advocate, had Hillary won and the joke was somehow changed to say something about boulder boobs or McCain being older than the rock itself, I guess I wouldn't have seen it as a classless joke.

Again, sorry if my comment, got it yanked.

.

 

[Turtle]

,,,when a thread is removed or even moved, it would be nice if the Mod would state why they did it.

Otherwise, no one will know not do make the same mistake again.

I thought the joke was pretty tasteless,

Most jokes are pretty tasteless, but this one really wasn't. Obama being black was but one small part of the overall joke, and a pretty minor part at that. A road closure for something stupid was the meat and potatoes of the joke, not that Obama is black. The joke in no way could be construed as being demeaning or belittling to Obama or blacks in general, unless you are trying a little too hard to see offense in just about anything and everything.

The joke merely used the fact that Obama is black as a reference point. It's something everyone is aware of. Like one comedian said, if you can't laugh at a guy who went to Columbia, Harvard, the US Senate and the White House, and who also happens to be black, then the racist is you.

Racism is the personification of fear. The fear is driven by ignorance. The ignorance, of course, is fueled by the inability to gain knowledge or the inaccessibility to knowledge that could alter the state of ignorance. Comedy is a way to alleviate that ignorance, illuminate it, and eliminate it. Racism is a ridiculous construct, and when race is spoofed, particularly with absurdity as in the case of this joke, it illustrates the absurdity of it all. If anyone was offended by this joke, then they are in fact the racist among us, as this joke perfectly illustrated that racism is absurd and not funny, and did so by being funny and absurd.

One other thing, the title of the thread mis-represented what it was about. You thought you were clicking travel info and got a joke about Obama being black.

If this had been posted in the General Forum, then yeah, that argument would hold, at least somewhat. But it was posted in the Layover Lounge, a place specifically for jokes, so it shouldn't come as a shock when the title of a thread is the setup for a joke.


At a biker tattoo contest, the winning biker had tattoos of Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Colin Powell on his butt. Biden was on the left cheek, Powell was on the right cheek, and Obama was in the middle.

Is that racist? I dunno. It's funny, tho.

 

[highway star]

Tiger just said that he's happy with the way he hit the ball today. Does that smooth out any racial tension?


Oh... Wait a minute... The ball's white.


Never mind.

 

[bryan]

Hi

If we are discussing political correctness and jokes I find red neck jokes offensive I prefer Appalatchan American.LOL

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Doug said

I thought the joke was pretty tasteless, I commented on it, something to the effect that, I thought OVM was better than posting something like that. No biggee, no asking for removal or anything like that. I just expressed that I thought OVM had more class than that.

Sorry you felt that way.. I'd ask you to "lighten" up a bit...but that these days could be a racist comment as well...

Lets all try not so hard to be offended....

As far as class? Sir ...I am in a class of my own!

I am legend, I am OVM!!

Sorry Dreamer and Lawrence...I honestly meant you guys no grief.

 

[DougTravels]

Yeah, I could stand to lighten up, in more ways than 1. I still don't think it needed to be pulled either.
After all I am the guy who came up with Renegade Mexican Truckers in the 2nd story thread, some probably found that was offensive as well.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Doug...whats done is done.....but you owe me a coffee someday!

 

[DougTravels]

You got it

 

[Turtle]

"Tiger just said that he's happy with the way he hit the ball today. Does that smooth out any racial tension?

Oh... Wait a minute... The ball's white."

and

"Sorry you felt that way.. I'd ask you to "lighten" up a bit...but that these days could be a racist comment as well..."


That's funny stuff, folks.

Eighty years ago, 100 white men chasing a black man through a field was called the Ku Klux Klan.
Today, it's called the PGA Tour.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

It wasn't removed, it says it was MOVED. I'm assuming it was MOVED to a more appropriate forum, but for the life of me I cannot fathom a more appropriate forum for it.

That joke didn't even begin to come even remotely close to violating the Code of Conduct. The four people currently on the face of Mt Rushmore are four of the whitest people in the history of white people. Even Canadians say, "Wooo weee, those are some white white people on them mountains!" That's why Borglum chose the white granite of the Black Hills Mountains to carve them out of. It would be silly, and stupid, just to carve an Obama likeness out of the same white as rice granite, not to mention someone would call it racist for carving a black man out of white granite in the Black Hills. It would likewise just as silly to have a road closure joke about hauling a 300 ton lump of Vermont granite to South Dakota. So somebody makes a joke about putting Obama on Rushmore, and it's a racist joke. You have got to be kidding me. Sheesh. I got shocking news for ya folks, Obama is a tad bit darker than them white folks up in them thar hills. Pointing that out isn't racist. Removing the joke, on the other hand, may very well be, if you think about it for a minute.

