| inept, viper, fungus, impede, "evi-dents".
Image and caption by Owen.
The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed!
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.
FLN,
ReplyDeleteOwen, I did say that I might be oversensitive, but I have heard that term used pejoratively. Not often, but still..
Thanks for your reply.
Detective Shylock Holtels was upon the case!
ReplyDeleteWith his incisive skill, no clue would go to waste!
The victim died of snake-bite, doors could not be tighter,
But the sash was open. "We must find the window viper!"
No one would suggest that Holtels was inept.
All acknowledged he was brilliant! Uh, except --
That time in Arizona, when he got the drunkest,
Because he didn't know peyote was a fungus!
Nothing could impede his dogged determination
To examine evidence, and gather information!
When the landlady was bludgeoned while collecting rents,
He knew the cripple did it, her cane matched the dents!
BTW, the photo today is one I made years ago, but the caption was added to tie it to today's riddle.
ReplyDeleteSandy ~
ReplyDeleteI don't believe "brown" is by itself any more perjorative than "black" or "white." But then anything can be made to sound negative if uttered with contempt.
We can't deny your discomfort, however. I'm sure it was far from Owen's intent.
~ OMK
Owen and OMK, One final remark and then I'll drop it, because I too am sure that intent was perfectly innocent. I have always tried, with mixed results, I know, to become more aware of my own personal unconscious assumptions. One area of those has to do with colorism. If you google, for example, colorism in the U.S. or colorism worldwide, you'll find some interesting discussions.I
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed today's jumble. No particular problem with the clues and the very cute pun in the solution popped right out.
Fun poem. And Shylock's last name made me laugh out loud.
Fun poem for a fun Jumble this morning, Owen, and nice to see all the words and solution right there in your verses. Had problem only with the first word, but got it before coming to the poem. And the solution was pretty obvious, if you get my drift. Have a great week, everybody.
ReplyDeleteSadly, racism (and "colorism") have been forged into the soul of our country. It is,as many of the wisest among us have said, our nation's "original sin." It is who we are.
ReplyDeleteIt is nearly impossible to find the "correct" balance in one's thought or attitude, as we have not been open in dealing with the matter, neither across our various color lines, nor within our own "tribes." (I don't think we even know what colors we inhabit.)
But we must take great care not to avoid talking it through whenever the matter comes up. Nor must we disallow humor, comedy, jokes, unless they really cross the line--and even then I suggest we allow that the intent of the speaker may not be as dark as we might suppose.
Sandy, you already acknowledge that Owen's verse was well meaning. I am sure he--and we--thank you for bringing your feelings up for discussion.
~ OMK
OMK, I do appreciate your viewpoint. I believe, though, that it is the unconscious assumptions, not the conscious bias, that affect even the most well-meaning among us, including me.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is positively my last comment, I promise.
I agree with you, Sandy. And if I had to give an estimate of how much is unconscious, I would guess that it is well over 50%.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the amount, it is going to take a very conscious effort to bring our biases out in the open and deal forthrightly with them. So many prejudices have been built into structural elements in our society that individuals too often feel they don't need to exert any effort to break from the cast.
This was pretty obvious back in the Jim Crow era; it is less pronounced today. But we still live in separate enclaves (in the main), go to different schools and live our lives in distinctly separate economies.
Obviously, there have been many progressive steps in our lifetimes, but it is a measure of how deeply embedded racism is that we have hardly made a dent in the shape of the problem.
Again I thank you for speaking up.
~ OMK
I had a little trouble with FUNGUS. And I had to list the letters and then subtract DENTS" . I did this about one but naturally just got here .
ReplyDeleteWC
Even late is welcome, Wilbur, since we have such a small tally of comments most days!
ReplyDelete