I can't bite my tongue any more. I have tried to be respectful throughout this thread and understand that people have different fears and experiences and motivators and education and knowledge levels which may colour their actions.
However this comment is not only disrespectful, it is frankly something I don't want to say here. I have travelled the world, visiting countries where people were not as fortunate to have all the luxuries you have in America and we have in Germany. Yet they did the best that they could with the little they had. Often those people who had the least were in fact the most generous and shared what little they had with those of us who have so much.
It has nothing to do with race. And what you may consider 'clean' someone else may find distasteful. Much of the rest of the world finds our western toilets unclean and uses squat toilets instead, for instance. I spent time in the Gulf states after Hurricane Katrina and I can assure you that people did the very best they could to get clean and stay clean. That was not easy but they tried with the little they had. The same holds true for people in remote parts of China and India and other places I have been.
We are all here blessed by an accident of fortune to live where we do. To look down on others and classify them as unclean based on their background is not a reflection on those who have so little, but on those who are doing the judging.
I really cannot say what I truly feel at the moment, but I also am not as charitable as kaytieeldr and cannot just let this comment pass by without voicing at least a small bit of what I think.
Let me take a deep breath before I start. I'm trying not to get all up in arms.
First of all, please don't hold your tongue...you can defintely say what you feel because I have no problem doing the same.
I don't need you to educate me on the wretched conditions that some people are forced to live in. I keep myself pretty well informed and this is actually very important to me, and I haven't even traveled the world. This is a question and my response from another site I belong to:
Who is your personal hero?
"
Citzens of third world countries.They live in horrid, deplorable conditions yet are incredibly humble. It's admirable and heartbreaking.Reminds me that no matter how bad it seems it could be worse, and that we are very blessed in this country."
My friends could give a flying @&*# about those people but there are times in the shower that I feel both guilty and grateful at the same time for having clean, indoor plumbing when there are people living with only rivers of sewage running through their towns. So a lesson on gratitude is unnecessary from you as well.
Furthermore, stating that different cultures and different races factor in defintely does not mean that I'm saying there are groups or types of people that are less then anyone else. It means exactly what it says, some people are brought up to detest things that others would find okay. What's viewed as no big deal by group A may put group B in an uproar because they were raised to think differently.
I don't see how "cleanliness is next to godliness" is offensive, disrespectful, or degrading to anyone. It's just a phrase that I've heard a gazillion times and I'm sure lots of others have. I don't think anyone even means it in the alleged origin of the phrase. I just have always known it be like any other adage destined to encourage or discourage certain practices or behaviors. So maybe you all did what I was accused of doing in my earlier posts---------MISINTERPRETED IT!!
What really gets under my skin is I admitted I may have misinterpreted some comments and apologized for any offensive comments I may have submitted. Yet I still see people making little snide remarks. But I just let it go because it's just like the cop that uses his badge to bully people--when you have something to hide behind you have balls of steel, strip it away and you're a whimpering punk. I guess some of you are very grateful for the PC and the internet ....gave you guts you probably never possessed and lack in your everyday life.
Oh, and bavaria even though I'm responding mainly to your comment; the last comment is not directed to you because something tells me that you may be just as straight-forward as you are here in all areas of your life. Even though I was somewhat peeved by and dispute your comment;I greatly respect that.