A fellow come up from south and points out that he finds it (gollywogs) racist and a whole buch of locals tell him he's wrong. Should we all fall to our knees and beg foriveness for having the temerity to question the man's opinion and methods or, as appears to have happened, should we tell him to go get himself a life? Now, just what kind of image do YOU think that Shetland should give to the world? I think that Shetlanders are among some of the most friendly helpful folk I have met. That there are a lot of people who came from other cultures who have genuinely made a place for themselves here. But I don't feel that they have the same freedom of expression as 'native' Shetlanders. He can feel anything he likes, the fact is he was passing through for less than five minutes, so his feelings are rather irrelevant. If he was offended enough not to come back, I think we'll manage to live quite happily and without deprivation not to enjoy his presence here again. Especially as just about no-one I've spoken to knew he was coming, let alone that he'd been. Coloured people have been resident in Shetland as long as that shop has had that stock, and he's by no means the first coloured person to pass through here since that shop has had that stock either, yet he is the first coloured person to make a fuss about it. The only conclusion that can be reached from that evidence is that coloured people who are offended to any significant degree by golliwogs are few and far between, and quite frankly, if those who are are in any way of character like this one, we can well do without both them and their extremist opinions. I think that if you're part of a minority in a small community you're unlikely to start pointing out things that make you uncomfortable. I've seen it happen- folk laughing and playing along with racist comments so they don't isolate themselves, so they 'fit in'. I think it's wrong that they feel like they have to do that. But I can understand why the folk that live here might not want to make a big deal about it. Sometimes it takes someone from outside a community to point out problematic aspects. I'm not saying that Lem went about it in the best way, but I still think the general point is valid. Weel hae less o da auldjins (-: The problem I see with your post is the term "Shetlanders" you are suggesting all are the same, with the same views and opinions. It also suggests that all replies are from Shetlanders. I think you might find a lot of the veiws posted are from people not born on these islands. My own previous post, for one, did not say Mr Sissays view were wrong, just that they differ to mine. But perhaps as a Shetlander my veiws don't count and I should bow to the superior view of someone visiting the isle from the big smoke, who clearly went around his intentions in an underhand manner, name calling and being abusive. Now maybe if he had an adult conversation he may have got a bit more interest in his opinions. Your attempt to suggest that Shetlanders are racist says more about you than it does Shetlanders. Don't brand a whole community because you disagree with the actions of a few. Branding whole communities with the actions of a few- that will definitely happen. It happens all the time, just look at how Islam is viewed through the lens of extremism, when it's only a tiny percentage of the followers of that religion that do that. If you want to make your island's money from tourism, then these are things that are worth considering. Hell, if I didn't think Shetlanders weren't awesome, I wouldn't live here, but I hate people getting the wrong impression. I've had visitors up from Sooth (both friends and family) and taken them for a walk along the street. When they point out the Golliwogs in the shop, I'm embarrassed. Embarrassed that I have to explain that Shetlanders aren't mad racists, they just have a couple of wee things they can't really see in a wider context. Like the blackface- I don't think that the people who do it are being overtly racist, it's just that to someone who has come from a place with a history of oppression may view it that way. That we live in a world with a lot of people, and it's not always 'political correctness', it's simply 'not being a thoughtless a$$h.le.'
