Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 23:24:29 -0700
Reply-To: BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Ebay CV "kit"....is it any good?
In-Reply-To: <000001c65866$7d864da0$0a0ba8c0@RON>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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