And did I mention he's black?

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Tiger just said that he's happy with the way he hit the ball today. Does that smooth out any racial tension?


Oh... Wait a minute... The ball's white.


Never mind.

Better talk about the Wings then.

 

[Dreamer]

OK OK! Easy Now! I just got on here, so I don't know who moved it....

I read the joke and while it wasn't HORRIBLE, it was a little 'iffy'... we've gotten complaints for less. LOL.

We're not beating up Ken for posting it, we've all probably gotten it forwarded 10 times by now..

Dale

 

[MentalGiant]

Wow, talk about a issue that is going to stay alive for many more years, unless everybody agrees to get over it.

 

[Turtle]

Wow, talk about a issue that is going to stay alive for many more years, unless everybody agrees to get over it.

No, the issue is a moderator being able to anonymously delete an entire thread, for their own super sekrit personal reasons, without justifying their actions. The Code of Conduct says you're not supposed to do that. Why should anyone here even pretend to play by the rules if the moderators aren't going to play by the same rules?

Even if the joke was a little "iffy", which is a stretch, whoever deleted the entire thread should man up and say why. If it violated the Code of Conduct, let's here how. A single moderator should not be able to be both judge and jury to pick and choose with impunity based on their own personal viewpoints. You don't yank someone's post on an "iffy". Deleting someone's posts is serious, and it had better be for a reason beyond mere "iffy". If "iffy" is all it takes, then the Code of Conduct should be written to include "iffy", and "If a moderator or administrator must edit a post to remove offending comments, a note will be made by moderator" needs to just be removed from the Code of Conduct, cause it's a rule that at least a few moderators don't think they have to play by.

We recently had a now-former moderator delete at least three threads that I know of without a trace. Poof, gone. Now here's another one. No explanation, nothing, not even a warning that the Code of Conduct had been violated, just gone. He merely disagreed on a personal level and deleted the threads. Are those the kinds of eggshells we can expect to try and walk on around here, the eggshells of one moderator's personal feelings?

Yeah, I know that free speech doesn't exist on this site. That's not what I'm advocating. It just seems a tad hypocritical to bang people over the head with the Code of Conduct while ignoring it at the same time.

 

[MentalGiant]

Well, I basically agreed with that in what I said above. Who ever deleted it, still see things in white and black and if they are not racist, then it shouldn't of come up as being racist, but just a joke about a black man.

My theory is, people who are racist will hide it, the people who are not racist will not hide it. Good example is this thread.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Talk about timing....just read this....

"A wax likeness of Michelle Obama debuted earlier this week at Madame Tussauds in Washington. She is the third first lady to be represented at the popular museum. The others are Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jacqueline Kennedy."

Umm...do you suppose they had to add anything to the wax?

 

[pelicn]

<~~~Mod sneakin in the door...

I don't know who moved it, I thought it was funny.
I agree, when a thread is moved there should be a reason given, but please remember that Mod's are human too. Mistakes are made, and sometimes the Mod might actually be running freight.

Turtle... the PGA is hilarious and so true!

Exit.....stage right ~~~~~~>

 

[louixo]

This is what I meant when a topic is opened to debate, and why it should not be. It goes on and on, and on, and on with personal opinion. I second the motion, that an explanation should be given as to why a post has been moved, or pulled, as it can lead to a moderator`s personal interpretation, if they can take an action "jsut because". Once a post is moved or removed, then it`s up to the administrators to rule on the action taken.
However it turns out, we the readers have the option of accepting or rejecting action taken/ or continuing to be here or not continuing to be here. Either way that should be the end of it.
Maybe there should be a category on this site where you have to be 18 or older to access it, so a trucker can go there and post topics and jokes with "shucks" "heck", and "darn", and other frequently used trucker verbs in the text.

 

[Turtle]

In the case of the now-former moderator who deleted (at least) three threads, there was nothing for administrators to rule on. The threads were not moved, they were gone, nothing to look at to make a ruling. They just disappeared in the middle of the night. Everyone just accepted it after the first time, probably because there was only one or two replies there, it happened quick, and not many knew about it. Everyone kept their traps shut after the second time for the same reasons. The third time, a few people spoke up, which may have had something to do with it not happening again.

For me, at least, simply due to the fact that unrestricted free speech isn't to be found on this site, and the site makes no bones about that, it's not about the moving or removing of a post or thread, it's about everyone - moderators included - being expected to play by the same rules. If ya move or delete a post, leave a note. That's the rule.