Gollywogs - is this guy for real?.

[Kavi Ugl]

Just when you think things can't sink any lower in Shetland I read this.

http://www.shetnews.co.uk/letters/3538-casual-racism.html

I am almost lost for words. The only Gollywogs I ever knew were the peerie guys on the marmalade jars and it was nothing more than a peerie character. As a peerie boy I enjoyed looking for the different character each time a new jar arrived in the hoose.

I think the dolls are kinda cute and am ower blyde that a peerie shop in Lerwick is selling them.

And as for the allegation that there's an underlying racism in Shetland....

Honestly, I think some folk need to get a grip.......

[shetlandpeat]

This has been covered in the past I think. However, if someone feels offended by a remark or gesture, should they just keep it to their selves. There are many instances of inter island mockery which is replicated in all regions.

 

The history of the toy or badge goes back many years to the 19th Century, check Google for a description.

 

There is an alternative here, but there is an odd quirk at the end with some ones name.

 

http://www.golliwogg.co.uk/racism.htm

 

There are quotes from some of your favourite childrens authors. And a crime author.

 

Away from the doll though, if the person mentioned above has been called names which offend, they must be able to complain. Ignorance is no defence they say.

[MJ]

And as for the allegation that there's an underlying racism in Shetland....

Underlying? It's bloomin BLATANT

 

The term "Gollywog" is still offensive, and still used to insult, up and down the country, including Shetland.

 

The dolls themselves tell tales of more innocent times.

 

the author living in Eid, well see my previous posts about how parents from AJHS should be ashamed, the kids pick it up somewhere, and they can't blame it on the TV any more

[paulb]

a case in stockport there was a a woman who kept a golly wog in there living room window. the police made her remove it as it was classed as abusive.

 

it would seem to be innocent until you look at the history of the term. to be honest thou most of the black folks i knew down there had more to worry about than a stuffed toy. the 50% unemployement rate for young black men is a pretty good one.

 

SHETLAND is just as bad as anywhere else there are racist/idiots and unthinking people everywhere. it does not make a community racist. but if your on the recieving end it soon feels like it.

[Ironwithin]

The guy who did the petition would of had a seizure if he had gone to see the great exibition at the Shetland Museum on Shetland needle work, it has a quilt that is covered with golly wogs and very well crafted it is to.

 

I bet 100% he is some one from sooth who has come up here and is hell bent on changing Shetland to fit his agenda.

[Dratsy]

If some of you that are pleepsing on here about the blatant racism in Shetland lived or even visited somewhere where there is actual racism your views might be changed somewhat. As a good friend said recently just how condescending are you that you believe that a doll can cause grief and offence to black folks, just how stupid do you think they are?

[Mag]

Shetlanders have a long history of travelling and settling all around the world. I would hope that Shetlanders would be welcomed and respected where ever they go. I hate to think of Shetlanders being mocked and marginalised in the places they now call home.

 

In return I would hope that Shetland could welcome and respect the people who settle here. But listening to the talk on the street, and reading some of the comments in this thread, I feel we have a bit of work to do to show a proper Shetland welcome to folk of different race.

 

The majority of Shetlanders may be welcoming. But it takes guts to actually make a stand against racist bullying. My guess is that most folk would rather walk on by and pretend they didn't see it. So I'd like to say a huge thank you to the person who had the guts to raise this issue.

 

As for the notion that you're not allowed an opinion unless you were born here! Well, I guess that shows that we Shetlanders still have a peerie bit of work to do on making sure that everyone here understands the concepts of respect and equal opportunities!

[JohanofNess]

Problem with online petitions are particularly those that are referring to community issues are they can get signed by folk who don't live in the area affected. Those folk are asked to do so by the person pushing the agenda in the petition and some of their pals and other folk on social networking sites not maybe relaying the whole story. I never sign a petition if it is asking another part of the country to change their ways as I don't think I have that right. Am I offended by gollywogs well no not really do I see that others could be, well yes I can but it is up to them to speak to the store advertising the dolls and ask them directly, I don't see the need for a Knight in shining armour mounted on top of his trusty steed Moral Outrage.

