At 07:31 AM 2/3/02, Jeroen wrote: >At 17:45 2-2-02 -0600, Dan Minette wrote: > > >>The repeated use of the police metaphor indicated to me that they were well >>within their rights to immediately kick him off and that he should be >>grateful for just getting a warning. > >The purpose of the police metaphor was to get you people thinking about >the difference between a warning and a threat. Unfortunately, nobody seems >to have gotten the idea.
No, I'm sorry . . . the *impression* the police metaphor gave was of the Dirty Harry-type of policeman who pulls out his service piece and holds it to the back of the suspect's head, finger on the trigger, while saying, "Gimme a reason, punk." BTW, addressing a group of others as "you people" is frequently considered insulting in contemporary American English, from whites in government and business who would say to blacks something like "Just what do you people want?" -- Ronn! :) God bless America, Land that I love! Stand beside her, and guide her Thru the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans, white with foam� God bless America! My home, sweet home. -- Irving Berlin (1888-1989)
