Tomorrow's Daily Mail headline

[David Bailey]

BBC NEWS | Education | Three Little Pigs 'too offensive'

Hilarious, in a depressing kind of way...

[Crazy Shark]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

BBC NEWS | Education | Three Little Pigs 'too offensive'

Hilarious, in a depressing kind of way...

What is this world coming to Everyone knows the story of the 3 little pigs and it shouldn't offend anyone!!!

[ducasi]

I understand what they mean by they "could not recommend this product to the Muslim community".

This did not mean it was racist, just not suitable for all cultures.

Sounds like someone is kicking up a fuss about nothing.

[Isis]

Did Sarah Green have any involvement in the 'Three Little Cowboy Builders' project by any chance?

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by ducasi

I understand what they mean by they "could not recommend this product to the Muslim community".

This did not mean it was racist, just not suitable for all cultures.

Sounds like someone is kicking up a fuss about nothing.

Hardly nothing, as the excuses for their decision are nonsense.

There were a few daft bits but this one stands out...

But judges at this year's Bett Award said that they had "concerns about the Asian community and the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

first of all - what have they got against the Asian community ? all asians Ive met are perfectly nice Unless they have concerns that Asians themselves have concerns with pigs - which as far as i know they don't - unless they're muslim of course - so why don't they just state that? Is even mentioning they don't want to offend muslims not alowed too ? That sounds like paranoia to me. Way to alienate people and make them dislike a culture/religion - well done PC decision makers

[Baruch]

The way I see it, multiculturalism can only work if it is not to the detriment of the host culture. I doubt most Muslims would be concerned about the presence of pigs in a book they have every right not to read, so why are they being used as an excuse? "Multiculturalism" these days seems to have morphed into the sort of attitude that says, "We will not offend anybody - oh, except those from the host culture."

This sort of attitude is far more likely to lead to bad feeling and resentment than anything else, in my opinion.

And I don't even read the Daily Mail.

[Barry Shnikov]

Multiculturalism will never work, as long as it is practised by people who try to secong-guess the minority cultures. Just get on with things, and they'll let you know what's upsetting.

It's like the 'Happy Christmas' thing. Where's the moslem who's offended by it?

We have ONE culture in this country, but it changes as time goes on to accommodate people from very different backgrounds.

[Baruch]

Originally Posted by Barry Shnikov

We have ONE culture in this country

I'm going off at a tangent here, but if by "this country" you mean the UK, that's just not the case. If you mean England, however, it may (debatably) be true.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by Baruch

I'm going off at a tangent here, but if by "this country" you mean the UK, that's just not the case. If you mean England, however, it may (debatably) be true.

I think he's right - I wouldn't call Welsh, Scottish, Cornish etc.. separate cultures but different aspects of the same. At least in this context where we are talking about people from other countries with a substantially different history.

[Baruch]

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

I think he's right - I wouldn't call Welsh, Scottish, Cornish etc.. separate cultures but different aspects of the same. At least in this context where we are talking about people from other countries with a substantially different history.

Similar, but not the same. Particularly, though not exclusively, on linguistic grounds - Welsh and Gaelic still being living community languages.

[StokeBloke]

This is suitable copy for any Daily Mail reader. I do not see the problem. If you read the Mail, you deserve all you get...

[SteveK]

Originally Posted by StokeBloke

This is suitable copy for any Daily Mail reader. I do not see the problem. If you read the Mail, you deserve all you get...

(although Express readers are just as bad. They're not newspapers, and not fun to read like the Sun/Mirror so why do people buy them?)

Just out of interest, why does it matter that pigs are offensive to Muslims, whilst the fact that Jews find pork equally unacceptable doesn't seem to matter? This isn't proper multiculturism is it?

[David Bailey]

Hee, I'm psychic!

Actually, the book sounds a bit dumb. But the excuses for rejection are really dumb.

I notice no-one's stepping-up to defend the poor building community - who are probably traumatised by being stereotyped, I reckon they'll all need months of counselling to recover from the emotional damage done to their poor little egos - maybe that's why DTS has been quiet?

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by SteveK

, and not fun to read like the Sun/Mirror

Fun? Are you some kind of masochist

Just out of interest, why does it matter that pigs are offensive to Muslims, whilst the fact that Jews find pork equally unacceptable doesn't seem to matter? This isn't proper multiculturism is it?

Its PC multiculturalism - avoiding offending people who are likely to complain.