[ArabiaTerra]

I bet 100% he is some one from sooth who has come up here and is hell bent on changing Shetland to fit his agenda.

Yeah, I agree. Who do these niggers/kikes/wogs/non-Shetlanders think they are!

 

After all we can't stop the bigotry, discrimination and racism. It's such a fine Shetland tradition, after all.

 

[/sarcasm]

 

Idiot.

 

If some of you that are pleepsing on here about the blatant racism in Shetland lived or even visited somewhere where there is actual racism your views might be changed somewhat. As a good friend said recently just how condescending are you that you believe that a doll can cause grief and offence to black folks, just how stupid do you think they are?

Yeah, no need to tackle our own problems because NAZI's!!1!, KKK!11!!,BNP!!! somewhere else!

 

Unless you live in some god-encumbered hellhole like Afghanistan or Somalia, there will always be somewhere where things are worse than they are here, therefore we should do nothing.

 

The logic of racists the world over.

[shetlandpeat]

Dratsy. Can you now define your post. Explain the difference between actual abd blatant with regard to the complaint made and how you relate the two. It would help clear up any misunderstanding. Cheers pal.

[MJ]

If some of you that are pleepsing on here about the blatant racism in Shetland lived or even visited somewhere where there is actual racism your views might be changed somewhat. As a good friend said recently just how condescending are you that you believe that a doll can cause grief and offence to black folks, just how stupid do you think they are?

Personally I have no problem with the dolls, it brought a smile to my face when I 1st saw them being sold in one of my daughter's favourite shops.

 

Yes I have lived else where, though born here. Sure I don't have to worry about racist stabbings here, or full blown riots with the police on the streets, but it doesn't stop my daughter being called Pakki at school (a problem she never experienced at Happyhansel or her school south) and it would never have been excused by a teacher south. Maybe it shows how bad the education really is up here if they insist on calling someone with African descent an Asian slur.

[Ghostrider]

So, is the letter writer PC crazy, acutely paranoid, or just hell bent on keeping some gravy train trundling on for some sort of personal/group glory? It has to be one of the three, as letters like those do absolutely nothing to further anti-racism. They do exactly teh opposite by confusing and clouding the issue, and inciting and providing ammunition to those so inclined, to continue to perpetrate racism.

 

Racism is a state of mind, and as such the "racist"component of any word or act is directly proportionate to the level of "raciasm" within the mind of the perpetrator. Hard core racism where someone is attacked either physically and/or mentally for no other reason than their roots and/or skin colour is obviously very wrong, but in the big picture its very difficult for a person of a different origin and/or skin colour than the complainer to comprehend why, apprently suddenly within the last decade or so, a doll based on a person with one specific skin colour has become somehow "offensive".

 

If a doll with darker skin is somehow offensive to darker skinned people, shouldn't lighter skinned people find dolls with lighter skin equally offensive? Shouldn't there be a parallel campaign running to ban Ken and Barbie?

 

Words are no different, if someone addresses another with words of hatred and contempt, its less their choice of words that matter than the overall message they convey, as almost without exception the self same words can be legitimately used in a benign, neutral and for descriptive purposes only manner.

 

You gotta ask, why some people are so sensitive that its difficult to not suspect they are totally paranoid. Scots, Irish and Welsh are widely referred to as Jock, Paddy and Taffy, for years Americans referred to all Brits as Limeys, Brits referred to Australians and New Zealanders for long enough as Anzacs, New Zealanders are still referred to as Kiwis. Australians refer to Brits as Poms. Shetlanders are frequently referred to as North Sea Chinamen, Sheepshaggers, Inbreds, etc. The list goes on and on, the world over, sometimes the terminology is used with hatred and contempt, sometimes its used neutrally for descriptive purposes, and sometimes as rather perverse terms of endearment. I doubt anyone on any receiving end truly likes and welcomes the practice, but very few are much bothered by the terminology itself. If anyone does get pissed off and react, its usually motivated by the intent behind the words, and in those cases, the words are largely irrelevant, the same reaction would have been elicited whatever terminology was used to convey it.

