No Debate

Apparently the BBC has received more than 3,000 messages complaining about the corporation's sacking of Carol Thatcher for making racist comments. I never realised that the BNP had that many members capable of writing. I really am sick of hearing morons trying to defend Thatcher. There really cannot be any debate over this - she referred to a black person as a 'golliwog'. This is offensive. No question. The weakest defence was that she made the remark in private. Frankly, this is bollocks. She said it in the 'green room' after the One Show in front of at least a dozen people, some of whom were journalists. I think we all know that, under such circumstances, if the BBC hadn't taken action, it would have found itself accused of condoning racism by those very same journalists criticising it for sacking Thatcher. The other 'defence offered is that the term 'golliwog' isn't racist and that the BBC is being too 'PC'. Again, bollocks. The reality is that the figure of the golliwog has a deeply racist history. The fact that, in a less sensitive era, it was also a beloved children's toy, is no excuse. We've moved on since then and we should all know better. The kind of people who complain about 'political correctness gone mad' are the sort who think it is OK to call black people 'darkies' and put bricks through their windows.

There are times when I suspect that there is a campaign going on in some areas of the media to make racism acceptable again. It isn't just this Carol Thatcher business, there was the whole furore over Prince Harry calling an Asian soldier a 'Paki'. The defences for this were ludicrous - it was just a bit of banter between friends (the target of the jibe was asleep and in no position to 'banter' back), or it was just part of 'barrack room culture' (apparently the army is exempt from race relations laws) - yet presented as serious arguments. Perhaps most idiotically, I've heard some people trying to defend the remark by claiming that 'Paki' is simply short for Pakistani, just as 'Brit' is short for British and therefore not racist. Again, arrant nonsense. 'Paki' has never, to my recollection , been used as a contraction of Pakistani - except by racist thugs prior to assaulting an Asian person in an unprovoked attack. As with the Thatcher case, the litmus test is to ask what would happen if you were to call an Asian colleague a 'Paki' or a black colleague a 'golliwog' in your workplace? The answer, of course, is that you'd probably be suspended pending a disciplinary hearing, which could well result in your dismissal. You could even face legal action under the Race Relations Act. Quite rightly, such offensive behaviour would not be tolerated. Why should be any different for Royalty or minor celebrities?