Prince Harry Racism
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7822883.stm
I cant help but think its been blown out of proportion by the tabloids.
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Trust me, anyone in the UK in the real world of employment has much more to worry about than this.
There again, public service employees reading "The Grauniad" will clearly be mortified
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Hearing the words "our little Paki friend" coming out of the mouth of the third in line to the British throne, a British Army officer who is held up as an example to British servicemen and women it's hard to see what's NOT to "blow out of proportion". His comments were disgraceful. If being third in line to the throne was an actual job, he would have been sacked and told never to reapply for the position, and rightly so IMO.
I wonder if it was his family or his colleagues that taught and tolerate such racist views? Either way, it's extremely damaging to how Britain is perceived and it endangers British soldier's lives (just as Piers Morgan's fake POW abuse pics did- he should have been jailed for that stunt, not rewarded with lucrative US TV deals). Surely this is the very opposite of what the modern Royal Family is supposed to "do" for their taxpayer's money (our predecessors at least). What a spoiled ignorant racist little brat.
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Nah I agree with remus, blown waaaay out of proportion.
Pav
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I saw a documentary on TV over the Christmas period about Queen Elizabeth's coronation. There was much heated debate about whether or not it should be televised. It was NOT to be televised BUT it appears the Press swayed, no manipulated public opinion to suit their own ends and Buck Palace had to change their minds.
Winston Churchill advised strongly against it as he thought it would 'open' the doors to the Press and there would be on going back. It looks like he was very much right. I really pity the Royals with all the
unwarranted publicity they have to endure. They have been born into these positions and would seem to be allowed NO private lives by the Press. Just imagine how any of us would feel if a PRIVATE romantic (Camillagate Tape Transcript) conversation we had over a mobile phone was made public.I will say that Prince Harry has a humorous side to him and he shows it quite often. The guy's (Harry's friend) nickname was Paki! It is normal practice to sometimes tag good friends with names that are sometimes a bit on the iffy side. Its simply having a bit of fun. I have no idea what Harry's nickname is BUT the name Harry itself is a nickname which is a term for the Devil! Here is a link to a sensible IMO viewpoint on the matter, http://forums.walesonline.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=86229
Mike
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Political correctness and the media gone mad, as usual.
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I actually agree with Ron on this one.
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Yeah, the kid was 19 when he said that...and in basic training with a bunch of roughneck kids.
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I'd invite any of you to have taken my place a few years ago, comforting a friend of mine when she returned home after an otherwise ordinary day at work in floods of tears and very shaken because some little racist grunt shouted "paki!" at her while she sat on a packed stationary bus in the bus station. She was Iranian, but had fled to the UK in her early teens with her parents and brother as her father had been critical of the government and so was on their wanted list (two of his best friends had previously been taken into police custody in Iran and were never seen again). I was with her when she gained her British citizenship having lived in Scotland for 10 years; to do so she had to swear on the Koran (she isn't Muslim, but it was either that or the Bible) and swear allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen and thus her decendants.
The fact that a young member of the very family to whom my friend had to swear allegiance to would feel it's acceptable to refer to someone as "paki" (and on film!) obviously validates such racism amongst the populace. If the Royal Family aren't supposed to be role-models, then what are they for?
It's funny how I only ever hear the "political correctness gone mad" cliché rolling out of caucasian (usually male) mouths. I guess it's okay to call a colleague "faggot", "mick", "nigger", "jap" (unfortunately I already know Ron's answer to that one) or "bitch" then? Or do you draw the line somewhere?
If you think using terms like this even in a "well-intentioned" friendly way isn't harmful you are very, very wrong. They form part of a daily onslaught of prejudice which immigrants and the descendants of immigrants and women and homosexuals must endure for their entire lives, contributing to the greatly reduced likelihood of their benefiting from education and vocational systems.... but I guess that suits caucasian guys.
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Words are given meaning by the people using them, 'paki' doesnt have to be an offensive term and i cant see any evidence it was meant to cause offence here.
@unknownuser said:
I guess it's okay to call a colleague "faggot", "mick", "nigger", "jap" (unfortunately I already know Ron's answer to that one) or "bitch" then? Or do you draw the line somewhere?
