The irony of grouping something individual: Danny Baker has done with 'older white males' whilst accusing him of being racist. Good luck to you
Has political correctness actually gone mad?
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The irony of grouping something individual: Danny Baker has done with 'older white males' whilst accusing him of being racist. Good luck to you
I'm not suggesting it is people being too pc, nor denying that racist jokes are made by older white men (and younger non white women and all variations thereof).Nothing in my post suggests that I am and you are inferring that based on none of the words I used.
You have no idea of who I am, nor my posting history or beliefs, so I understand the position you're taking however.
My point, and it is this point alone, is that I fully believe that, on balance of probabilities, Danny Baker did not post that tweet in order to compare whatever the baby is called to an ape in order to make the racist comparison of Meghan Merkel (sp?) to other forms of primate as we are all wearingly used to seeing, but that he was very probably making the point regarding celebrity and the royals that he claims to have been making. This is because that fits his character, beliefs and history, whereas gratuitous acts of base racism do not.
Yeah your right I'm worst than someone who lacks foresight to understand how posting a picture of an ape is insensitive to millions of black people(including myself) who have had people call us it as a way to make us feel less than human.
So does he just lack foresight and sensitivity or is he a hateful racist? Not that it matters now, he's lost his job already. As long as you feel better though.
He never said you were worse, but the point you're making, that he lacked foresight rather than actually having racist intent is the balance of probability position I was taking.
He is not, as an edit, a Clarkson, Farage or Sugar who are actually making racist "jokes" or comments with clear racist sentiment, more likely than not.
It doesn't even really matter if he did it on purpose because it's so insensitive.
I think it does. It would have a massive bearing on my opinion of him.
It literally doesn't matter if he is the worst racist ever. To make such an insensitive joke is worth the back lash. Its offensive and clearly so. It doesn't take more than a second to see what he posted and come to the conclusion that it can be seen as racist. If it means that next time a "comedian" has to think about posting that is potentially hugely offensive then that is a good thing. These things should not be normalised.
Wow as long as I feel better?
Yes I feel better about someone being called out on a hugely offensive joke. Do more listening to the people who have actually been affected by this sort of rhetoric. Instead of defending those who don't give a feck.
Have I critcised the backlash? You're arguing with an imaginary person taking an imaginary position.
Also, he's not a comedian really. Nor would he agree with the normalisation of racism I'm quite sure.
I think you probably don't know who Danny Baker is.
Or he just thought he'd get away with it because, as you can see from how much debate it's created, it's supposedly an innocent mistake on his part and it is not, pardon the pun, black and white. As I said I suspect he, at least in some capacity, was aware of what he was doing. If you choose to believe otherwise that's cool.
You think Danny Baker doesn't give a feck about racism?
I mean to post something that insensitive requires a level of not giving a feck.
The only joke he made that is hugely offensive is the one in your imagination.
No, it could suggest an utter lack of general awareness because he literally wouldn't make the connection in his head instinctively.
This is when you guys are being ridiculous. Megan has had racial slur thrown at her since she was announced to get married. It doesn't matter How much out of the loop he says he was. It doesn't take more than a second to see where the issue in what he posted can come from.
Genuinely this is quite ridiculous. I won't attack you but all I'm going to say is probably ask any black or coloured person and see what their reaction is.
It's really not ridiculous. He isn't viewing black people as apes, nor considering Megan's race.
I have never said I can't see the issue. It's obvious. I'm arguing that this was not his intent: to be clear when he posted the tweet the racial connotations were not, I believe, even crossing his mind.
And those who think that doesn't matter. It does. Clarkson makes actually racist jokes with racist intent. Baker does not and has no history of doing so. I believe he's made a stupid mistake based on his genuine lack of consideration as the thought of the racist comparison wouldn't cross his mind. Which makes him a fool and not scum.
The reaction of the black or coloured person, justified as it would be, would have no bearing on Danny Baker's intended meaning.
I don't think this is a cognitively dissonant position.
@mancan92, look at the thread you're in. The people that tend to frequent it often have a blind spot on these matters....
I actually like Danny Baker, but even if I didn’t I’d maintain that it’s a lot of fuss over nothing - as usual.
I don’t get why context counts for nothing now. If enough people decide you meant it, then you meant it.
I don’t get why context counts for nothing now. If enough people decide you meant it, then you meant it.
The point is who is worth defending in this situation?
The person who made the hugely offensive "joke". Even by "accident"
Or the people who are angry as this sort of joke has hurt them and their family for many generations.
You have the 7th most replies here
What the hell was he thinking?! What made him even think it was a good idea to do that.
I have no clue.
I'm not defending him. I'd have sacked him. I understand the hurt. So, no it's not the point I was making.
