No kidding Chris, it really is stupid  beyond belief.  Instead of saying
'Sorry Ben, I wasn't thinking" Salmon spends hours at the keyboard trying to
justify his remarks!

Come on Ron, just apologise and leave it at that.

Jake de Villiers

On 4/4/06, BenT Syncro <syncro@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 4/4/06, The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com> wrote:
>
> > This is nuts. Let me be very clear here, so we can put this to rest,
> because
> > Ben's reaction is simply inconsistent with my remarks.
> >
> > 1) Since when it simply calling something Chinese "resorting to a
> label"?
> > China is a country, not a derogatory term. Nothing I stated even
> remotely
> > implied otherwise. This implication came from Ben, not me.
>
> This is EXACTLY what you said:
>
> "This is probably a thinly veiled way of saying that they are Chinese
> made.
> Be very, very cautious about using Chinese made parts on your Vanagon.
> There
> are some decent Chinese made auto parts, but so far they are the exception
> rather than the rule.  The majority (so far) are lousy, and nowhere near
> German quality."
>
> I realize that English is a second language to me. My understanding of
> "The majority (so far) are lousy..." is derogatory. Until you made
> mention of the parts being probably Chinese, I did not even connect
> them with China.
>
> > 2) It would indeed be prejudicial to assume that anything Asian is
> > automatically Chinese, but that isn't what happened.  My statement that
> the
> > Asian made CV joints were probably made in China was based on specific
> > knowledge of the industry, in that China is currently the largest Asian
> > supplier of these. See full text below.
>
> You did not have a set of these particular CV's in your hand. So when
> you made the above reference, you pre-judged that country of origin.
>
> > 4)  The Bus Depot, since its inception, has been a strong contributor to
> > charities whose missions are to unite our world, not divide it - to
> > eradicate prejudice in the United States, and to provide worldwide
> > humanitarian aid based strictly on human need rather than race,
> religion,
> > nationality, or politics.  A percentage of every Bus Depot purchase goes
> > toward this goal, and has since our very first day in business. Not all
> > retailers can say that. See the following section of our website:
>
> Give me a break! It is not ok for you to say anything you want just
> because you contribute to some organization.
>
> > 5)  I myself am partially of Asian descent (first generation American on
> one
> > side of the family), so it would be quite strange for me to be
> prejudiced
> > against Asians.
>
> I'll bet you have never been mistaken for Chinese and asked why your
> country makes such lousy car parts. I've heard them all, Ron.
>
> > I have copied my last post below, unedited. I think it is self
> explanatory,
> > and I do not believe that it reflects even the slightest bit of
> prejudice
> > whatsoever. If anyone has any doubt, please read it and judge for
> yourself.
> > It is unfortunate that some people are simply over-sensitive to racial
> > issues, and find racism where none exists. Sorry, Ben but you're barking
> up
> > the wrong tree. I don't doubt that your indignation is heartfelt, but
> it's
> > misplaced. This is my last comment on this subject on-list, as it has
> > diverged far from the subject of Vanagons.
>
> Well, you know, all you had to do was retract what you said or
> reformat your subsequent comments. Instead you chose to defend the
> position that it is ok to label a majority of parts made in China as
> "...lousy (so far)".
>
> I find your comment offensive and your response disgusting. If you are
> not Chinese, please don't bother sending me a comment that you were
> not offended.
>
>
> BenT
>

--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
www.crescentbeachguitar.com