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Prince Harry in racist insults shocker

Full details being published in the Screws on Sunday. Apparently calls one cadet 'our little Paki friend', and another 'a fucking raghead' or 'fuck me, you look like a raghead (depending on what media outlet you read).

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Prince-Harry-Racism-Row-Prince-Filmed-Making-Racist-Insults-News-Of-The-World-Says/Article/200901215200951?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15200951_Prince_Harry_Racism_Row%3A_Prince_Filmed_Making_Racist_Insults%2C_News_Of_The_World_Says


Well, Prince Philip will be proud I guess...
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think this poster sums up my views on faux moral outrage

    http://vbulletin.thesite.org/showpost.php?p=2208040&postcount=3
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think this poster sums up my views on faux moral outrage

    http://vbulletin.thesite.org/showpost.php?p=2208040&postcount=3
    :D Very good.

    I for one don't think anyone is necessarily a racist for using those words- it depends on the context and circumstances. Then again I've been saying that for a when debating similar comments made by Spain's football team coach a few years ago.

    Another argument is whether someone of Harry's position should be a little more careful of what he says...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Maybe it's just me but I've noticed many of the posts these days seem to involve people being offended or outraged at one thing or another. What's the deal? Seems to me folks need to cowboy the hell up.

    "Sticks and stones may break my bones...."
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Im suprised SG didnt get to this one first.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aladdin wrote: »
    :D Very good.

    Couldn't resist
    Another argument is whether someone of Harry's position should be a little more careful of what he says...

    Possibly, but he was in a private environment, with people he thought were friends. I'm more outraged that someone (presumably an officer in HM forces) thinks so little of both his oath of allegiance and camraderie towards his comrades that he feels it all right to sell tittle tattle to the News of the Screws
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    I think this poster sums up my views on faux moral outrage

    http://vbulletin.thesite.org/showpost.php?p=2208040&postcount=3

    :lol:

    I don't think this is anything to get worked up over.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    not really a shocker if youve got on the bus to town recently, he didnt mean it offensivly, just your average young person having a laugth exept this time their's a **** with a camera phone and a whole load of press baying for his blood.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well the video was from 3 years ago, I'm sure he's grown up a lot in the last 3 years and actually sorta been to war since then so I'd expect he's matured a lot more over the last 3 years
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This is literally a fuss over absolutely nothing. Firstly, any retard could tell you (though obviously not the retards at the NOTW, it seems) that "raghead" is a term that's widely used in the military to refer to the Taliban. Just as expected, every single rent-a-gob - mostly from the extreme Left of politics as ever - are all out there wanking themselves in faux pas outrage about this non-story.

    According to Pravda, we have some self-important man called Mohammed Shafiq - he's the director of Muslim youth organisation the Ramadhan Foundation, don't you know - saying "I am deeply shocked and saddened at Prince Harry's racism. Prince Harry as a public figure must ensure that he promotes equality and tolerance...". Get your facts rights, you fucking halfwit. Firsty, the last time I checked, Muslims weren't a race in their own right. Secondly, Prince Harry made no reference to Muslims in there whatsoever - if a bunch of self-important prats like you want to play the victim card again, that's your problem. And thirdly, why the fuck should public figures promote equality and tolerance? Is there a law saying that they must do this? No there fucking isn't. If a public figure wanted to preach bigotry and intolerance, that would be a matter for them. Let them be condemned for what they actually said, not your warped interpretation of it.

    Back to the Beeb's article above for the next rent-a-gob. Graham Smith from Republic, a group that "campaigns for an elected head of state". What would do without BBC news reporters who graduated from the University of the Bleedin' Obvious, eh? Apparently, he said "Harry Wales has not only demonstrated how he is unfit to be a possible future Head of State, he has shown he isn't even fit to be a leader in the armed forces. It is high time Harry was stripped of his title and privileges and withdrew from public life."

    Shut up, you contemptuous little twat. If you think that Prince Harry's non-insult was bad, try to remember what else has happened in the military. And even a republican like you should remember that the royals have contributed to the military on countless occasions - Prince Andrew fighting in the Falklands on behalf of his country, for example. How many times have you fought for your country, Graham Smith? It would be far more appropriate if sanctimonious cunts like him "withdrew from public life", to use his own words. Now then, if attention-seeking wankers such as Trevor Phillips were offended by something I said, I would take it as a badge of honour. If I had the likes of Graham Smith saying I should withdraw from public life, I would dedicate the rest of my life to pissing him off. What a man calls his mates is between the two of them - it's not their business, nor is it any of mine.

