I have already shared this story with some of the guys in the office, so those who have already heard it will have to just be patient.
In my Monday class I sit on the edge of a group of wisenheimers. Throughout class there are humorous comments that emanate from behind me and to my right in relation to whatever topic is being discussed. I will not say that I have not taken part at all in the wisecracking, but I actually stay out of it as a general rule.
Last class a discussion about RFID tags and privacy issues. RFID tags are actually the chips that a lot of people think will be the mark of the beast. I don't think they are the mark of the beast, but that is way off my current topic. It is anticipated that the chips will be embedded into people who have special medical situations like penicillin allergies to alert medical personnel. This sparked a debate as to whether people would tolerate having a chip embedded in them that contained personal medical information.
While several people were enjoying the debate, I was a little irritated because it was not on the real topic for the class and we were already running later than usual. In the midst of my irritation I thought of a joke. I commented to the person to my right, "We should have the chips made in China so that they are so coated in enough lead that they can't send any signal." This got a favorable reaction because I was talking to someone who likes to joke. As we were chuckling I turned to my left and remembered that the guy who sits to my left is Asian. I believe he is actually Chinese, but I am not absolutely certain. He didn't react to the comment, but I said it loud enough for him to hear. Oops.
I was a little embarrassed, but I don't know that this was really a true faux pas. My comment was really just a reference to recent world news, but it still was probably in poor taste. Did I cross the line into offensive or was that just a minor foot-in-the-mouth situation? At the least, I am learning how poor a reflection I am to the Chinese.
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5 comments:
I am just glad, that I am not the only one who sticks there foot in the mouth like that.
Remind me to tell you one later. I shouldn't repeat it here.
I did a faux pas yesterday (read my blog). I pray daily that I will not interrupt or otherwise offend someone with my mouth. But if I was in a different country and a local made a comment about something American that was poorly made and recently in the news, I don't necessarily think that would be offensive to me. It's not my fault personally.
It's hard being humorous and not offending someone. I'm try to think before my witty comments but I don't always succeed.
Since your comment was based on a recent news article, maybe they understand. I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
Don't agonize over it anymore. I don't think that guy would take it personally.
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