Undocumented Munchkin

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Is this funny or offensive? I found it funny but then although I am height deficient - I am not undocumented. But when I initially heard this on the radio I did not realize it was a brown elf. I was just picturing my own traditional elf. I thought people were upset at the use of munchkin.

A Dayton, Ohio, area restaurateur says people have misinterpreted the intention of a Facebook post in which a brown "Elf on the Shelf" doll is referred to as an "undocumented munchkin".

It was all in good fun, and I guess some people have taken it the wrong way ---noting the on word "undocumented" several people called Brailey a racist.

http://www.statesman.com/news/national/undocumented-elf-shelf-post-leads-some-boycott-ohio-restaurant/qvSJs5sEzrwfQkTPIsrHiI/

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So people thought 'undocumented' meant what the French call sans-papiers? Illegal or non-legal immigrant? And because the little elf is brown, they thought it was a slur? Well, you could take the view that this is silly, like people objecting to "niggardly", or you could say (like I do) that a little bit of sensitivity never hurts. You will get the braying fools who attack that view.

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@centrox,

centrox wrote:

So people thought 'undocumented' meant what the French call sans-papiers? Illegal or non-legal immigrant?

So, what did they mean by "undocumented?"

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@Linkat,

Yes, of course this is offensive. Linking brown skin with immigration status; how is this not racially offensive?

This is no less offensive than referring to Barack Obama as a thug president.

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@InfraBlue,

InfraBlue wrote:

centrox wrote:
So people thought 'undocumented' meant what the French call sans-papiers? Illegal or non-legal immigrant?
So, what did they mean by "undocumented?"

The first of each of these pairs of definitions, I guess.

Cambridge English Dictionary:

Quote:

Undocumented
1. not supported by written proof:
People should not stop eating fish because of some undocumented risk of cancer.

2.not having any documents to prove that you are living or working in a country legally:
undocumented immigrants/aliens/workers

Oxford English Dictionary:

Quote:

1. Not recorded in or proved by documents.
‘earlier, undocumented settlements’
‘the bulk of history is undocumented’

2 North American Not having the appropriate legal document or licence.
‘undocumented immigrants’

Previously unrecorded or listed ... an undocumented Shakespeare play might be found in an attic; an undocumented eighth dwarf, Greedy, was found asleep under a bed in Snow White's cottage; in IT contexts, undocumented features of software abound. They are often called "undocs". For example, you can use an asterisk in a Google search, according to a blog titled "Previously Undocumented Use of the Asterisk" ...

Quote:

A search like [ site:*.law.*.edu ] will find all of the .EDU sites with “.law” in the domain name. ... As we know, the asterisk (or star) can be used instead of a keyword, as a "fill in the blanks" operator. This is the first time though that I see documentation on using the asterisk * in combination with the site: operator.

In the Mathematica software language there is an undocumented (by the Mathematica people) use of the "Integrate" command that one can leverage to integrate over regions.

Quote:

During a bout of research recently I came across this earlier and hitherto undocumented use of Let It Rock clothing in a music context: the front cover of Rock Archive, a budget LP compilation released by the specialist British independent label Windmill in 1972.

This last use in a historical context is fairly common.

Quote:

China has a long and brilliant history. Its documented history is coherent for 3,000 years and its undocumented history is clearly inherited orally for 5,000 years. Archeological discoveries can date back its history to 7,000 years and trace all stages of human development to 500,000 years.

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@centrox,

the article in the OP wrote:

“I am not sure what elf is documented. It was posted in humor,” Brailey said. “We’ve got real issues in this country. We’ve got to solve the problems of immigration and it is not with any damn wall. If you can’t even make a joke like that with an elf, we’ve got a problem.”

There is no question what the intent of this asshole was.

This is a pretty hurtful ethnic stereotype.

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Maybe the restaurant guy used 'undocumented' in a jocular way to mean 'previously unknown' and/or 'newly discovered', a meaning which is not undocumented, as I showed above, but fell victim to the alternative, charged, meaning of the word in North America. He could have saved himself some trouble, I guess.

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@centrox,

Quote:

It seems like the restaurant guy used 'undocumented' in a jocular way to mean 'previously unknown' and/or 'newly discovered'

Bullshit! He is not even saying that now. He was making a joke about brown skin and immigration. He admits as much. If you or I made a "mistake" like this, we would apologize. We would say clearly that we didn't mean it that way. He hasn't done that.

He was making a joke about brown skinned people being undocumented because he believes that something needs to be done about immigration. This guy is an racist asshole. There is no other way to spin this.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

He was making a joke about brown skin and immigration.

If that is so, then he is, indeed, a racist asshole.

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@maxdancona,

He could have been just really ignorant. Like I said when I first heard it I thought it was funny - but that was before it was mentioned that the elf was brown skinned. I am only familiar with the original elf (which is white and ugly as heck). My dog disliked it so much he torn her nose off.

But I would think most people are sensitive enough of the situation not to do this in regard to a brown skinned elf?

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@Linkat,

So why didn't he apologize? I can tell you for certain that my kids (who are brown-skinned and Hispanic) would be quite upset by this. I don't think anyone would have a problem with ignorance... as long as the person were sincere in an apology.

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The guy should have just said "Mexican" elf. It would have clarified everything. That's the term that Trumpites use.

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