Mayor Pringle Exposes the State of the Union

While loafing around my home page, I found a news blurb about Mayor Ken Pringle of Belmar, New Jersey that caught my interest. Many of the tourists and summer renters that visit Belmar every summer are upset over the Mayor's comments in a newsletter that he publishes for their benefit.

Pringle distributes his newsletter to the visitors and residents alike, in order to keep everybody informed about what goes on in the town during tourist season. Apparently there is some friction between the two groups, with the vacationers perhaps enjoying themselves a little too much on occasion and running afoul of the town's rules and good nature.

What caught my attention, is that Mayor Pringle is being accused of using ethnic slurs and other questionable language in referring to his guests, and the pressure is forcing him to discontinue his newsletter. Pringle claims that he was only trying to poke a little good-natured fun and show the visitors how the town views them and their behavior. I haven't been able to read the actual newsletter, but I have seen a few articles about the controversy along with opinions from supporters and accusers on both sides.

Anyway, I know something about tourists and living in a tourist town, and something about the fact that, even in a tourist town, not every resident--and not even the town as a whole, in every aspect--is willing to consider all the antics of tourists as just the price of attracting their dollars. Some few of us residents don’t give a damn about tourist dollars. We’d rather have our town back. And while I haven’t been able to read Mayor Pringle’s exact words, I know a couple of other things, too.

I know that our society in the United States has grown ignorant and much too intolerant of anything not politically correct while, at the same time, becoming much too eager to attack others for any perceived slight.

I’m not familiar with the term “Guido” as Pringle apparently used it. I’m not even familiar with it as an ethnic slur, and I’m hard pressed to find any reason that people of Italian heritage could believe that it was directed at them, given the context of Pringle’s comments. Maybe some Italians are just too eager to play the victim.

Now, I am familiar with the use of “blonde” as a slur. Is there anyone over the age of ten who hasn’t made a “blonde” joke? As for girls from Staten Island, is it possible that the normal competition that I hear exists between New York and New Jersey is the bigger reason why Pringle’s comments were considered offensive? I don’t know; I’m just sayin’.

I grew up in a neighborhood and went to school with Wops, Micks, Pollacks, Krauts, and even a few Wetbacks and Slant-Eyes. I myself, was and have been, a cheap, Sheenie Bastard Kike and White Trash--among other things. I don’t even mention a fairly common term for the black kids I grew up with, because if a white guy even thinks the word these days, he is immediately hung or shot on the spot; and I wanted to finish my comments before I die.

Doesn’t anyone remember learning that, while sticks and stones might break their bones, words could never hurt them? Look, I know I'm simplifying the issues. I know that words can hurt. I know that tone, intent, and timing are important factors when using politically incorrect speech; and I know that, even when delivered with love among real friends, off-color speech can serve to promote and exacerbate prejudice and stereotypical thinking. But I also know that each one of us can become a better person if we learn to be less sensitive to painful words and ideas expressed by other people.

Tolerance and sensitivity are not just ideals to be practiced in the way we treat people and speak about them. They are also concepts to be exercised when we are the ones being treated or talked about. In fact, learning to “take it” with patience and a sense of humor--even when the words are not delivered in an innocent or well-meaning way--is a much more beneficial and honest endeavor than worrying super-sensitively about every little thing we say or do. Every one of us acts thoughtlessly at times, and no one of us can anticipate every possible slight that might be perceived in our actions. The one thing we can (almost) always control is our own reaction. Lighten up. And please, look for the bigger picture.

Concerning the big picture, here’s a couple more things I know:

1) The recent New Yorker cover depicting the Obamas was widely misunderstood.

2) There are still people in our society that believe Huck Finn should be banned.

3) The current ignorance and widespread illiteracy that permeate our society frequently threaten some old, honorable forms of expression--and maybe much more.

If the people who objected to the New Yorker cover could have controlled their jerking knees long enough to think about or investigate the meaning, they might be richer for the experience. The same is true of those who would ban Huck Finn. In both cases, the creators of the works wanted to expose the prejudice that seems apparent on the surface of the works as well as entertain. Satire and irony are intended to shock as a first reaction. That is a large part of their value as artistic tools; but those tools, to be most effective, also depend on the viewer being educated and thoughtful enough to see beyond the surface. Those are skills that are disappearing from our society. Mayor Pringle and his blog--which I understand was quite popular and helpful--are just the latest victims.