Making avalanches out of a snowflake

Golfweek editor booted over cover featuring noose

Tiger Woods was not offended by Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman' "lynching" commenet, but that's not good enough. She's apologized for some ill-chosen words - that's not good enough. The Golf Channel's suspended her for 2 weeks, and Al Sharpton of course wants her fired.

For a simple joke.

Now we've got the Golfweek editor who has been fired because of the cover featuring the noose. And why? The article certainly didn't condone lynching, it apparently was simply discussing the comment and the reaction to it... and yet the editor gets it in the neck because of it.

I think the time has come. No commentator will ever be able to make a joke again. I'm reminded of the guy who was fired because he made a comment about his wallet when he was doing a show with Lou Pinella, and Pinella is of Mexican heritage and decided that all Mexicans had been insulted by that simple joke.

It is such a joy to listen to Pardon the Interuption - you've got a white guy and a black guy who are good friends - or at least seem to be - and can tease and joke with each other and know that everything that's said is taken "in the spirit that it is meant." That's the key phrase.

I'm also reminded - although this doesn't have anything to do with sports - of a news article I just read, that was published in England a couple of years ago. England has quite a large Muslim population, and they have power. They also don't like pork. So Piglet is banned from T-shirts, and even from TV - mustn't offend the Muslims. Their religion must be respected. The fact that the vast majority of people don't have a problem with pork and are Christian - well, their religion or beliefs - that Piglet is just one of the sweetest characters ever created - need not be respected.

And apparently chocolate and vanilla swirl cones are banned as well, because the swirl looks like the symbol for Allah and that of course is blasphemy....

We live in a scary world, and its only getting scarier.