big-will 7 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 When I go back to the UK and watch the news on tv etc I am often struck at just how many of the people on there are of ethnic minorities. It sure is way about the % in the town my family live in and I would guess the country as a whole. There seems to be some backlash going on now against all of this which seems to be more potential to create bad feeling. This anti-PC thing seems almost as dangerous as the PC in itself. It seems now on BBC tv they have a presenter who was born with only 1 arm. Quote: A disabled CBeebies presenter has been the victim of a disturbing campaign after parents complained that she was scaring toddlers. They claimed that host Cerrie Burnell - who was born with one arm - is not suitable to appear on the digital children's channel. Miss Burnell and co-presenter Alex Winters took over the popular Do and Discover slot and The Bedtime Hour programme last month. But the decision to hire her has prompted a flurry of complaints to the BBC and on parenting message boards, with some of the posts on the CBeebies website becoming so vicious that they had to be removed. Incredibly, one father said he wanted to ban his daughter from watching the channel because he feared it would give her nightmares. Others claimed that they were forced to discuss difficult issues with their young children before they were ready. One blogger wrote: 'Is it just me, or does anyone else think the new woman presenter on CBeebies may scare the kids because of her disability? 'I didn't want to let my children watch the filler bits on The Bedtime Hour last night because I know it would have played on my eldest daughter's mind and possibly caused sleep problems. And yes, this is a serious post.' Some even accused the BBC of hiring Miss Burnell, 29, because of 'political correctness' and solely to meet employment quotas. One notice board comment read: 'What is scary is the BBC's determination to show " minorities" on CBeebies at every available opportunity! Would love to know some stats on the make-up of the UK now. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 At least Japan isn't caught up in all that PC'ness like the UK is. Somewhere natural in the middle would be just lovely wouldn't it. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 no such thing. My middle would be different to your middle. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Well, yes, obviously... Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 about 34 inches at the moment Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I've got a UK proxy so we can watch BBC on the computer or the Wii. I don't know about Ceebees presenters, but Postman Pat is now multicultural and also has a disabled character in a wheelchair. Its something you do notice if you're used to the 1980s version. Compared to the great mix of people in London and the other big cities, its very little, but compared to the old programme and perhaps the typical Postman Pat village in the Dales somewhere, I can understand people thinking its deliberate and PC. Personally I don't think its such a bad thing, but I do have kids that are half-Asian. Ironically, I would imagine that a good few people who are offended by this kind of thing subscribe to the idea of "British values", the principal one of which is usually "tolerance". No serious newspaper should be quoting "one notice board comment" from any forum. That's just an excuse to write any old crap in the paper. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Do we allow someone with a hideous deformity to present to young kids? I'm talking open sores, huge hunchback, black eyes, twitches, rough voice etc. It is a question of where to draw the line, because it does have to be drawn somewhere - like it or not. I feel sorry for the bbc cos they cant win, either way people gonna moan about it. Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Kids don't discriminate (not really young ones anyway), their parents do. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 that's so true. Everytime I drive my kid to playgroup, I'm cursing a lot of other cars and their drivers. My wife has to tell me to shut up each time. The kid, at his age is picking up everything we do or say. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Originally Posted By: Go Native Kids don't discriminate (not really young ones anyway), their parents do. but on the other hand GN kids are vicious in their peer group. They rag on each other for just the slightest thing and it can often be very nasty Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 in australia i'm slighly put off by the amount of fatties reading and reporting the news. it seemed a few years ago everyone was ridiculously good looking on tv, and we had the whole backlash about unrealistic body types. now, with australia being the most obese nation on the planet, i can't help but think that maybe it's time we have slender people on tv, so that viewers see that as something to aim for, rather than seeing pudgy people on tv and thinking it's ok for them to be overweight. by the way, i'm talking about this from a health perspective, not a body image one Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 He who shouts loudest will win, and that person will change constantly. it will swing back and forth. Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Originally Posted By: Go Native Kids don't discriminate (not really young ones anyway), their parents do. but on the other hand GN kids are vicious in their peer group. They rag on each other for just the slightest thing and it can often be very nasty Only as they get older and have taken on the prejudices of their parents or peers. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: Go Native Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver Originally Posted By: Go Native Kids don't discriminate (not really young ones anyway), their parents do. but on the other hand GN kids are vicious in their peer group. They rag on each other for just the slightest thing and it can often be very nasty Only as they get older and have taken on the prejudices of their parents or peers. perhaps, of course kids will learn behavioural cues from those around them, but I've seen primary school aged kids being really nasty with each other. Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Yeah I remember those days and of course there is always going to be pecking orders worked out. I still can't help but feel a lot of these sorts of behaviours are passed down from kids observing interactions between their parents and other family members. Relating back to the topic I have no problem at all with TV being a little more representative of the real world. In western countries like Aus and the UK we are multicultural, fat and skinny, whole and disabled, straight and gay and just about every other combination you can think of. I think it's a great move, especially on children's programs, to represent this diversity. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Don't really think kids would really notice the lack of an arm unless it was pointed out - I know I never asked why other people were of different colour when I was a kid. Just accepted it for who they were - cue snowdude coming in with his comments about this, like the transvestite conversation :S Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 TIMMY ! Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: Go Native Relating back to the topic I have no problem at all with TV being a little more representative of the real world. In western countries like Aus and the UK we are multicultural, fat and skinny, whole and disabled, straight and gay and just about every other combination you can think of. I think it's a great move, especially on children's programs, to represent this diversity. Either do I but I do think they are OVER repreted. If only a small percentage of your countries population were multicultural, fat and skinny, whole and disabled, straight and gay, then why would you have a large percentage of your presenters representing them? It's purely a PC thing. BTW We have a special TV channel here devoted the ethnic and aboriginal issues. No footy, cricket, bay watch ect. Films, doco's and news from all over the world. It's a great alternative to mainsteam TV. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Straight or gay should have nothing to do with anything. At all. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I'd like to see a cyclops read the news. It would be great. Just concentrate on one eye. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Especially one as hot as this Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 (The one on the right) Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 The number of foreigners in the UK grew by 290,000 in the year to June 2008, according to statistics published today. The figures mean that one in nine people now resident in Britain was born abroad. Official figures show 6.5 million people born overseas were resident in the UK in the year to June 2008, an increase of 290,000 on the year to June 2007. The Annual Population Survey showed 4.1 million foreign nationals resident in the UK in the year to June 2008, compared with 3.8 million in the year to June 2007. There were fall in the number of short-term migrants coming to study for less than 12 months, down 13 per cent to 374,000 for the year to June 2007. Other figures showed in that in the 12 months to September 2008, 720,000 national insurance numbers were allocated to adult foreign nationals, seven per cent down on the previous year. Other figures released by the Home Office showed an increase in applications from asylum seekers from 23,430 to 25,670 in 2008. As revealed in The Daily Telegraph today, there was a steep fall in the numbers of eastern Europeans coming to work in Britain. In the final quarter of last year, 29,000 people came to work in the UK, down from 35,000 in the previous quarter and the lowest level since 2004. Experts have blamed the fall on the recession and the fall in the value of the pound. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I think you'll find that more than 1 in 10 of "British Citizens" are either from (ethnic) Pakistan or India. Legacy of colonialism. Good luck to you. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Originally Posted By: thursday I think you'll find that more than 1 in 10 of "British Citizens" are either from (ethnic) Pakistan or India. Legacy of colonialism. Good luck to you. Where do they all fit? Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts