This. Can Methodist minister Mr Lucraft please be prosecuted for inciting racial tension?
Racist The Walking Dead T-Shirt pulled after complaints
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This. Can Methodist minister Mr Lucraft please be prosecuted for inciting racial tension?
being ignorant to the fact it is a racist rhyme is irrelevant, it is a racism rhyme. "I didn't know it was a crime" has never been a defence under law in the uk thank god
I'm 48 and yeah i know the racist rhyme. I'm sure there are also a dozen non racist versions too so is it still racist ? Paraphrasing is not racist, if i was to say "sheep have you any wool" am i being racist - of course not, its all to do in the context its being said.
I remember watching the Dambusters and the wing commanders dog was called ******, yes of course we all know he was called that because he was black. Everytime his name was called it was muted out, now i doubt he was called that to be derogatory, he was a black dog and that's how things were back then. Now however times have changed, people need to understand that and move on otherwise racism will never die
Even this site has starred out the dogs name and i'm not being racist, oh wait i also said "black" and that has to be part of many derogatory racist phrases and rhymes so that better be removed too.
The t-shirt is not racist nor meant to be, people are making it racist.
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Some variations of it are racist, not the rhyme itself. But you're really reaching with that analogy.
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This makes me want to reach for my keyboard
Soldato
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What a ******* joke this country is becoming. Why the **** the store just didn't tell this dumb **** to jog on and get a life is beyond me.
How many of you have never seen pulp fiction?! Seriously 
I do often wonder whether people are more prone to be offended at offence, than to be offended by anything else these days. It seems even things that are rationally and reasonably offensive are met by the militant 'anti p.c.' brigade... political correctness doesn't have to be absurd all the time.
I was always in two minds about Baa baa raining sheep. When I first heard it I though 'wow that is really ridiculous' but then, upon reflection years later, "yes sir yes sir" / "one for the master" ... hmmm. It does sound a bit dubious... but from having a google there doesn't seem to be anything backing up that it did have obviously racial origins, even though it sounds like it does. I suppose people just don't want to offend but it's only viewable as being offensive when you put your P.C hat on. All in all, I think we can agree there are few things more absurd than a 'rainbow sheep' - p.c. can obviously lead people with good intentions to baffling conclusions
I do often wonder whether people are more prone to be offended at offence, than to be offended by anything else these days. It seems even things that are rationally and reasonably offensive are met by the militant 'anti p.c.' brigade... political correctness doesn't have to be absurd all the time.
I was always in two minds about Baa baa raining sheep. When I first heard it I though 'wow that is really ridiculous' but then, upon reflection years later, "yes sir yes sir" / "one for the master" ... hmmm. It does sound a bit dubious... but from having a google there doesn't seem to be anything backing up that it did have obviously racial origins, even though it sounds like it does. I suppose people just don't want to offend but it's only viewable as being offensive when you put your P.C hat on. All in all, I think we can agree there are few things more absurd than a 'rainbow sheep' - p.c. can obviously lead people with good intentions to baffling conclusions
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I'm 48. When I was a boy, the rhyme contained the MAGIC WORD THAT MUST NOT BE SPOKEN OR WRITTEN BECAUSE IT IS MAGIC! (*)
Also, none of us knew what the word meant. Children in the UK in those days didn't. Why would they? It's a foreign word. It was just a nonsense word to us in a nonsense rhyme used to generate what we thought was randomness (but isn't).
I doubt if any of the people involved in the T-shirt knew anything about the rhyme's origins in archaic foreign racism. Most people are not familiar with such tiny details of foreign history and don't have a detailed enough interest in etymology.
So I don't care, but I wouldn't buy or sell the T-shirt anyway because the origin of the phrase is racist. The idea claim that the T-shirt is a direct threat of racist assault is utter nonsense, though, and far more offensive than the rhyme itself.
* As you might have guessed, I don't agree with the idea of magic words. I disagree even more with the idea of magic words that can only be spoken or written by people with the "right" biological characteristics.
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When I was young the majority of my mates were black and we used the full rhyme to pick which team you were on whether it was football or cowboys & indians.
However it isn't a word I've used in the last 40 years at least and never will.
When I saw the t-shirt I though WTF?
However it isn't a word I've used in the last 40 years at least and never will.
When I saw the t-shirt I though WTF?
Asking sheep questions would put you in the context of being a bit daft
Oddly, the context of that part of the rhyme was at heart taxation. Wool from black sheep wasn't taxed, wool from white sheep was (because it was possible to bleach or dye it, thus making it classed as a luxury item).
Yeah but generations change, times change, and you're supposed to move with the times, not stay stuck under it.
What might have once been casual racism, simply isn't any more.
I grew up with the rhyme, but it was catch a monkey. We'd even use it in class when picking things and nobody put any form of over-analysis into it.
People need to go be offended on another planet, away from the sane people of humanity.
What might have once been casual racism, simply isn't any more.
I grew up with the rhyme, but it was catch a monkey. We'd even use it in class when picking things and nobody put any form of over-analysis into it.
People need to go be offended on another planet, away from the sane people of humanity.
This.Regardless, it's a bit of a crap t-shirt anyway
Why would anyone want to have that junk on display on their torso... I know it's meaningless and most people won't even remember that you wore it, but on some level you'd have had to have made a decision that you wanted that image and those words emblazoned on your clothing... and I can't help thinking, why?
A nursery rhyme and a baseball bat with nails... seriously crap.
Indeed.
Indeed.
The problem is two fold, firstly it is a crass carry on from a racist rhyme, and secondly it is clearly in the context of beating someone about the head with a baseball bat.
Absolutely should have been pulled.
Asking sheep questions would put you in the context of being a bit daft
Oddly, the context of that part of the rhyme was at heart taxation. Wool from black sheep wasn't taxed, wool from white sheep was (because it was possible to bleach or dye it, thus making it classed as a luxury item).
That may be true but in the end it was somehow turned into a racist rhyme, i don't even think it's sung in schools anymore for that very reason and to avoid insulting / upsetting anyone.