    It's a damn pity that Clarence House felt the need to make an apology on behalf of Prince Harry. The fact is that when they were approached by the snakes at the NOTW, the reply should have been along the lines of "Prince Harry made these remarks over two years ago. After due consideration, he will be making no comment about this story and he will certainly be making no apology. All these self-righteous cunts can go fuck themselves."

    EDIT: I've just thought of two other points. Why did the NOTW run this story? I'm sure it has nothing to do with Rupert Murdoch's republican sympathies, after all. And secondly, it's almost impossible to imagine a News of the World reader using terms like "Paki" and "raghead", isn't it? :rolleyes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Although I don't condone the use of such language in general, he was clearly using the offending word in a jokey and affectionate way when talking about a comrade. It was a little immature and not too impressive, that's as far as it goes with me.

    What's making me angry is that the wonderful British media is choosing to make a big deal about it - with BBC 24 giving it all the coverage - when we've got a really bad conflict going on between Israel and Palestine, and the Government and banks are ripping us off big time :(

    And since Prince Harry secretly fought last year my high opinion of him will be hard to shake.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My straight friends call me names that would make the PC brigade's hair curl - but I give as good as I get. We're friends. We take the mick. And on a number of occasions, they have stood up for me in a way that only true friends would do. When you consider what else is going on in the world, why the fuck this has made front page news is beyond me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Because tabloid newspapers are amoral cesspits interested only in selling as much copy as possible, and will milk any such story to its maximum extent while claiming to be acting for noble causes?

    I do feel sorry for Harry. To be painted as a racist by the the likes of News International tabloids and the Mail and Express titles must feel like being lectured about child welfare by King Herod.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I find it disgusting and offensive that the prince would use that term, that anyone would. I don't care for arguements of 'it was between friends' made in a jokey way, when words do carry meaning and denegration deeper than their surface literal definition. He was not reclaiming the word to lower its insulting impact, he was using it and reinforcing its racist meaning.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Does this mean using the word brummie to describe people from birmigham is offensive too?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MrG wrote: »
    Does this mean using the word brummie to describe people from birmigham is offensive too?
    No.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    I find it disgusting and offensive that the prince would use that term, that anyone would. I don't care for arguements of 'it was between friends' made in a jokey way, when words do carry meaning and denegration deeper than their surface literal definition. He was not reclaiming the word to lower its insulting impact, he was using it and reinforcing its racist meaning.

    I would say that he was silly to use the terms, especially on camera, but hardly 'disgusting and offensive' seeing that his comments WERE amongst friends and he never expected the film footage to be laid out bare for the world to see.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think that doing something in 'private' or amongst friends makes it more acceptable.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think, Katralla, that it has to be looked at in context. :) As I said before, I get a bit of stick from my friends but it's done with a laugh and a smile. They laugh 'with' me, rather than 'at' me.

    I know he ought to have known better but I don't think one can associate his comments made in jest with the same disparaging remarks that might be made by a BNP member, for example.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/

    This chap, as he says used to be in the Army. Calling your mate "Paki" is just as unacceptable to them as anyone else, and using it as an excuse, which is what Harry is doing is a cop-out.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Teagan wrote: »
    I think, Katralla, that it has to be looked at in context. :) As I said before, I get a bit of stick from my friends but it's done with a laugh and a smile. They laugh 'with' me, rather than 'at' me.

    I know he ought to have known better but I don't think one can associate his comments made in jest with the same disparaging remarks that might be made by a BNP member, for example.

    Exactly.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Exactly Paki is short for Pakistani..so Brit is short for British OH NO I R RACIST ?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Exactly Paki is short for Pakistani..so Brit is short for British OH NO I R RACIST ?
    My understanding is that the term "Paki" gets its racist connotations because it was used insultingly by British natives when large numbers of South Asian immigrants moved to the UK during the 1950s and 1960s.

