Jayb,

I am not offended. Just amused that anyone could be taken in by such an unlikely story and that some pretend familiarity with the word.

Terry Crews in White Chicks, who loves white girls and hates Jigaboos,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r_iZ8-x75s

"Do Gooder, Politically Correct White femi-Nazi sicko..."

And Jayb wins today's prize for rabbiting vacuous slogans. Which just goes to show that a person can go through the motions all day long, quite successfully, and not engage their brain at all.

Arf, arf, arf.....

Dear Holle,

Funny post thank you. I too owned a golly w0g doll and sang about catching n1ggers by the toe. Ah the innocence of youth. I don't think either of us were racist.

The problem is it does come and bite you on the bum. At a party many years ago I had invited a number of friends over, some of whom didn't know each other all that well. I had a good Ghanian mate, a top bloke both charming and polite to a fault. Toward the end of the evening we were trying to sort out who would be sleeping where and he was insistant on taking a couch rather than one of the beds but another mate was arguing toss with him. One poor woman stepped up to settle the matter with the age old eeny-meeny method and yes to the horror of us all sailed right through the rhyme, then the realisation stuck her and she blotted in shock. My mate was very gracious about it and tried his best to make her feel better which in some ways didn't help.

While most of us were certainly not racist as primary school kids these racist sayings are a burden that now we carry as adults knowing they can unthinkingly be used to hurt others. I don't think children should have that impost and as adults we should do our best to prevent it happening.

While on the topic of primary school kids not realising what racism entails until they get older this clip is relevant. Warning there is some pretty heavy language but delivered in a very humorous manner. Still the message is there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PToqVW4n86U

When I was a little girl I loved the Epandenondas stories.

I particularly envied him his mother,and wistfully wished my mother was just like that.

'While most of us were certainly not racist as primary school kids these racist sayings are a burden that now we carry as adults knowing they can unthinkingly be used to hurt others.'

Something is racist if someone is offended on account of their racial identity. As I keep saying, according to the good professor, it doesn't matter the intentions of the adult, or innocence of the 4 year old child.

Similarly I understand Poirot isn't interested in whether the girl actually thinks her race is superior to Goodes (ie racist), it is how Goodes perceives the comment is all that matters, and is enough to label the girl as a racist.

'I don't think children should have that impost and as adults we should do our best to prevent it happening.'

I see this as problematic. The very act of explaining the rhyme to children introduces the concept of racism to innocents, puts the seed in their mind to treat people differently, and perpetuates the sorry mess. Teaching a young black kid that he is a victim based on what happened to his ancestors, and that he should take offense when he didn't originally, when he has no cross to bear in these more enlightened times I don't think is helpful either.

Just like telling 7 year old boys they are misogynist oppressors, or that they have male privileged or that girls are perpetual victims helps gender relations.

The way I see it, we will continue to perpetuate all these injustices if every kid is guilty of sins of the father, and is taught to dedicate their lives to tip toeing around some other kids who has appropriated historical grievances of his ancestors to make him feel he is a victim too.

When is the expiry date? What percentage of blood? How strongly must one reasonably identify with a culture to have everyone else watch every connotation of everything they say for fear of being labelled as someone who sees their race as superior.

At some stage, it's time to bury the hatchet, and I don't believe that includes making oneself feel guilty for having a golly w0g. I don't agree with

"If you've
had your consciousness raised in any way, you'll know that
shame is not an optional ingredient in the process."

I refuse to feel shame. I am not responsible for a society I was not a part of, or for remnants of that society, and I wish every child to be born with a clean slate.

When we stop treating people as individuals, and start appropriating an eternity of historical wrongs to every child of any group, how can the world ever move on?

Eventually I reckon it's better when the word has lost all meaning, rather than have the meaning hashed over for every new generation, re-charging the word and the conflict.

Why is it ok to call someone a witch, but not a n1gger. How far back do we go? As a person with aboriginal blood, I say it's ok. All is forgiven, lets move on, call me whatever you like, as I have not experienced the oppression of my ancestors, and I don't feel the need to appropriate their hardships to become a victim.