Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Racism & Americans

Whoa!! Hold your water!! Before you all pelt me with indignant emails *g*. That header doesn't mean Americans are racist (though, like everywhere else on the planet, I'm sure a fair few are). No, it means I'm going to start with racism as a topic, then move on to prejudice in general, then on to a specific prejudice - about Americans.

It was the recent fuss about the HRH Prince of Wales and his son Prince Harry that made me start thinking. (In case you haven't heard the British Press have got their knickers in a twist because 3 years ago, before he went to war and grew up a bit, Harry is heard calling an Army friend Paki. Following that little revelation the press then threw a wobbly on hearing that Prince Charles affectionately nicknames a polo-club pal as Sooty.

I really don't get the Sooty furore. When I was growing up Sooty was a little, yellow, teddy-bear glove puppet with a best friend called Sweep. Sooty was never a euphemism for or insult to or even reference about any non-white. And the pal says it's just an affectionate nickname and it doesn't bother him. So wtf is the problem?? Paki, yeah, now that's different. Ok you can ask if Brit isn't an insulting shortening of British why is Paki insulting?? It's just a short form of Pakistani. It would be nice if that was all it was. Unfortunately (like the N word) its use in this country has been, almost exclusively, as a racist epithet. It's not the word itself that's the problem. And that brings me to my next point. It isn't words that are racist or bigoted. It's the people who use them. It's the way they're used. If an African-American uses the N word nobody reels in horror and says he's racist. But if anybody else...

Take Irish jokes. The person I learnt all mine from was my great-uncle Seamus. Born, grew up and eventually died in the same small town in the Republic. Never left, even to go on holiday. Said he lived in the finest place this side of heaven so why go anywhere else. His favourite joke - every single time we visited. How do you confuse an Irishman?? Put 3 spades against the wall and ask him to take his pick. Then he'd laugh like a hyena. Would I get away with telling that joke in public - in my broad cockney accent?? No fear. But why shouldn't I be able to?? I'm half Irish.

We throw isms about too easily these days. Once upon a time we could tell the difference between affection and hatred. Between gentle fun and downright bigotry. We could laugh at ourselves. Now we scream with outrage the moment we even think someone might be not PC. My uncle Seamus would be disappointed. He loved a good laugh.

Now I promised you my prejudice. Not racism please. American isn't a race. I was brought up to hate Americans. I was brought up to think they were liars and cowards. I despised Americans. Until I was in my 20s and started travelling the world. And meeting Americans. I made a couple of good friends. And I learned not to judge the many by the few. Then came the internet. And I made a hell of a lot of American friends. I'll tell you why I hated Americans tomorrow - coz I've gone on long enough. Who?? Me?? Tease?? *g*

Ze

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