NEWS FLASH! GOOD OL' BOY TRAMPLES FREE SPEECH!

As anyone who knows me will affirm, on those admittedly rare occasions when I screw up, I am quick to acknowledge it. That is, if someone points it out to me. If not, then I am just like the rest of you, I will stumble along in blissful ignorance of my folly.

This task most of the time falls to my patient and long-suffering wife. In this case, however, it didn't, because she doesn't read blogs, least of all mine!

Turns out I messed up some settings on my "comment" section, and my diatribe on speech below was not showing the comments made. My apologies to those who read and took time to respond- I did not mean to censor your speech. I have made the corrections, and the posts should appear now. So to all of you, please feel free to kick me in the figurative butt. Whether we agree or not, I consider this great fun, and encourage everyone to make a comment- hello, yes, no, kiss my ass, whatever....

Thanks again for visiting!

Odds and Ends Department

Odds and Ends Department..

Well, the Good Ol' Boy fan club just grew the other day by one person. I'd like to welcome the new member- you know who you are, no need to embarass you here. Your secret decoder ring is on the way, and thanks for taking the job as treasurer, by the way. We're a happy bunch here on Boyd Drive, unshackled as we are by PC notions, so enjoy!

Next up- File this under "Did Ya ever notice?" Do you ever notice when you take your car in for service how the more modern, progressive shops- not just dealerships- have clean, well-lit waiting rooms. With a few brochures, some comfy chairs, coffee, and magazines? Soccer Moms don't mind sitting with the kiddies in a place like this waiting for an oil change. All in all, its a positive thing for our industry and its image in the public eye.

No more do you really see the old style grease pit place, with a dark office full of oil signs, stools made of car rims, and maybe a pin-up on the wall. And an old rusty wrecker parked out front. You know where all that stuff went? Just look around the next restaurant you go into- that's where most of it seems to be! What they didn't get, some bar probably has now.

Borrowed Bucks has all the old signs, gas pumps, and an old wrecker out front you would expect to see on the Rez. And the Long Haul Saloon has that Mack Truck inside. Talk about your ambience- what do you call it- "Garage Chic"? Somewhere along the line these icons of auto repair got hijacked by the upscale crowd, but I guess they're welcome to it.

And on a sadder note- UND is back in session. *Sigh* We'll have a few weeks of twits in their IBJCs (Itty Bitty Jap Cars) with fart pipes ripping up and down the chicanes of Boyd Drive, until they:
A) Get tired of it or get a ticket (quit laughing- it could happen).
B) Hit a parked car or a tree- check the bark on the trees lining the street about two feet off the ground, you'll see what I mean.
C) Realize school's hard work, and drop out.

UPDATE: 9/4/06-It didn't take long- a car full of twits plowed up onto a lawn late last night. No word whether they were of collegiate age or not. The gendarmes were summoned, and it is supposed that justice was dispatched. One can be thankful it was not the daylight hours, and someone's babies were not out playing in their yard.

That's it for Odds and Ends!

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

My colorful language is your hate speech.....

The new apartments built behind Hansen Chrysler are called "North Boyd Apartments". Hmmph. Why not name them "South Simplot Apartments"? Nice view of ol' Stinky from there, I bet! Open them windows and let the north wind blow!

As long as we're on the subject, just what is in a name, anyway? I was recently taken to task for the injudicious use of an abbreviated form of name of an ethnic group. In a sincere effort to praise the automotive products of the Land of the Rising Sun, I referred to the little metric cars I used to drive in a way that did not meet the civility and PC standards of those I was corresponding with. This usage was equated with other racial slurs, the "N' word to name one.

Now I can understand the passions associated in some circles with THAT word, even while I wonder how some are allowed to use it. It's just an all-around good idea to avoid that word in polite company. There is a lot of suffering and struggle associated with purging what it represents from our society, and I respect that, even if I do not think some who benefitted from that struggle do.

But let's leave that issue alone for now, and move on to discuss degrees of offense as they apply to usage of other names.

How do we as a society define the parameters of what is acceptable? It seems that right now we are giving the task of defining the parameters to those who hear the words, and not at all to those who say them. Let me just throw this out- is that where we want to end up? Is every perceived slight going to be labeled as hate speech? Where can we draw a reliable line that society can say of- "Here we stop, and shall go no further"?

Does suffering in slavery count for more than being conquered in a World War? How about TWO World Wars? How about belonging to an Abrahamic race (there are two of them)? What weight do we add for skin color in this? Percentage of the general population? What other grievances can be brought to bear in this? How many generations can it go on? I'm just asking a question here- what hurt, real or perceived, do you want to frame in your accusation of hate speech?

Is it possible to raise the question- "What part does the one saying the word get to play in this?" If I do not intend to hurt someone, if I harbor no ill feelings toward the hearer of my words, am I
culpable? What part do cultural differences get to play here? If I am from a rough-and-tumble world where one is expected to suck it up and be a man, and you are, well, not- then what of it? Does cultural sensitivity only cut one way? (Insert Klingon reference here...)

Let me toss this out. Sometimes I come across someone speaking of a "Good Ol' Boy" mindset, usually implying a negative connotation. As a fat old cracker myself, do I have the right to take offense at this and cry "foul" because I was on the receiving end?

Or should I just recognize that all down through human history, people have disagreed about things, not liked each other, and entertained bad thoughts of others, never mind what race, color, or political persuasion each may have been? And no matter how civilly they address each other, they may not agree or even like each other? The real issue is how one really feels, not necessarily what he says. It would be nice if we could judge people by what they say, but the smart money goes on what they mean. And that can cut both ways.

Enough Already with the Commercials...

First up- sorry I haven't been venting here lately. At least I know two people check here once in a while- they both wondered what was up. Guess I slipped into a moment of contentedness and got lazy. Well, that and the two weeks on either side of the first of the month is always busy at work for yours truly.

So to my adoring public- get over it. Here you go:

Anyway, I am really getting frosted lately over a couple of radio commercials that hammer at me incessantly. The first one was really cute the first four or five times, but after a few thousand times, well, it loses its luster. I am speaking of course of the Mountain Dew "Junk in the Trunk" ad. Great stuff, funny as all get out, but come on- enough is enough..... and take your "Pepsi Smash" ads when you go, too. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Oh for Pete's sake.. there it is on the radio again, even as I type.... oh the ignomy of it all. And now it's on another station I switched over to! Must....reach...for....CD....uunnghh..

Now, I must say I understand the importance of getting your name out in advertising, building brand recognition, and so on. Lord knows I spend enough on radio ads (there Mike- is that a good enough plug to make your boss happy? No problem, glad to do it buddy) trying to achieve that golden objective of top of mind awareness with the public. Went to seminars, even. But the last thing I ever want to hear is someone saying they are sick of hearing one of my ads every ten minutes on any radio station they may try to escape to. Well, unless it was one of my competitors- they can take a flying stab at a rolling donut.

So the problem as always, Grasshopper, is how to achieve balance in one's life. Let your potential customers know you are out there, ready and able to serve them, but don't piss them off with incessant yammering in their ear. Like the waitress who comes back to the table too many times to see how you're doing. Well, okay, I made that one up- but it could happen in GF. I think you know what I mean, though.

Well, off I go now, in search of other topics to rail on. In all honesty, life has been pretty nice lately, judging by the topics here, wooden shoe say?