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Heard the one about the Barclaycard chief?
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
"A Barclaycard executive has been forced to quit after making an insulting remark about Muslims. Marc Howells, one of the company's leading figures, left his £200,000-a-year job following the tasteless quip during a staff meeting as he discussed quarterly figures. Colleagues were stunned when he said: "The results were like Muslims - some were good, some were Shi'ite." Offended members of staff complained to senior bosses about the "wholly inappropriate" comment." Click here for more details.
I must admit that I did laugh briefly at that joke,although it is in pretty poor taste. But his resignation seems unnecessary. Why am I again of the view that, had he made a joke about Christians, he would still be in his job now? Or indeed, most other religions? Why is it okay to take the piss out of one religion, yet wholly out of order to take the piss out of another?
Another reason his resignation wasn't required is this. A couple of months ago, there was a hoo-hah in the business world, about a manager who, at a corporation conference used the expression "n*gger in the woodpile", a reference to the days of slavery, in which potential black slaves would hide themselves in piles of wood in order to avoid their fate. Just saying the word "sorry" meant he kept his job! (I'll try to get a link to that particular story)
Does this mean: Racism = okay, jokes about Islam = not okay?
I must admit that I did laugh briefly at that joke,although it is in pretty poor taste. But his resignation seems unnecessary. Why am I again of the view that, had he made a joke about Christians, he would still be in his job now? Or indeed, most other religions? Why is it okay to take the piss out of one religion, yet wholly out of order to take the piss out of another?
Another reason his resignation wasn't required is this. A couple of months ago, there was a hoo-hah in the business world, about a manager who, at a corporation conference used the expression "n*gger in the woodpile", a reference to the days of slavery, in which potential black slaves would hide themselves in piles of wood in order to avoid their fate. Just saying the word "sorry" meant he kept his job! (I'll try to get a link to that particular story)
Does this mean: Racism = okay, jokes about Islam = not okay?
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
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Comments
People talk about PC from the government, but tbh, it's always private companies that are more careful to be politically correct. People on TV in this country have far more freedom to say what they want than American TV for example. Jeremy Clarkson would never be allowed to say the things he says when advertisers were the ones the BBC had to please, for example. Case in point: Bill Hicks got cut from an American TV programme for doing a pro-choice set. And the reason? Didn't want to upset a particular advertiser.
The joke did make me chuckle though
There was a joke on a show here being showed on BBC that used that "Sh'itte meaning shite" joke and nothing was said of it so I doubt the sacking had anything really to do with racism.
AS said, if it was about Christians or Pagans or something no one would of given a shit
Indeed.
'How were the results ?'
'Well it was like Good Friday, some were ok a few got crucified.'
Doubt he'd of been sacked for that.
These kinda jokes are quite lame though... where a perfectly good word in one language means something vulgar/offensive in another language.
Though people might ask where the punchline was...
im sure something similar was used on the omid djalili show
What has being left wing got to do with it? It's common sense, if you can't see the difference between say a black person using the N word and white person then you are the basket case.
Because they are trying to get us to use public transport, and in the process getting the bus themselves, and are scared of it blowing up?
Haha, are you kidding me? It's the religious conservatives that invented the concept of offence. In fact, when you hear about anything that offends muslims, do you know who they're worried about offending? It's not the liberal muslims, it's the extreme Islamic conservatives. Either way, there will always be idiots like this on both "sides" of the political spectrum. But crying offence at the slightest opportunity is certainly one of the original tricks of the religious right. The second it lost the power to burn you alive as a punishment, that is.
Go into a Gay club and start making jokes about gays and you'll be out quicker than someone making a rude quip about the Queen in the your local Conservative Club
Which one?
So its alright to offend royalists, but not gays.
Thanks, for making my point :thumb:
You said offending the queen, not offending royalists. If by you taking the piss out of the queen, royalists take offence, that's not your fault. So there is a difference between the two, because only one is directly offending certain people. But I would say that it is more acceptable to take the piss out of royalists than homosexuals, because being a royalist is merely a political position up for debate, whereas being gay isn't. Well actually, I would say that it's acceptable to take the piss out of the beliefs, rather than the person, because that's just cuntish.
I'm not sure that's true. I think you just hear the loud minority of people who get their knickers in a twist about being offended; you don't hear - what i suspect to be - the majority of people who don't erect an effigy every they take offence to something.
And for the record, I don't see it strange or wrong if someone makes such joke and gets kicked out. A private club is a private club and you're supposed to abide by its rules. If they want you to leave, you leave. End of.
Though for the record, if someone told a serious of homphobic jokes in a gay nightclub, they could hardly be surprised by any negative reaction. More often than not, however, gays are quite happy to take the piss out of themselves.
It was me rather than SG - but also for the record I'm not perplexed about either being thrown out. However, you get offended about one but not the other. And my point is that most people are quite happy for others to be offended, but not themselves (and will make excuses about why it's alright to offend one group, but not the other).
Personally I think anyone who deliberately sets out just to offend people for the sake of being offensive is a cunt whether they're making homophobic jokes in a gay club or insulting the Queen in a Conservative Club. And I have no problem with the club throwing them out.
(Your avatar and that of FG's are too close in colour themes, damn it :mad: