JORDAN KUSHNER:

“Disney's newspaper published a lengthy ethnic joke about a Jewish person and Chinese person saying bad things about each other. This joke had no discernable relationship to property rights or city politics orother substantive issue previously purported to be of concern to theProperty Rights Coalition. Some of us have suspected that Charles Disney's rhetoric about public safety and his previous "crack tours"gimmick has some racial undertones. Does the gratuitous ethnic jokereveal a hidden agenda of racial and ethnic prejudice?”

WILLIAM MCGAUGHEY:

“Jordan, for your information, Charlie Disney is not the publisher of the Property Rights newspaper. He does not screen articles going into this newspaper which is owned and operated by Jim Jacobsen. While it is natural to blame Disney for the newspaper's content and style (because it reports Disney's activities extensively and sympathetically), Disney is not the one responsible.

So please back off a bit on your attacks. I also think it is a stretch to find racial animosities behind the crack tours. They were really designed to embarrass the police whose SAFE officers regularly blame landlords for crime. Obviously, crime was occurring openly on the street corners in plain sight of the squad cars. But if you want to find racial agendas here, I am sure you will succeed.

Best wishes.
William McGaughey”

KUSHNER:

“Thank you for the information and the perspective. The ethnic joke about Jews and Chinese, however, was insulting and juvenile. It is baffling why such material would be thrown into a paper discussing city issues from a property rights perspective. I think it reduces any credibility that your group has about substantive issues. You should consider an apology in your next issue.”

MCGAUGHEY:

“Hi, Jordan. Thanks for the response. Yes, I will pass along your comments to Jim Jacobsen. The property rights group is well aware of the possibility of being diverted into unhelpful areas such as this. The group doesn't have much control over what individual members say, but we as individuals within the group can certainly comment when people cross over the line.

Best wishes, Bill”

MCGAUGHEY:

“Jordan, I am going to back off an earlier position. When I received your e-mail, I recalled having read the ethnic joke but it did not make much of an impression on me. I forwarded your comments to Jim Jacobsen. He responded with a defense of his decision to include the joke. That prompted me to read the joke again. I now do not think it was offensive.

The joke about a Jew and Chinese may have been stupid humor but it did not carry an ethnic slur. The joke hinged on a harmless play of words rather than a perceived negative trait associated with a group. At most, one could argue that the Chinese co-pilot showed personal stupidity in thinking that "iceberg" was a Jewish last name and, by extension, all Chinese might be stupid. However, Chinese-Americans generally do well in school and do not have a reputation for low intelligence. So this particular implication would not, or should not, be threatening to them. I suppose you could argue that all ethnic jokes are in poor taste. I would not go so far; each joke is different.

Anyhow, I told Jacobsen that I did not find his joke offensive, and I want to tell you the same thing. You are right, however, that we have to be careful about such things.

Bill McGaughey”

KUSHNER:

“Thank you for giving me your true beliefs. it is helpful for me in confirming my suspicions about the lack of social awareness of your organization.”
jsk

MCGAUGHEY:

“Jordan, I would not say that our organization "lacks social awareness" but that we do put more value on free personal expression than some others may. People of different groups and outlooks can live together harmoniously. Humor is one of the ways that the differences are amicably resolved.”

Bill McGaughey

KUSHNER:

“Differences are quite unlikely to be resolved by really shallow "jokes" (in a supposedly serious political newsletter) that ignorantly make fun of other people based on their ethnicity. You undoubtedly have a right to free expression, and the way you use that expression can be very revealing. Frankly, I am convinced that you just don't get it, and prefer not to spend more time trying to help. I will therefore not be sending any more correspondence on this matter.
JSK”

MCGAUGHEY: “Fine - be pissy about it.”

END OF CONVERSATION

Note: What was the offensive joke? From personal recollection, it ran like this: "A Jewish and a Chinese pilot were talking in the cockpit of an airplane. The Jew said: 'You people attacked Pearl Harbor'. The Chinese man said: 'No, we didn't. It was the Japanese.' The Jew said: 'Chinese, Japanese, it's all the same.' Then the Chinese man said to the Jew: 'You people sunk the Titanic.' The Jew said: 'What do you mean? The Titanic struck an iceberg.' The Chinese man said: 'Iceberg, Goldberg, it's all the same.'

End of joke.