Yesterday, I wrote:
> Walloonphobia- Fear of the Walloons. (I don't know what a Walloon is,
> but I shrieked when I read the word.)
Both Joe Hatcher and Philippe Gervaix informed me that Walloons are French
Belgians. This makes sense to me since I also diagnosed myself with Dutchphobia
and, geographically speaking, there is some slight similarity. Philippe wrote:
> Wallonia is the French speaking part of Belgium, and of course, the Walloons
> the inhabitants thereof. In Belgium, it is one of the linguistic minorities,
> pretty much like the French-speaking population of Quebec, with all the
> political & sociological implications of cohabitation (jokes included)...
>
> Philippe Gervaix
> French-speaking minority citizen of Switzerland
> (Minor but not the smallest non-german speaking part of the population:
> beside German & French, we have Italian and Romantsch speaking
> minorities).
>
> PS. I wonder what would be the equivalent of Walloonphobia overseas !
Good question! I nominate Cajunphobia (fear of the French-descended
inhabitants of Louisiana). But this probably would not be politically correct
in the US, and it's Eurocentric to boot!! Thus, I nominate "offenderaphobia,"
the fear of saying something offensive (a major problem in the US).
Jeff
P.S. My offenderaphobia requires me to inform you that I just did something
very offensive: I attached a Latin word, "offendere," to the Greek, "phobos." I
know that this is probably offensive to all you "phobophiles" out there, but I
don't have a Greek dictionary handy. Perhaps I need to sign up for some sort of
diversity-training course . . . or maybe a class in Greek.
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myths"
Karl Popper
“No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up.”
Lily Tomlin
Listowner: Psychologists Educating Students to Think Skeptically (PESTS)
http://www.sc.maricopa.edu/sbscience/pests/index.html