Given that I'm going to get pissed off here for being seen as some sort of defender of reactionary bigot, I'll take one final stab at this:
Danny Baker is not a racist. He is, however, a white man in the UK. He is not constantly aware of racial connotations, nor does he suffer racist abuse. It is not on his mind. Therefore, he, highly insensitively, released a tweet for which he was deservedly sacked. He had, and I believe this, not viewed the chimp as a dehumanising symbol as used by racists, but as a "performing animal" metaphor for celebrity culture. However, that makes Danny Baker an insensitive fool not a racist cnut. This is not a nuanced position I'm taking here.
Is it clear from this that I am not:
i) defending him
ii) belittling those offended
iii) saying the backlash is unjustified
iv)suggesting he shouldn't be sacked
Cheers for deciding I'm an anti pc Daily Mail reader rushing to defend bigots based on the thread I'm posting in (which you're posting in too) and then fecking off rather than making the effort to read what I actually wrote rather than what played out in your head.
If he actually had racist intentions with that joke he'd have realised at the same time what a career-suicidal and utterly pointless post it would have been. So yeh, just an idiot.
Idiots and twitter and lots of idiots on twitter.
Idiots and twitter and lots of idiots on twitter.
Well yeah hardcore racists are worse than the sort of racially insensitive twat that you often seen in this thread but I mean in terms of whether he should be sacked or not.
Chat shit, get banged. No idea if the dude had racist intentions or not as I don't even know who it is, but people lose their job over posting stupid shit, let alone things that could be racist.
However, the people who call for others to get fired or canceled over something they're not really sure about just to signal their stance are even worse tbh.
And by the way, I had no idea Harry's wife was mixed race before this whole thing. I'm willing to bet the majority of people outside the UK have no idea either. You couldn't tell by looking at her at all.
However, the people who call for others to get fired or canceled over something they're not really sure about just to signal their stance are even worse tbh.
And by the way, I had no idea Harry's wife was mixed race before this whole thing. I'm willing to bet the majority of people outside the UK have no idea either. You couldn't tell by looking at her at all.
That's fair enough to the people who live outside of the UK, slightly less so for someone who works within the UK media. Even if you give him the benefit of the doubt, he's a fecking moron at best given he is a Millwall fan and the monkey chants that lot have used.
Man this thread has become such an embarrassing circle jerk. I was on the side of the “PC gone mad!!1!” people on the issue of Apu being cancelled, but reading some of the thoughts and opinions since then I feel dirty to have agreed with those points.
Even saw someone who enjoys Trump’s tweets because he doesn’t care about the backlash to them. If you enjoy any of the garbage that clown posts because it “triggers people” then you should take a long, hard look at yourself.
Even saw someone who enjoys Trump’s tweets because he doesn’t care about the backlash to them. If you enjoy any of the garbage that clown posts because it “triggers people” then you should take a long, hard look at yourself.
I’ve thought about this a bit more and i think my initial take was wrong. It’s undoubtedly a moronic thing to do, even if he didn’t intend anything by it. But I don’t think the “what, me guv?” act he’s doing is sincere at all. He’s a clever bloke. There’s just no need for it at all really, he should’ve just used his brain.
He's owned up to the mistake and responded well - I feel some sympathy for him in that it seems fairly obvious he didn't intend to come across as racist, but he's also openly admitted he understands why it could be perceived that way, and he's not shirking away from taking responsibility for his own actions. In time I think he'll come out of it quite well compared to some people who, whether they're at fault or not, end up making things worse for themselves by doubling down and picking fights etc.
A more serious apology from him today, after the "yeah but" apologies of yesterday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48226247
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48226247
And there you go. Just needed one night to sleep on it and get his apology straight. Basically he's a casualty of the 24 hour news cycle. Everyone on here who is honest with themself can relate to a "yeah but apology" immediately after you've done something you end up regretting. To be brutally honest, sometimes it takes a day or two to even get round to a "yeah but apology" if you get sucked into arguing your case, or feel you've been unfairly treated. So releasing this statement the morning after the offending tweet is all we can reasonably expect from him, all things considered.
Anyone even vaguely familiar with his personality and politics would know that the rush to label him a racist, then immediately sack him from his job, wasn't a whole lot less impulsive and thoughtless than the tweet which kicked off the whole shit-storm.
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I think the objective of people who are against racism should be to change the minds of people who might otherwise be racist by explaining why it is wrong.
Some of the comments made about Baker are so obviously contrived as to be counterproductive to that I'm afraid.
Some of the comments made about Baker are so obviously contrived as to be counterproductive to that I'm afraid.
It stopped being about that a long time ago. Now it’s all witch hunts. Make one mistake, and you are that thing. Instead of talking about why referring to black people as apes is wrong, it’s just name calling and virtue signalling.