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Re: Am I the only one who finds this offensive?

From: Paul Baumgartel <treegarden_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 19:02:28 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <20040325030229.90050.qmail@web13424.mail.yahoo.com>


Replies in-line.
--- david wendelken <davewendelken_at_earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> I've been a member of this list for less than a week, and it's not
> taken me very long to realize that this poster likes to be a gadfly
> and sting one's thoughts with provocatively stated remarks.
>

I am very familiar with the poster and his style, having been on the list for quite some time.

> I think the poster is making fun of DBAs who have the stupid idea
> that developers are "in the way" of the DBA doing their jobs
> properly, when in fact, if developers weren't doing their jobs, no
> one would need DBAs. There would be no databases to manage!

I am perfectly capable of understanding what the point of the post is. I object to the way in which the point was made. In addition, I would not presume to speak for another poster.
>
> The history of the world is full of hateful, cruel, despicable
> actions done for stupid reasons.
> The holocaust is just one in a long line of such atrocities.
> It's just more recent than many and less recent than some others.

Uh-huh.

I don't happen to be a Jew. I do, however, stand with Jews who consider the Holocaust to be sui generis; a crime against humanity so enormous and despicable that it stands alone.

>
> I also suspect that most readers had no clue of the origin of the
> phrase 'Arbeit Macht Frei' and therefore the references to the final
> solution, so consider it a free history lesson they needed to learn
> about.

No, thanks. The phrase, and its explanation, had no place here in any discussion, much less one as trivial as this thread became.

>
> Humor is a great way to learn about topics, even horrible ones.
> Check out the best-selling book Maus: A Survivor's Tale, written by
> Art Spiegelman, the son of a holocaust survivor. It uses humor to
> teach about the holocaust. It's a great book, and a great way to
> learn what it was really like from a very personalized viewpoint.

I am very familiar with Maus and Spiegelman's other work, and I agree that it is very fine. The difference is that one approaches Maus knowing the subject matter, and humor is used to leaven a discussion of the Holocaust; in this case, a "humorous", utterly gratuitous reference to the Holocaust was used to make a point about--the relationship between database administrators and developers? Please.

>
> Besides, people make fun of darn near everything else, so there is no
> reason to get offended about this topic in particular. :) And,
> remember, pack that sense of humor in your briefcase each morning.
> You are sure to need it at work!

My sense of humor is perfectly intact. Please don't patronize me. And it is not your place to tell me what should and should not offend me. I believe that there is every reason to get offended about this topic.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Baumgartel <treegarden_at_yahoo.com>
> Sent: Mar 24, 2004 2:51 PM
> To: oracle-l_at_freelists.org
> Subject: Am I the only one who finds this offensive?
>
> I've not been paying a whole lot of attention to the list today, but
> I
> just ran across this:
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mladen Gogala <mladen_at_wangtrading.com>
> > Sent: Mar 22, 2004 9:31 AM
> > To: oracle-l_at_freelists.org
> > Subject: Re: Controlling developers is like herding cats
> >
> > Yes, that's true. One thing to remember when talking about
> developers
> > is that work liberates, or in German: "Arbeit Macht Frei". Good
> > organization is the final solution of the developer problem. Of
> > course, I'm a DBA, in case anyone had any doubts.
>
>
> Making jokes about concentration camps and the Holocaust is really
> going too far, IMO.
>
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Received on Wed Mar 24 2004 - 20:59:09 CST

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