Idiots on Sky news

I can't believe it's on an official website, and hasn't been pulled.

And I agree, there's no way you can consider that light hearted.

Guardian broke the original story I believe... here's an update article:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/aug/16/olympicsandthemedia.spain

I'm quite astounded by the Spanish reaction... what makes them think it's OK??

I agree with you Winkle. Not acceptable at all and some of the comments, esp comparisons with people with ginger hair and saying things like there was no racist intent are just pathetic.

I've seen it on a few news websites/programmes in the last few days... no, not acceptable in any way at all. It's as offensive as if they'd done a "lighthearted" picture for the paralympics by doing 70s-childhood-style "spazza" impressions.

Actually funny you mention that, as a couple of days ago a friend of mine who lives in Spain told me that Takeshi's castle (the japanese game show shown here) was called ''Yellow Humour'' - wrongity wrong!!! ?

Isn't it OK to do or say what you want to as long as you put "no offence intended". I was annoyed with a post on planning that implied everyone from Liverppol is a thief but apparently no offence was meant either.

https://www.hitched.co.uk/Chat/forums/t/46471.aspx

I wouldn't say it was racism, but it is dedintely out of order, and I am also shocked it is on an official website. It was bad enough when some spanish motor sports fans mocked Lewis Hamilton last year for his skin colour, let alone the abasators of the country doing this.

Of course, if it was a photo of Ricky Gervais doing it, hoardes of Guardian readers would be chortling away about how ironic it all was and what a great comedian he is.

Not this one, actually.

Well quite, as I credit you with more taste than that ?

To be honest I think there are more important things to worry about. They probably shouldn't have done it, but only because the PC brigade are likely to get offended. Lets be honest, when it comes to London and the Japanese team are pictured all wearing bowler hats and drinking tea, is anybody here really going to be that bothered? Probably not, but will there be a bunch of japanese people all sitting around saying 'they shouldn't have done that'... Live and let live people.

they shouldn't have done it because of the people who are pc? Are you kidding? That is one of the most ridiculous posts I have read on here for ages, and there is some bloody stiff competition.

To compare it to wearing fecking hats, well, you must be joking, yes?

L
xx

OK, if a load of japanese athletes put white face paint on, and wore bowler hats in a photograph would you be morally outraged?

Agree with Lois there - it's ridiculous. Maybe if they waved chopsticks or had fortune cookies could you compare it with bowler hats and tea. By the way, tea is not the preserve of the English.

I think the Spanish do need to do something about the way they present themselves and to fight racism - their football crowds still do monkey chants at any black footballers!

Has this happened or are you asking hypothetically?

Most Japanese people I've seen are almost as pale as the English - would be very unlikely to wear white face paint.

Yes, because wearing bowler hats and drinking tea is the same as a physical feature. What a really silly post.

I find this very distasteful too and don't really think it should be looked on as a silly joke, but then maybe I'm just part of the PC bridage too.

Well they are going to find it hard to grow taller, wider and make their eyes rounder aren't they?

Japanese are pale, but much yellower in colour than your average white person.

My point is if you were japanese would you really be offended? It's a physical feature they have, their isn't anything 'wrong' with that feature.

To change the comparison slightly, if a japanese or African olympic team put on white face paint for the london olympics, would you really be upset by it?

China, Brian, China.

Still all those slanty-eyed foreigners are the same, no?

Of course it's stupid to mock people for their physical characteristics. I wonder how happy the Spaniards would have been had the participants in the Barcelona Games turned up wearing huge sombreros, carrying straw donkeys and shoutuing "ole Manuel" at every opportunity?

This kind of comment really bugs me the "haven't you got anything more to worry about" type sneering. Maybe you are only capable of being bothered about 1 thing that's going on in the world at a time, but plenty of other people can still be concerned about war, starvation, famine, murders and yet still not be happy about this kind of thing.

I've not actually watched any of it or read a paper in months, didn't have a clue where it was going on. The only news I was interesting in seeing on the net is russia invading georgia, a whole bigger issue than some athletes having a laugh.

OK, if any 'feckin oriental person where to put white face paint on would you be offended and please stop avoiding the question!

wss. its a really poor arguement

if a child was doing this in the playround they'd be pulled up on it, why shouldn't these so called adults and ambassadors for their country?

Err, yes I would be. Racism is racism, however "lighthearted" it might be. People like you are the types who think that anything is OK, as long as it's meant in jest. Well, it's not. Do you read The Sun? Or perhaps The Daily Mail?

i personally wouldn't be offended, but i'd think they were being a bit stooooopid

I'm capable about being bothered about lots of things, I just don't think this is a particularly big issue in the scale of all things that wrong with the world. It is however an easy target, lets face it, it's a lot easier ticking off a bunch of athletes than it is reigning in a foreign superpower or putting their hand in their pocket to actually do something about starving kids or whatever.

Hey roobarb, just because I don't think this is a big deal doesn't mean I'm 'snearing' I'm not, I just don't see what the fuss is all about. Doesn't make me a bad person, just one who isn't offended that easily.

No...but then western white people, specifically British, have not been racially identified, mocked or abused down the years. However, the stereotype of a slanty-eyed, yellow, oriental etc etc has been used in a derogatory manner.

What you're suggesting is the equivalent of saying it's ok to use the term paki as it's short for pakistani and you're just describing someone for what they are. It's a hugely derogatory term.

Are you really this naive or blinkered as to not be able to see how offensive this is?

Fair enough if it doesn't bother you, but why comment on those people who it does bother? That's sneering. Just because we find it unacceptable, it doesn't mean we're part of the "PC brigade" - and do you know what? I'd rather be labelled PC than be considered ignorant anyway. <shrug>

Bastards! Somebody should put bloody mince in their paella.

Here's the thing though Brian, your point could maybe be intelligently argued - is it correct of one group of people to impose its morality on another and in doing so are we simply extending a different type of middle class / politically correct colonialism that made us so very popular in previous centuries?

However, if you're seriously claiming not to be aware that the Olympics are currently being held in China and that your interest in the Russo/Georgian situation is a much more valid and serious one, then you're obviously not the man to make that argument.

Also, and in getting in to this with you I realise I'm on a hiding to nothing, not only would it be unlikely that Japanese/Chinese athletes would behave in the way you describe as I sense that they're somehow more disciplined than that. And if they did, no I wouldn't be offended by their action as I can't really think of a shorthand for "Britishness" that depends so heavily on a physical characteristic as slanty eyes.

or 'chinky' and say its just a name for food ?

brian, i'm not offended by this picture either, but i have enough empathy to realise thats probably because i happen to be white. however i can see it from an asian person's POV and see why others would be.

No, I wouldn't call somebody from Pakastani a paki, but I would call a Black person 'Black' because it's descriptive. There is nothing wrong with being Black, there is nothing wrong with being oriental and us britsh aren't racially identified because lets be honest, we are mongrels, we've been invaded by just about every race over the years.

What is with the police and all this IC1, IC2 and IC3 rubbish, can't they just say 'it was two White/Black/Asian/blue with purple spot guys that robbed the post office?

My point is 'I don't see what the fuss is about'. It's not ignorant because I disagree with anybody, for anybody to think that would actually be quite arrogant, sort of assumes they have the right view and any others who have different must therefore be ignorant.

Right I'm off to move on with the rest of my life before Baron Greenback and la psycho join in, I just know they will...

where's that come from? ?

its just a code word. we love 'em. like us saying we're code 4 when we're on a meal break. or that a burglary is a 40 420