Highest court asked to rule on old Lone Ranger term

[Said1]

What had me laughing was the idea of the board of inquiry taking ONE full day to sit and watch the Lone Ranger to see if the term was used in a derogetory manner! One full day!

Highest court asked to rule on old Lone Ranger term
Wed, 22 Dec 2004 22:07:01 EST

HALIFAX - The Supreme Court of Canada is being asked to hear arguments on whether the word "kemosabe" is racist to native people.

The request comes from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, which is dealing with a grievance dating back to 1999.
''We think it's time to … have some ground rules so people know what's permissible and what isn't.' – human rights lawyer

Dorothy Kateri Moore, a Mi'kmaq woman working at a sports store in Sydney, N.S., had complained that her boss, Trevor Miller, referred to her and other workers as "kemosabe" – the term used by the 1950s TV character Tonto, the Lone Ranger's sidekick, to describe the masked cowboy.

Moore said Miller told her the word meant "friend." But she claimed it was a racial slur and that its repeated use led to a poisoned work environment.

Last February, a human rights board of inquiry ruled Moore was not discriminated against because she hadn't shown she was offended by the word, nor did she ask her boss to stop using it.

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal upheld that ruling in October, saying Moore had not shown the term was "notoriously offensive."

For the first time in its 37-year history, the commission has asked the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal a decision of the province's Court of Appeal.

Commission lawyers say they will argue employees were afraid to speak up to their employer and they want the Supreme Court to draw the line on what language is acceptable in the workplace.

"The idea that there are some words that are notoriously offensive and some that aren't, and the burden on the employee shifts depending on that, really creates a lot of confusion in the workplace," said commission lawyer Michael Wood.

Article

 

[Bonnie]

God....... Said1 everytime I think The US is out of control I read something like this and realize it's even worse in Canada, and the U.S is close behind

 

[no1tovote4]

Do they do this in order to entertain us? Because I am highly amused. This has got to be one of the funniest articles I have seen in a long time.



"The board of inquiry spent one day looking at old Lone Ranger shows, eventually concluding that the term was never used in a derogatory way and that Tonto and the Lone Ranger treated each other with respect."

I could have told them this without them watching the show. I think they just wanted a break from the hectic lifestyle of judging people to watch old Lone Ranger shows. It was more to do with good memories than actual judgement.

 

[Said1]

I thought this one was funny too. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=6989816#121

We're talking computer parts for F*&Ks sake!