Taking it a bit too far...

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Guide author Jane Lane said: "The book is about being alert and asking questions, being sensitive and never attacking a child, but always trying to think about why they may have said or done something."

Why they may have said or done something? That's easy, because since the dawn of time kids can be really fricken mean, that's why. It's just like that. If there weren't mean kids then how would we teach our children how to deal with mean adults when they grow up?

[baloo]

From the NCB guidelines....

“Indications of racial prejudice may not always be perceived as such. Indeed it is important always to pursue such indications with a view to ascertaining the reasons for them. For example, a child may react negatively to a culinary tradition other than her own by saying ‘Yuk’. This may mean a lack of familiarity with any food not seen or eaten before or, more seriously, a reaction to food associated with people from a particular ethnic or cultural community. Care is always needed in following up such reactions to differentiate very clearly between a child’s natural apprehension and racial prejudice.”

Seriously, this is pretty screwed up.

[Morrolan]

From the NCB guidelines....

“Indications of racial prejudice may not always be perceived as such. Indeed it is important always to pursue such indications with a view to ascertaining the reasons for them. For example, a child may react negatively to a culinary tradition other than her own by saying ‘Yuk’. This may mean a lack of familiarity with any food not seen or eaten before or, more seriously, a reaction to food associated with people from a particular ethnic or cultural community. Care is always needed in following up such reactions to differentiate very clearly between a child’s natural apprehension and racial prejudice.”

Seriously, this is pretty screwed up.

and that's putting it very mildly...

[Kooky]

It doesn't help my view that kids are colour-blind until adults' prejudices get to them. How the hell does a child know that spicy food is from another culture unless eejits like this draw attention to it?

[TheDancerOnYourGrave]

It doesn't help my view that kids are colour-blind until adults' prejudices get to them. How the hell does a child know that spicy food is from another culture unless eejits like this draw attention to it?

That just about sums up the whole of existence for me.



Beautiful

[slinky]

And so this kind of lunacy continues (although on a different continent...)

Guess the term 'Black Hole' is racially insensitive too

http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/ ... ole_a.html

[Morrolan]

And so this kind of lunacy continues (although on a different continent...)

Guess the term 'Black Hole' is racially insensitive too

http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/ ... ole_a.html

it should actually be 'Coloured Orifice'... or maybe 'African American Opening'?

[Lichtgestalt]

Why don't we simply ban the colours black, white, red and yellow? I'm offended too if an African American person would call me a white guy...

[Fat Bob]

That's because you're blue.

[Morrolan]

Why don't we simply ban the colours black, white, red and yellow? I'm offended too if an African American person would call me a white guy...

dude, they're blacks and you're a mutant (according to the local black fellas, that is)

and who cares: in a generation or two everyone is gonna be beige.

[Fat Bob]

Another good one for not to spawn any off-spring. Coffee coloured kids? YEUCH!

[slinky]

And so this kind of lunacy continues (although on a different continent...)

Guess the term 'Black Hole' is racially insensitive too

http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/ ... ole_a.html

it should actually be 'Coloured Orifice'... or maybe 'African American Opening'?

Nice!

[Spike]

I was regularly visiting Kenya in the 70s when all this PC nonsense started to get out of control. The white Kenyans I dealt with decided, in order to be PC, to call their black Kenyan brothers 'non reflectives'.

This sort of racial PCness really irritates me. The PC idiots espouse that you shouldn't call a black skinned person 'black', which implies that there is some shame in having black skin, which in my mind is hideously racist.

[Burbage]

If Obama wins the Yank election will they change the name of his home to the Black House?

[slinky]

If Obama wins the Yank election will they change the name of his home to the Black House?

[Tas]

that's something that has bugged me for eons, it's perfectly fine for everyone else to use the term 'white' but completely unacceptable to refer to someone as 'black'. And it's perfectly acceptable for all that trash talk rap crap to refer to the hood, gangsta and say nigger and thrash it all over the air waves and my (once upon a time) music shows - but oooooooh not unless its a gangsta from the hood nigger forget about saying it. load of old victim bollox.

[Morrolan]

If Obama wins the Yank election will they change the name of his home to the Black House?

someone beat you to it:

Racist Obama Jokes Leaves Banquet Crowd Gasping

[Burbage]

A tad obvious really, but amusing enough for the colonies.

[Fat Bob]

Mr. Common Sense

My parents told me about Mr. Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around in my early years but less and less as time passed by.

Today I read his obituary. Please join me in a moment of silence in remembrance, for Common Sense had served us all so well for so many generations.....

