Democracy Has Prevailed.

August 25, 2006

Conflict Resolution

Bad Example:
Boy in Hot Water Over 'Meow'
Angry Neighbor Sues, Saying It's Harassment

JEANNETTE, Pa. (Aug. 23) - Meow. A district judge has been asked to decide whether that word is a harmless taunt or grounds for misdemeanor harassment. Jeannette police charged a 14-year-old boy for "meowing" whenever he sees his neighbor, 78-year-old Alexandria Carasia.
Apparently the kid had to get rid of his cat because the neighbor complained to the police about it in the first place. Does this remind anyone else of the beginning of The Wizard of Oz? ("I'll get you and you little dog too!")

Hell, I have a nutty neighbor who makes the sign of the cross every time she sees me, yet I don't run to the police...

Good Example:
Restaurant to Drop Hitler Theme
AP
BOMBAY, India (Aug. 24) -- The owner of a restaurant named after Adolf Hitler said Thursday he will change its name because it angered so many people.

Puneet Sablok said he would remove Hitler's name and the Nazi swastika from billboards and the menu. He had said the restaurant's name -- "Hitler's Cross" -- and symbols were only meant to attract attention.

Sablok made the decision after meeting with members of Bombay's small Jewish community.

"Once they told me how upset they were with the name, I decided to change it," he said. "I don't want to do business by hurting people."

Sablok said he had not yet decided on a new name.
The article does go on to explain that:
Some Indians regard Hitler as just another historical figure and have little knowledge about the Holocaust, in which 6 million European Jews were systematically killed during World War II.

The swastika symbol, which was appropriated by the Nazis, was originally an ancient Hindu symbol and it is displayed all over India to bring luck.

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