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IMHO, it is also very rude and insensitive.

One of Kodak's Values is "Respect for the Individual", which includes Diversity. At a recent conference, Kodak's CEO Dan Carp said: "Our strength as a company is evidenced by our number of diverse people from all over the globe. and from all walks of life. By the company's commitment - and my own personal commitment to living our values, we are creating an environment where every individual feels part of the team and is encouraged to contribute to their fullest potential."

here Out and Equal Workplace Summit

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: here

I have always taken offence to anyone who refers to someone who prefers a beer alternative as some sort of sissy, or drinking sissy beer.

It is contrary to the facts. It really isn't funny either. It is pretty assuming to think that it should be funny.

I myself cannot stand the taste of beer. It is one of the most vial things around. How anyone can stomache that I do not know.

I prefer Mikes Hard Lemonade. If that isn't available, then a Bacardi Key Lime Breezer.

I am far from sissy!

I am in fact quite evil!

Avoiding genuine insult is one thing, taking political correctness too far is another. If any of the regulars in this pub really was offended by those receipts, then I'd hope that the landlord would apologise, give him a drink on the house and quietly reprogramme his till.

Otherwise I have to admit that this did put a smile on my face, though IMHO the stereotype isn't an accurate one. The common image of 'alcopops' here is that they tend to be consumed by teenage girls (i.e. rebellious underage drinking) rather than gay men. And even from several paces along a bar, they smell so vile that anyone who drinks them voluntarily deserves all the ridicule (s)he gets!

Seriously, though, people make jokes at the expense of other groups (and their own) in society all the time. If they didn't, then most of the entries in 'Joke Yak' wouldn't be there. As long as these jokes aren't causing offence to a significant number of people or are likely to incite antisocial behaviour, I don't have a problem with them. One of the best examples I can remember was a gay couple who both worked at the same cinema (one in projection, the other front-of-house). When I expressed irritation at a very trivial issue with the projectionist, his partner suggested that I tell him to 'stop being such a fussy old poof' should there be any repeat performance.

We have spent dozens of years trying to get rid of certain unpleasant words. Sometimes its in the effort of PC, sometimes its in the effort to just eliminate a word that is primarily used to insult one group by another group.

One way to win the word battle is for a group to co-opt a word for themselves, taking away its power, at least in theory.

Even with that, there is always some way to offend someone. Best bet, if someone gets offended by something, they should just walk away, and not patron the offending party.

Problem with that is, if the offence comes from all angles, making it hard to just walk away from it.

So really, best bet, is to.... well hell I don't know. It's a quagmire .