Obituary

Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair , and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge).


His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a Band-Aid to a student, but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contra band; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still l remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

[azzam]

Sorry folks, I know I always refer these things back to growing up in NZ and it's probably boring - but it's a good point of reference for me. It would seem very weird to refer to Maori or the various Pacific Islanders in NZ as "black" or "brown". Unless you are specifically describing skin colour of course. Because they are simply so much more than that. They're Maori FFS. The PC brigade ( me a bit I guess ) are complaining about ONLY identifying someone by skin colour, not the use of it as an adjective for someone's appearance.
Same here - Indians, Malays, Chinese - can you imagine only describing them as the browns or the yellows - you'd get your head chewed off and rightly so.

Edit: I got soundly told off the other night for describing Miss A as a little brown baby. I was talking about how she looked, not who she was, but the other person said I was racist. But she IS brown, like a little bar of chocolate.

[Kooky]

As a fellow member of the PC Brigade, I have no problem referring to somebody as "the black guy", if I'm trying to describe somebody and it's a lot easier than saying, "you know, the one that was wearing a blue T-shirt with a xxx logo on it", when he was the only black guy there. I'm hardly likely to say African-American or West Indian, Ghanaian (sp?) etc., if he speaks with a Geordie accent and/or I don't have a clue where he or his family is from.

Would I know a Maori frm a Pacific Islander? I'm not sure; I haven't encountered many. My point of reference being Yorkshire I'm more likely to talk about Indians and Pakistanis and, to my shame, I often don't know which a person is. I do know some quite rightly get upset if you get it wrong, so is it wrong to cop out and call them "Asian?" Is it offensive?

Just remembered I recently described somebody here as "Middle Eastern appearance" when I was complaining about him to his employer (yes, the delivery guy). I did this after saying he was tall, well built, short hair, and him still not being identified....because I was avoiding saying Middle Eastern.

I do think we whiteys concentrate way too much on this kind of thing, instead of the real issues of racism.

[Fat Bob]

I'm hardly likely to say African-American or West Indian, Ghanaian (sp?) etc., if he speaks with a Geordie accent and/or I don't have a clue where he or his family is from.

Speaking with a geordie accent? He's from Newcastle I bet....

[slinky]

Edit: I got soundly told off the other night for describing Miss A as a little brown baby. I was talking about how she looked, not who she was, but the other person said I was racist. But she IS brown, like a little bar of chocolate.

It's generally pretty easy to figure out whether or not someone is making a racist comment. Why can't people use their common sense a little bit in cases like this? I definitely think the race card is over-played these days.

[Tas]

Guess this fits here. I reckon this article, or the claim, is bloody stupid. Going off on two shows because they are in representing a neighbourhood that would actually probably be predominantly white, get over it. The funny thing about the Vicar of Dibly is when you remember the tall hunk of funny man that Dawn French is married to. Does China, Singapore, India have to put up with complaints that there aren't enough white people in their programming?

Soapie Neighbours slammed for being 'too white'

July 18, 2008

Hit Australian TV soap Neighbours has been branded "too white" by black and Asian viewers in Britain.

A report by the nation's racial equality chief found many ethnic viewers felt were under-represented in some of Britain's most popular shows.

Neighbours, which is screened on the Five network, and the BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley starring Dawn French were singled out for being "all white".

Other popular soaps including the BBC's Eastenders and ITV's Coronation Street also came under attack for including stereotypical characters such as Asian shopkeepers and black single mums.

However reality TV shows including the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing were commended because people who appeared on those shows were defined by their talent not their ethnicity.

Equality and Human Rights Commission chairman Trevor Phillips said many of Britain's major broadcasters remained "hideously white" when choosing programs.

"I don't think anybody here is saying British TV is racist," Phillips said.

"There are minority faces on TV, but it's that we're not quite getting it right, because we do not really have any minority decision makers.

"White people who live next door to Asian neighbours will see a representation of an ethnic minority family and they will say, 'I don't think so, it doesn't ring true with the people I know'."

The report was commissioned by Channel 4 following last year's race row involving reality show Celebrity Big Brother.

During the program, screened early in 2007, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty found herself under attack from two fellow female contestants.

A senior non-executive BBC director, Dr Samir Shah, also recently accused the public broadcaster of rampant tokenism in its programs.

AAP

[Pinklepurr]

You know Tas, I am sure that I remember Lenny Henry being one of the people speaking out about just that earlier this year. He was talking about the lack of ethnic diversity and the like on British TV. Perhaps this is a follow on to something he actually started.