 

When did certain ethnic groups and/or groups with certain skin colours get granted the right to dictate to everyone else that certain words meant one thing, and one thing only, and couldn't possibly mean anything else, regardless of their usage! That to me is positive discrimination in favour of those ethnic/skin colour minorities, and I fail to see how positive discrimination is any less distasteful, unacceptabel and reprehensible than any other form of discriminaion. Anti-discrimination efforts by definition must encourage equality across the board, giving more to anyone is no more right than giving less to anyone, its exactly the same thing.

[Infiltrator]

If some of you that are pleepsing on here about the blatant racism in Shetland lived or even visited somewhere where there is actual racism your views might be changed somewhat. As a good friend said recently just how condescending are you that you believe that a doll can cause grief and offence to black folks, just how stupid do you think they are?

I'd agree with that, the letter writer is just creating a storm for the sake of it - why not find a real worthwhile cause to take up his time?

[ArabiaTerra]

When did certain ethnic groups and/or groups with certain skin colours get granted the right to dictate to everyone else that certain words meant one thing, and one thing only, and couldn't possibly mean anything else, regardless of their usage!

When those words were used to separate people into {us} and {not us} and used to justify the persecution, murder and even genocide of {not us}.

 

That to me is positive discrimination in favour of those ethnic/skin colour minorities, and I fail to see how positive discrimination is any less distasteful, unacceptabel and reprehensible than any other form of discriminaion. Anti-discrimination efforts by definition must encourage equality across the board, giving more to anyone is no more right than giving less to anyone, its exactly the same thing.

GR, you are a straight, white, European male, just like me. We are part of the most privileged group on the planet. We don't get to decide what is discrimination and what is not.

[Ghostrider]

 

When did certain ethnic groups and/or groups with certain skin colours get granted the right to dictate to everyone else that certain words meant one thing, and one thing only, and couldn't possibly mean anything else, regardless of their usage!

When those words were used to separate people into {us} and {not us} and used to justify the persecution, murder and even genocide of {not us}.

 

So the "solution" is to "ban" the words in question, regardless of the fact that they also have benign legitmate usage.

 

Regardless of the limitations upon vocabularly, banning a word, as I see it achieves zero, and is a cosmetic exercise. Those so minded willnot change in attitude or actions one iota, they'll just start using an alternative word instead, if they bother paying any attention at all.

 

What do you do then, ban the new terminology too. Taken to its albeit absurd, logical conclusion that course of action woul eventually kill off the language in question completely. Anyone with at least a moderate command of any given language can be nastily racist in the extreme using everyday innocent terminology, therefor as I see it no amount of banning words will ever really change anything, only teaching acceptance and tolerance can do that.

 

The evidence of proof is already gathering, the "N" word was outlawed in America as being racist and offensive, "black" was installed as the acceptable alternative terminology, however "black" is now considered to be almost as racist and offensive as the "N" word, and "African-American" was the new acceptable term last I heard. The same goes for "Indian" which was banished on the same grounds, being replaced by "Native American", which now, is fast going down the same road as "Black", and being replaced by "First Nation".

 

Whatever terminology is chosen is discrimininatory attacks quickly becomes tainted, banning words, images and items is just a temporary whitewash over the real problem and then running away. It needs doing repeatedly, and leaves a trail of blanked out words, images and items in its wake, while on the ground nothing really changes at all.

 

 

That to me is positive discrimination in favour of those ethnic/skin colour minorities, and I fail to see how positive discrimination is any less distasteful, unacceptabel and reprehensible than any other form of discriminaion. Anti-discrimination efforts by definition must encourage equality across the board, giving more to anyone is no more right than giving less to anyone, its exactly the same thing.

GR, you are a straight, white, European male, just like me. We are part of the most privileged group on the planet. We don't get to decide what is discrimination and what is not.

 

Aye, but, unless we have a meaningful contribution to the debate of what constitutes discrimination, we are being discriminated against ourselves, and unless those who feel they are being discriminated against make a good valid case to us as to why they feel that way, they can hardly expect us to be on side. I'm not saying the whole "Golly" debate is invalid, I'm saying that as it stands it comes off sounding very much like a "We don't like these dolls or their name, so no-one can have one or use the name, and you'll do it because we say so".Which isn't racism, its simply dislike, and a minority are playing it on the "racism" card because they can".