[straycat]

Originally Posted by StokeBloke

This is suitable copy for any Daily Mail reader. I do not see the problem. If you read the Mail, you deserve all you get...

Have another article then -'You can't name your restaurant Fat Buddha because it offends Buddhists says council | the Daily Mail'

Mind you - that one had a happy ending - the restaurant got to keep its name, and the publicity earned by the 'controversy' has kept it pretty well packed ever since it opened. Really must try it one of these days.

[stewart38]

Originally Posted by ducasi

Sounds like someone is kicking up a fuss about nothing.

I always wondered why I read the Daily Mail

Makes sence now

Originally Posted by straycat264

Have another article then -'You can't name your restaurant Fat Buddha because it offends Buddhists says council | the Daily Mail'

Mind you - that one had a happy ending - the restaurant got to keep its name, and the publicity earned by the 'controversy' has kept it pretty well packed ever since it opened. Really must try it one of these days.

Interesting, more back ground

Buddhist Channel | Buddhism News, Headlines | Europe | A British controversy over naming a Chinese restaurant as "Fat Buddha"

I guess in the west 'fat' is a derogatory term

[Yliander]

Originally Posted by ducasi

I understand what they mean by they "could not recommend this product to the Muslim community"

This did not mean it was racist, just not suitable for all cultures.

Sounds like someone is kicking up a fuss about nothing.

why not? it's not like the book was about how to cook the pigs? Muslims have fables and the like so stories like the 3 little pigs isn't a completely foreign concept to muslims...

I can understand more them turning it down for the depiction of builders in a bad light

personally it sounds like political correctness gone mad!

[SteveK]

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

Fun? Are you some kind of masochist

I'm quite comfortable in admitting that I used to read the Sun/Mirror/Daily Record occasionally. It wasn't worth buying them, but the CAD designers in the office where I used to work used to buy them, and they would let me borrow them for 5 minutes for a quick read through. There's no real important news in there (unless you count details of Jordan's breast reduction as important news), but a bit of fun for a short time. They also often include photos which I considered had considerable artistic merit.

[John S]

Future Daily Mail headlines - watch this space:

"Cinderella banned because of offence to people with ugly sisters"

"Pinocchio banned because of offence to people with long noses"

"Aladdin banned because of offence to people called Jeanie (?)"

"Alice in Wonderland banned because of offence to people with hats"

"Beauty and the Beast banned because of offence to ugly people"

"The Emperor's New Clothes banned because of offence to naturalists"

"Gingerbread Man banned because of offence to red-headed people"

"Goldilocks banned because of offence to bears (and gluttons)"

"Jack and the Beanstalk banned because of offence to tall people"

"Little Mermaid banned because of offence to legless people"

"Little Red Riding Hood banned because of offence to dead grannies"

"Peter Pan banned because of offence to boys who wear tights"

"Princess and the Pea banned because of offence to insomniacs"

"Puss in Boots banned because of offence to shoe fetishists"

"Rapunzel banned because of offence to long-haired people"

"Rumpelstiltskin banned because of offence to short people"

"Sindbad banned because of offence to sailors" (And we all know what that is!)

"Sleeping Beauty banned because of offence to narcoleptics"

"Snow White banned because of offence to short people" (again)

"Billy Goats Gruff banned because of offence to animals with sore throats"

"Pied Piper banned because of offence to musicians"

"Tom Thumb banned because of offence to short people" (yet again)

"The Ugly Duckling banned because of offence to trans-species-vestites"

"The Wizard of Oz banned because of offence to hordes of short people (and shoe fetishists again)"

[Barry Shnikov]

Originally Posted by Baruch

I'm going off at a tangent here, but if by "this country" you mean the UK, that's just not the case. If you mean England, however, it may (debatably) be true.

You make a good point. I'm not even sure now if it's right to say there is only one culture in England. I mean, how many points of similarity are there between Lambeth and Keswick? Or between Kensington and Toxteth?

We have a - perhaps ethos is the right word? - that police can't torture, that sick people are entitled to treatment, that telling lies for any other reason than being unwilling to hurt people is always wrong, that if you get the shitty end of the stick you have to deal with it rather than simply try and deflect it on to somebody else, that people who make social, political, business decisions must do so without being influenced by inapporopriate person interests, that other things being equal the strong must protect the weak and this extends to animals - things like that. That's the sort of thing I meant by saying 'one culture'.

Most of that extends to Scotland, wouldn't you agree?