PC Thailand

There's a Dairy Queen in almost every Mall in Thailand and quite often I'll stop for a Butterfinger or Cookies n Cream Blizzard. I still remember when Blizzards first came out in the mid-80's and revolutionized the way to eat ice cream (that is, if you can call it ice cream).
But, a few months back I noticed a new (now, not-so new) dessert being offered at Dairy Queen. It's a Frozen Blended Coffee called a Moolatte'. When I first saw the Moolatte' being advertised, I was a bit taken aback. I assumed some marketing guru from Dairy Queen (Thailand) thought they were being clever when developing the name for their new coffee and cream drink and made a play on the word 'mulatto'. Thais love to have a laugh, but cultural sensitivity is not necessarily their strong point.

Thais can be pretty vulgar or direct in their description of people. Overweight kids are nicknamed 'pig' or 'fat', dark skinned kids are nicknamed 'black' or 'dark'. People with big cheeks are nicknamed 'cheeks'. I had a friend who had big cheeks and a small mouth. Her nickname was 'puffer fish'. By the way, these nicknames are not necessarily given by the kids at school - they're given by parents, siblings, aunts and uncles. Kids who have a foreign parent and Thai parent are called "Luk Kreung" (Luk = Child and Kreung = Half) and I've never heard it said another way.
Yet, all of these names are perfectly acceptable in Thailand, so I can see where making a play on the word 'mulatto' would not seem insensitive or offensive here. That being said, I still wondered how Dairy Queen would let this get by. Was it really that big of a deal?
I mentioned the Moolatte' to some American friends, and for the most part they didn't think too much about it. Could it be just me?
Out of curiosity I searched the US Dairy Queen website and sure enough - they sell the Moolatte' there too. So, I guess I'm the one who is culturally ignorant. Why is it that being too culturally sensitive can come across as being insensitive and even offensive? Luckily, I had not made a call to the Thailand Chapter of the NAACP and made an ass of myself.
This reminds me of a Thai saying that I'm reminded of way too often, unfortunately - be careful when you point your finger at someone else because there are always three fingers pointing back at you.
Anyway, I had a Moolatte' the other day, and they're pretty darn good. I'll never buy another Blizzard again.