Today’s British Lunacy Report
The head of "cultural services" for the city council of Durham has reacted angrily to the proposed name of a new restaurant set to open in that city. Buddhist businessman Eddie Fung has invested around £1.3 million into the establishment, which will create some 60 jobs. But he wants to call the place "Fat Buddha". Enter Tracey Ingle, aforementioned cultural services honcho, who thinks the name is "provocative".
Mr Fung, 39, said: "I cannot believe that this woman should go to so much time and trouble to take issue over an inoffensive name like Fat Buddha.
"No Buddhist is going to be offended by this. The fat Buddha is a symbol of health and happiness. It is political correctness gone mad."
And a spokesman for the Buddhist Society said: "Buddhists regard the fat Buddha as lucky. To suggest this is offensive is to misunderstand the faith.
"Buddhists don't take offence at anything because to do so doesn't follow Buddhist teachings."
Mr Fung said that his company, Utopian Leisure, had received no complaints about the use of the name Fat Buddha at his first restaurant, which opened in Belfast earlier this year.
In a letter to Mr Fung, Miss Ingle wrote: "To use the name of a major religion's deity in your restaurant brand runs contrary to this city's reputation as a place of equality and respect for others' views and religious beliefs.
"The generic descriptive adjective of "fat" is not in itself a derogatory term when applied generally ... the name implies an Eastern offer <\[>sic] as it is associated with a religion that grew from Asian countries ... It does not, however, offer vegetarian cuisine solely nor does it refer to Buddhist belief systems. The name is provocative."
Oh boy. Talk about PC gone mad. This is actually a case of the political correctness not tolerating another culture but imposing its own cultural parochialism on others. The fat Buddha is also sometimes called the laughing Buddha. It is a very well known symbol of happiness, luck and generosity. Ok, it's well known everywhere but in the city council of Durham. (My son has a fat Buddha figurine on his desk. He asked us to buy it for him because it amused him.)
PC Run Amok, World news | Gaius Sunday, 22 July , 2007
By Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr., Sunday, 22 July , 2007 @ 7:34 am
That is is just bizarre. I was thinking I wanted to visit Great Britain again.
I am about over that.
By terrence, Sunday, 22 July , 2007 @ 10:11 am
Miss Ingle is obscene.
By Bleepless, Sunday, 22 July , 2007 @ 7:54 pm
Vancouver, B.C. has (had?) a Chinese restaurant named Smilin’ Buddha, grinning away as his neon belly went in and out. After being denounced by a newspaper columnist (who asked the probable reaction to one called Gigglin’ Jesus), the owners seem to have looked upon the whole hoohaw as free publicity.