Political Incorrectness to the Extreme

[scheherazade_79]

I can't find the actual article, but the other day I read a newspaper story about a school somewhere in England. There were only two black kids in the school, and get this - they got cast as monkeys in the school play.

What the hell were the teachers at that school thinking????

It's so awful, it's almost farcical.

I just had to share this with you.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

So if it had been an all black school with two white students would it be incorrect to cast the white students as monkeys?

 

[matriarch]

This is it:
Appeared on BBC News, on 23 June.

---------------------

Anger over 'racist' school play
A seven-year-old black boy has been withdrawn from a school play by his mother after he was cast as a monkey.

Lorraine Rees took her son, Myles, out of the production of An Enchanted Island, accusing Ashley Down Infant School in Bristol of racism.

The school said the pupils chose the parts they wanted, but a meeting between Mrs Rees and head teacher Helen Heap has failed to resolve the row.

One quarter of the school's 170 pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

In its last Ofsted inspection, the school was described as a "good school and fun to be in".

'Racist connotations'

Myles Rees was cast as a monkey, alongside one other black pupil and three white boys.

Mother-of-four Mrs Rees, 39, made an official complaint to the school, saying: "Everyone is aware of the racist connotations of asking a black pupil to play a monkey."

She and her husband took their complaint to local charity Support Against Racial Incidents (Sari).

Batook Pandya, director of Sari, said there was no suggestion of deliberate racism, but questioned the "sensitivity" of the casting.

Relaxed and open

On Friday afternoon Ms Heap met to discuss the claims with Mr Pandya, Mr and Mrs Rees and advisers from the city council.

Mr Pandya said Ms Heap and Myles's parents had shaken hands, and the meeting was relaxed and open.

But he said Mrs Rees still maintained Myles was forced to play the part of a monkey, whereas the school said he had chosen the role.

After the meeting, the school said in a statement that it "firmly refutes the allegations of racism".

"In our experience, most children aged six or seven would usually be unaware of racial implications when choosing to play animal parts in a school play."

But the school accepted that there were other points of view, adding: "We appreciate that a parent who has experienced racism in their life may have a very different understanding and perspective."

The play was due to be performed next month.

 

[scheherazade_79]

You see, this is why I need Mat in my life. She's able to convert my vaguaries into solid indisputable facts. I didn't imagine it after all

 

[scheherazade_79]

So if it had been an all black school with two white students would it be incorrect to cast the white students as monkeys?

Probably, yes. It's singling them out as different from all the other pupils and emphasises the difference between people of various skin colours.

 

[matriarch]

Probably, yes. It's singling them out as different from all the other pupils and emphasises the difference between people of various skin colours.

Exactly!
Andyou put into words what my half awake brain was struggling to say.

 

[English Lady]

The kid chose to be a monkey, there were white lads as monkeys too.

they were just children playing animals they wanted to play.

This kind of thing makes me want to scream -I bet thers a whole new flood of kids calling black kids "monkey's" now, as they've found out that it's offensive.

Okay, EL's blood is simmering right now.

PC sucks.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

The kid chose to be a monkey, there were white lads as monkeys too.

they were just children playing animals they wanted to play.

This kind of thing makes me want to scream -I bet thers a whole new flood of kids calling black kids "monkey's" now, as they've found out that it's offensive.

Okay, EL's blood is simmering right now.

PC sucks.

I'm with you.

 

[English Lady]

I'm with you.

Oh, I've got good company then

 

[scheherazade_79]

I don't know who I'm with, to be honest. I've worked 5 years in education and I've been conditioned to be super careful about these things.

Sure, it's probably been hyped up out of all proportion by the media, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable, somehow.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

I don't know who I'm with, to be honest. I've worked 5 years in education and I've been conditioned to be super careful about these things.

Sure, it's probably been hyped up out of all proportion by the media, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable, somehow.

and that is only natural....its a slow news day I guess.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

The kid chose to be a monkey, there were white lads as monkeys too.

they were just children playing animals they wanted to play.

This kind of thing makes me want to scream -I bet thers a whole new flood of kids calling black kids "monkey's" now, as they've found out that it's offensive.

Okay, EL's blood is simmering right now.

PC sucks.

Yea EL! This PC crap has gone way to far.

 

[Liar]

And if the two kids had wanted to play porcupines?

Apparently, it was the kids that choose what animals thery were going to play. I wonder what would have happened if the school teachers had said "No, you can't play monkeys, because you're black."

 

[scheherazade_79]

and that is only natural....its a slow news day I guess.

Slow news couple of weeks, more like it. I read an entire story about the cellulite on Kate Moss' thighs; another one about the veins in Madonna's hands; and another one about a footballer's wife's shopping trip.

I'm so bored with what's going on in this world that I feel like running naked past the Queen's bedroom window, so that the world would have something to talk about...

 

[Guest]

The kid chose to be a monkey, there were white lads as monkeys too.

they were just children playing animals they wanted to play.

This kind of thing makes me want to scream -I bet thers a whole new flood of kids calling black kids "monkey's" now, as they've found out that it's offensive.

Okay, EL's blood is simmering right now.

PC sucks.

I'm with you, too.


I doubt, very, very much, that the whole thing would have entered anyone's head as racist, had the mother herself not brought it up.

Poor kid, I bet he's now feeling utterly devastated by the whole thing.

Shout loud now, act the victim, and don't even consider the consequences. Ignorance is a dangerous thing. Was gonna tell the tale here of a similar experience I had with another mother at my kids' school, but I haven't got the time, and I can't be arsed - long and short of it: her 11 year old daughter and five of her friends decided to pick on my 8 year old daughter... her daughter, in her eyes, was made to feel the victim by the school... it ended up with her standing outside the school yelling at me to "piss off", in front of her daughter and her friends, who laughed and thought it funny. The mother was later "banned from school premises". Fucking joke. There's looking after your kids' best interests, then there's just acting like an arse.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

Slow news couple of weeks, more like it. I read an entire story about the cellulite on Kate Moss' thighs; another one about the veins in Madonna's hands; and another one about a footballer's wife's shopping trip.