    Mind you, if people think that what Harry said is bad, they really should try watching some comedy shows from the 1970s. Probably the most well-known example is Till Death Us Do Part. Many jokes that main character Alf Garnett came out with were incredibly racist - there's no way any comedian could get away with that today. However, what's rarely noted is that the sitcom actually mocked Garnett's racism. There were also shows such as Love Thy Neighbour. Back then, they attracted many more millions of viewers than most TV programmes do today. But most of them simply couldn't be repeated because TV channels would be beseiged by complaints if they tried.

    There's one episode of Only Fools and Horses where this is apparent. It's the middle of an extremely cold winter, and Uncle Albert comes back into the flat. In the opening line of the episode, he says "Paki shop won't let us have nothing on credit. Says it's against his culture.". Whenever this episode is shown on UKTV Gold nowadays, the first word is always bleeped out.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Exactly Paki is short for Pakistani..so Brit is short for British OH NO I R RACIST ?

    That is not the same thing.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    That is not the same thing.

    I was going to say exactly the same thing as Graham. Imo the word Paki is used in short for a Pakistani so how is it any different then referring to a British person as a Brit? I just don't see how either of them are offensive.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It is offensive, and I think "Jap" is also offensive but I'm not sure why. What about "pom", is that offensive?

    When I was a child it was pretty common/normal to talk about the "paki shop", when I grew up I realised it's not an acceptable thing to say.

    Some horrible woman called my ex a "paki" once, when she cut him up in a car park and he beeped at her. It just seems to be a catch all term for anyone with darker skin than average - he wasn't even from pakistan, silly bitch.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    To diverge from the Harry comment and throw in my views on the offensiveness of the word Paki.

    Words are offensive because of the social connotation, the way they have been used in history, to degrade and insult.

    I assume people who say they don't think paki is offensive would happily walk up to an Indian or Pakistani man or woman in the street and call them a paki? Of course you wouldn't or if you would you'd know you were being offensive.

    Paki is a term used by British newspapers and comedians from the 1960s onwards, (following massive attempts to encorage post-colonial immigration) to insult a whole wave of immigrants. It's been linked to headlines talking about 'Why Pakis smell so bad' jokes about 'what do you call a million dead Pakis'?

    The idea that it's a short hand term to describe people from a particular country makes no sense, as outside of trying to claim it from racists it has no context or recognition amongst the Pakistani community. Brummy is a word that would be widely recognised by Brummies to describe themselves. Paki isn't. it's a term imposed upon a wide group of people to help degrade them.

    Used to describe a people or group it's always been about racist language and insults. Even it's comparison to negro or nigger doesn't hold water. There is nothing to reclaim. It was always and always will be an insult.

    Just to make another point, the word Paki isn't a word to describe Pakistan - that was just a context to be used as an excuse. It's actually the urdu word for 'pure'. Which makes it's deliberate link to jokes about and hygiene of immigrants even more insidious.

    However if people don't realise why it's offensive then simply ask someone who is Indian, Bangledeshi, Pakistani or Sri Lankan what they link of the word, especially someone who lived in the UK in the 60's, 70's or 80's. But please make sure you make it clear beforehand why you are asking.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for that information JimV makes it much clearer as to why such words are offensive.

    If I were ever to use to term in conversation though I wouldn't be using it as a derogatory terms for another, it would be used as a shorter version of the word Pakistani, however, yes like you said I wouldn't say it to someone of such race due to the stigma attached. However, in my heart it wouldn't be aimed to cause offence more of a shorter version of the title! I have nothing against people that are a different race to myself nor would I treat them any different.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    On a separate incident, Harry's dad Charles has found himself at the centre of another row after it was revealed he and some of his mates call an Indian friend 'Sooty': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7826701.stm

    While I don't think Charles is a racist either, I really have to wonder what fucking century the Royal Family and their upper class chums live in... :rolleyes:
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Aladdin wrote: »
    While I don't think Charles is a racist either, I really have to wonder what fucking century the Royal Family and their upper class chums live in... :rolleyes:

    I think it just case of being seriously out of touch as you say.

    Charles is well know for his intrest and respect of other cultures. I don't think he's racist at all. His old man is.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    To be fair at first hearing of this I thought this had just happened. When I learnt it has happened years ago I was a bit shocked.

    Its by no means acceptable, but in all fairness shows how low these papers are willing and often do go. What is the point in brining up something like this from years back?
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