Calling Jeff

Woah, Jeff dude… I know the Irish have a sense of humour, but this really isn’t the sort of comment I’d expect to see in print from a prominent member of our community– particularly one that has a strong Irish developer base. I hope the horror of the situation just temporarily clouded your judgement…

(FWIW, I wasn’t planning to write anything at all about yesterday’s events, because publicity is part of what they’re after… but since we’re on the topic, I’m glad to say that having worked in London during the threat of terrorism, the people are more than resilient enough just to mourn their losses and move right along with their lives.)

13 thoughts on “Calling Jeff”

  1. Thank you for making a public response to Jeff’s comment. I respect him very much as a developer but I found what he said very offensive. Being both Irish and very close to one of the bombs yesterday.

  2. There is also the unspoken, but equally troubling, suggestion that “those behind” these attacks are, like “the Irish”, an entire national/religious/ethnic group, rather than just a few individuals who may be claiming to be acting in the name of such a larger grouping.

  3. @Jonathan, he is no developer!
    @Calum, he is prominent? Well I do agree if I see it from a different perspective, prominent in giving comments like those he did.

  4. Being from Northern Ireland (where the afformentioned attacks came from) and being used to Irish humour, Jeff’s comment seems perfectly appropriate to me. People deal with tragedy and saddness through humour – there’s nothing sadistic about it.

  5. @Ed Mack, it’s pretty nice to see how people find excuses for his behavior to give him the free ticket to act like a twit everywhere. Sorry, those kind of humors are inacceptable and plain wrong. but go on, he is creditible, prominent, yes he can even say bad things about you but still you find excuses to call that good or simply appropriate.

  6. Ed, I agree up to a point… knowing Jeff, I can understand how the comment was intended, and as a Scot living in Ireland, I’m well used to the black humour that gets us celtic types and our ilk through difficult times too. If Jeff had said the same thing to me over a beer in the pub, chances are I might even have smiled myself.

    Personally, though, I still think it’s way too soon after the event to be making a comment like that in a public forum, when people who witnessed the carnage, or who might have lost colleagues, friends or relatives as a result– or might still be waiting to find out– could easily see them. Especially as that sort of humour doesn’t necessarily travel very well, as I’ve found out to my detriment before…

  7. @Charly, he is not acting like a twit – he’s giving the same message as many others (including the prime minister), ‘You cannot shake us’. His delivery wasn’t diplomatic, but it’s his blog not official PR. I’m not finding excuses just conveying a mindset and culture.

  8. I wasn’t really that shocked by jdub’s remark. Having worked together with a bloke from Glasgow for a while I’m used to the type of humor involved.

    Second, I had just read in the newspaper that some people in London have accused the french of the attack for losing the olympics. The problem is mainly that this type of humor usually doesn’t work in print.

    (BTW I’m Dutch myself and been accused of the same bad taste as jdub now, it’s a way to deal with grief. I’ve made an occasional joke about my father’s death shortly after he died, doesn’t mean I wasn’t hurtin’)

  9. Elroy, I think it’s a little different to make jokes about your own personal circumstances. Jeff’s comment, intentionally or not, suggests that terrorising the citizens of London is some sort of competition, which I think will cause offence to many people. And to suggest that the IRA’s opinions and actions reflect those of “The Irish” is equally distasteful.

  10. FWIW, I thought Jeff’s comment was amusing, though, to be fair, I’m not Irish. I have known a few Irish people (actually from Ireland), and I believe they would be amused as well.

    @Charly: Whether or not something is acceptable or not is largely a matter of opinion, and humor has a large component of personal taste to it. If you didn’t find it funny, that’s your problem, not Jeff’s or anyone else’s.

    Was it a little insensitive to post something like that in a public forum where some people might find it offensive? Perhaps. But blogs are all about self-expression, the kind you like and the kind you don’t. You have to accept the good with the bad. Or you can just avoid reading what you don’t like. Bottom line: it’s Jeff’s blog, and he has no responsibility to make sure everyone else likes what he posts.

  12. Part of his quote was “Even the Irish”. Sounds like he’s implying that we are incompetent, and if we can do something anyone can.
    Imagine if it was phrased as: “Even the Jews” or “Even the Blacks” would people react differently?

    Plus, he has no comments disabled on his blog so we have to complain here, and not to him directly. 😛

    I’m Irish and I don’t think it’s funny. I’m sure there are Irish people who may think it’s funny.

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