Photo: Braden Grace/NZ Herald

Tolerance: as long as it doesn’t offend me. (which is everything)

People are getting the sad sniffles online over a new Sushi store in Waikato Hospitals Meade Centre in the former chlamydia capital of New Zealand because it sounds too close to a naughty word. Fuku – pronounced foo koo -which means fortune in Japanese is apparently far too offensive for some people to cope with:

“Keen to get people’s opinions on the new sushi bar name in the Meade clinic at Waikato hospital! Funny or boarder line?? I know it’s probably translated differently but do you think it encourages bad language in children [sic],” Braden Grace said on the Hamilton&Waikato Region Community Grapevine Facebook page.

Commenters had mixed responses; some thought that it was funny but others thought it was offensive.

“I must admit I did a double take when I saw it and had to have a little giggle,” Donna Masters said. Christine Susianto claimed that it was the “Austin Powers sushi bar”.

Jacqui Mitchell said it was “not cool when parents [are] trying to teach better”.

Most commenters however found it ignorant for people to think that it was offensive. – The Herald

A DHB Spokeswoman responded appropriately though:

Fuku Sushi has only been open a couple of weeks, serves great sushi, and is already proving popular with visitors and staff”.

She was unimpressed that people were “making fun of another culture and language”.

Ironic that the sort of people that would be likely to preach tolerance can show such ignorance to another language. You’d honestly have to think that some people wake up in the morning and wonder what they can be offended about today.

I’ts not okay to Fuku Sushi, but apparently you can still Whakapapa.