Lately, we have been discussing on multiple occasions the upsides and downsides of writing PC and censorship in books. Now Mr. Fforde has published a rectification for TFB that goes right along those lines. If you look at the upgrade pages you will find the following:

Quote:

Turn to page 83(UK) / 82 (US) and where it says:
"The creature was an ugly little monkey-like brute with hair that made it look like a black pig with psoriasis"
Change to read:
"The creature was an ugly little monkey-like brute with matted hair and skin ingrained with the dirt of a thousand missed bath-nights."
The condition of psoriasis is no joking matter, and my unreserved apologies to anyone who has been hurt by this reference.

So, what do you think about it? Has he succumbed to outside pressure, or was it a just act of politeness?

I think JFf was hoping not to offend any black pigs (genus: porcus) with skin conditions. We ran Large Whites and Landrace under free range conditions and in WA we had to be careful of sunburn and itchmite as well as other parasites and problems..

And as an aside, the skin of a pig is very close to humans in all aspects so much so that vets were/are often involved in research to find ways of repairing severe skin damage, or for babies with skin conditions. I spent many hours in the 1960s outside the children's hospital while my father was discussing porcus/homo sapiens similarities and transplants.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2007 12:42AM by bunyip.

Interesting point, PH. While you and I are unlikely to ever fully agree on PC I think we both have similar aims. If I suffered from psoriasis, I do not think that I would have been offended, but I don't and so cannot know.

Perhaps there was a complaint and/or Mr. Ff. ffelt it insensitive?

I doubt that he'd do an upgrade based on only one complaint - perhaps there was a rash of them.


And refering to "a thousand missed bath nights" is likely to have most of Tasmania seething in indignant rage... if anyone reads it aloud to them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2007 11:41PM by robert.

....and explains the big words. Pretty much like Queensland, but with a bit of a sense of humour. Where else in the world other than Tassie is incest included in the list of sports?

From what I have heard, some of the Southern States in the US. But this could be mere hearsay....

__________________________________
'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Robert, go stand on the naughty step.

Rash indeed.

Let's not get acrimonious. The discussion is getting prickly and heated as it spreads.

moving back to the topic for just a moment:
Does it matter why he changed it? The second version is, well, funnier.

Maybe he is trying to boost his word count?

__________________________________
'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

I hope the monkeys are not counter-suing.

Or the bath manufacturers.