I'm so bored with what's going on in this world that I feel like running naked past the Queen's bedroom window, so that the world would have something to talk about...

I triple dog dare you!!!!

 

[scheherazade_79]

And if the two kids had wanted to play porcupines?

Apparently, it was the kids that choose what animals thery were going to play. I wonder what would have happened if the school teatchers had said "No, you can't play monkeys, because you're black."

You'd never give them that reason. You'd make up a bullshit story about how lots of people wanted to be monkeys, and you'd lie and say that you pulled names out of a hat for who got which part.

I can understand what you're all saying about how the kids chose to be monkeys, but at that age maybe it's not best that kids always have their own way. What about a fat kid who wanted to play a pig? How would it affect their self-image? How would it affect the way that the other kids saw them?

While you're at it, why not let the kid with jam-jar glasses be the owl? Or the kid in the wheelchair a farm tractor? Or the shy kid a sheep?

They might see it as fun at the time, but it reinforces lots of unhealthy stereotypes.

I'm not a member of the PC brigade - ask any of my friends. But I do think it's wrong to let this happen at such a sensitive stage of a child's development.

 

[scheherazade_79]

I triple dog dare you!!!!

Keep an eye on the news tonight, hussy

 

[ABSTRUSE]

Keep an eye on the news tonight, hussy

YES!!!

 

[scheherazade_79]

I'm with you, too.


I doubt, very, very much, that the whole thing would have entered anyone's head as racist, had the mother herself not brought it up.

Poor kid, I bet he's now feeling utterly devastated by the whole thing.

Shout loud now, act the victim, and don't even consider the consequences. Ignorance is a dangerous thing. Was gonna tell the tale here of a similar experience I had with another mother at my kids' school, but I haven't got the time, and I can't be arsed - long and short of it: her 11 year old daughter and five of her friends decided to pick on my 8 year old daughter... her daughter, in her eyes, was made to feel the victim by the school... it ended up with her standing outside the school yelling at me to "piss off", in front of her daughter and her friends, who laughed and thought it funny. The mother was later "banned from school premises". Fucking joke. There's looking after your kids' best interests, then there's just acting like an arse.

I agree, there are some arses of teachers out there, but there are also some decent ones who don't follow all the rules in the book.

My advice to any pupil who's being picked on is to sign up to karate or kick-boxing classes. It's one hell of a lot more effective than teacher intervention and trying to work out who's the victim in all of it.

 

[scheherazade_79]

YES!!!

You realise if I get arrested it'll be all your fault?

 

[ABSTRUSE]

You realise if I get arrested it'll be all your fault?

Yes but I will be highly amused.

 

[Guest]

You'd never give them that reason. You'd make up a bullshit story about how lots of people wanted to be monkeys, and you'd lie and say that you pulled names out of a hat for who got which part.

I can understand what you're all saying about how the kids chose to be monkeys, but at that age maybe it's not best that kids always have their own way. What about a fat kid who wanted to play a pig? How would it affect their self-image? How would it affect the way that the other kids saw them?

While you're at it, why not let the kid with jam-jar glasses be the owl? Or the kid in the wheelchair a farm tractor? Or the shy kid a sheep?

They might see it as fun at the time, but it reinforces lots of unhealthy stereotypes.

I'm not a member of the PC brigade - ask any of my friends. But I do think it's wrong to let this happen at such a sensitive stage of a child's development.

But, as EL said, no doubt there's a spate of "monkey" name-calling going on now.

Kids learn from us adults, and if they have positive role-models, they will flourish. If people pussy-foot around them, thinking they have their best interest at heart, those kids will grow up thinking no different.

Kids have a certain amount of innocence and naivity, which is wonderful... it's us grown ups who take that away and tell them what is "right and wrong".

In short: we enforce our beliefs and stereotypes on them, often unknowingly.

 

[Guest]

I agree, there are some arses of teachers out there, but there are also some decent ones who don't follow all the rules in the book.

My advice to any pupil who's being picked on is to sign up to karate or kick-boxing classes. It's one hell of a lot more effective than teacher intervention and trying to work out who's the victim in all of it.

The teachers were just fine, it was one of the mothers who was being an arse. There are some damn fine teachers out there.

LOL, already done that... both my girls know the basics of karate.

 

[scheherazade_79]

But, as EL said, no doubt there's a spate of "monkey" name-calling going on now.

Kids learn from us adults, and if they have positive role-models, they will flourish. If people pussy-foot around them, thinking they have their best interest at heart, those kids will grow up thinking no different.

Kids have a certain amount of innocence and naivity, which is wonderful... it's us grown ups who take that away and tell them what is "right and wrong".

In short: we enforce our beliefs and stereotypes on them, often unknowingly.

That's assuming that all the kids at the school were completely innocent in the first place, and had no idea about the connotations. Sure, maybe there were several who didn't know that calling a black person a monkey was insulting. But for the majority of them, who've grown up around adults and, like you say, had beliefs and stereotypes enforced on them knowingly, seeing the school back up that stereotype isn't good.

Yes, kicking up a fuss over this has done more harm than good as far as reinforcing prejudice goes.

What I'm arguing is that the school shouldn't have let it happen in the first place. Apart from what I've mentioned above, it's left them open to a hammering from the media and the hyped publicisation of an old, but nevertheless unsavoury racial slur.

It was inevitable that it would hit the press.