I frequently do, as i know it will be taken in jest.
@unknownuser said:
If you think using terms like this even in a "well-intentioned" friendly way isn't harmful you are very, very wrong. They form part of a daily onslaught of prejudice which immigrants and the descendants of immigrants and women and homosexuals must endure for their entire lives, contributing to the greatly reduced likelihood of their benefiting from education and vocational systems.... but I guess that suits caucasian guys.
Using those rules there would be very little being said.
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Jackson, I understand your feelings...and probably, almost your extent, hold them myself. But I must clarify, I suppose because I am a caucasian male: As I understand it, that clip was never intended to leave that specific group; that group was hardly an environment of proper behavior; and that behavior was obviously spoken quietly enough to be interpreted as personal between the two of them.
In the service I had a black friend who, when we were alone or in a small group, often addressed me as "White Trash" or some such filth...you can imagine how I then addressed him. But I have never thought with that term nor used it in a manner similar to your example (which I shouldn't have to say I find to be a horrible ordeal I am lucky not to have experienced very often).
BTW...I also don't think he's being treated too unfairly so far: I've heard he's quite the spoiled little jerk who often needs to be reminded where and who he is. And that second clip fo him dis-ing his grandmother shows him to be an insecure little weasle...IMO.
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Cut the Wales guy some slack....generations of inbreeding was bound to manifest itself sooner or later.
On a serious note, I have to agree with Jackson. It should never be acceptable to use derisive terms such as "nigger", "bitch", "faggot", or any other term considered in your culture as offensive when referring to people. Even if used in jest, as Remus has suggested, how would the other person know you were joking? Especially if it is overheard. Sometimes words have cultural meanings that go beyond the user's intent.
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The world is not perfect and never will be. How can anyone seriously expect any member of the Royal family to be PERFECT 100% of the time. Heck! I don't know how any of them can hold their cool with those newspaper cameramen running around after them 24 hours and day 365 days a year.
As far a setting a good example goes I imagine then are on good behavior at official functions and the like. This is all that can be sought or expected by any reasonable person.Jackson, I am sorry that your friend was offended and broke down in tears after being called a paki. I hope you where able to comfort her and advise that the silly name caller must have been very ignorant and not worth her tears. The old adage, sticks and stones ..... still rings so, so true in these cases.
I have been referred to as a Mick, 'Paddy' by strangers during my travels. To get around the 'problem', not mine I would add, was to make eye contact with the name caller and offer a sympathetic smile then move along. This has proven to be far more effective than any other measure. Let's face it, these particular types of name callers (strangers) are sadly ignorant people and really deserve our sympathy.
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@daniel said:
Even if used in jest, as Remus has suggested, how would the other person know you were joking? Especially if it is overheard. Sometimes words have cultural meanings that go beyond the user's intent.
Id say thats a misinterpretation on the part of the listener, hardly something that can be controlled by the person doing the talking.
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@jackson said:
...It's funny how I only ever hear the "political correctness gone mad" cliché rolling out of caucasian (usually male) mouths. I guess it's okay to call a colleague "faggot", "mick", "nigger", "jap" (unfortunately I already know Ron's answer to that one) or "bitch" then? Or do you draw the line somewhere?...
Jackson, I don't consider "Jap" to be any more derogatory than "Yank". Political correctness is nothing more than a mechanism to control thought and speech. And as a member of the politically correct crowd, you've been well conditioned.
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Remus, I don't know about "paki", but in the U.S. the words "nigger","faggot", and "wetback" have only derogatory meanings. Anyone overhearing them even when used in jest would be offended. If someone's banter relies on such terms, then I think it's important for them to ask why.
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That isnt the case though, have you never heard a black man call a friend "nigger"?
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Yes, one black person to another, but that doesn't mean it's acceptable. But a more closer analogy would be a white person calling his/her black friend a nigger, and that I have not heard (and it ending peacefully).
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The point i was trying to make is that these words dont have "only derogatory meanings." In certain situations they are perfectly acceptable.
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I would say they are extraodinarily acceptable only in very few situations...like my friend and comrade in Thailand: it's never been appropriate again. I'd say it's about a certain view, a dark acceptance and poking fun, of the negative words.
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