No mo' "ho ho ho"

[Dennis R. Preston]

Wilson,

For some time we have know that there is correct political
correctness and incorrect political correctness. But who are we
willing to have as the decider in such matters.

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject:      Re: No mo' "ho ho ho"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Could it truly be the case that *anyone* could possible believe that
>women or children hearing a man in a Santa Clause costume saying "Ho!
>Ho! Ho!" would think that the man was using the BE term for
>"Prostitute! Prostitute! Prostitute!"? Y'all must be done lost y'all's
>minds.
>
>-Wilson
>
>On 11/15/07, Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at csli.stanford.edu> wrote:
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
>>  Subject:      Re: No mo' "ho ho ho"
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>  On Nov 15, 2007, at 6:08 AM, Charlie Doyle wrote:
>>
>>  > From the AFP wire, posted at Yahoo! News:
>>  >
>>  > << Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use
>>  > Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be
>>  > offensive to women, it was reported Thursday. >>
>>  >
>>  > Santas in Sydney now say "Ha ha ha."
>>
>>  next development, reported in several places, is rebellion.  from
>>     http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=323141
>>  under the head "Sydney Santas rebel against ho-ho no-no":
>>
>>  Sydney Santas have reportedly defied a request from a recruitment firm
>>  to replace "ho ho ho" with "ha ha ha".
>>
>>  Two Santa trainees from Westaff, which supplies hundreds of men in red
>>  suits to Australian shopping centres, have quit over the politically
>>  correct new greeting, the Daily Telegraph reports.
>>
>>  Trainees were told the traditional phrase could scare children and be
>>  taken as derogatory to women.
>>
>>  "We ask our Santas to try techniques such as lowering their tone of
>>  voice and using 'ha ha ha' to encourage the children to come forward
>>  and meet Santa," Westaff's national Santa co-ordinator Sari Hegarty
>>  told the paper.
>>
>>  But Santas at department stores David Jones, Myers and the Westfield
>>  shopping centre chain will still use the customary greeting as part of
>>  their customers Christmas experience.
>>
>>  "Senior management (at Westaff) have assured us that Santas provided
>>  to David Jones have not been censored in any way," a David Jones
>>  spokeswoman told the Telegraph.
>>
>>  Julie Gale from Kids Free to 2B Kids said Santa should be left alone.
>>
>>  "We are talking about little kids who do not understand that 'ho ho
>>  ho' has any other connotation and nor should they," she told the paper.
>>
>>
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>
>
>--
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-----
>                                               -Sam'l Clemens
>
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--
It should be the chief aim of a university professor to exhibit
himself [sic] in his own true character - that is, as an ignorant man
thinking, actively utilizing his small share of knowledge. Alfred
North Whitehead

Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036 USA
Office: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755

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