Danny Baker? Racist or Misguided Fool?

[Cyclone]

3 hours ago, Branyy said:

I see the problem in people who project their own racist perception (monkey = black) onto someone else's intention.

It does rather have a history though...  It's not really that far out there.

 

I don't think the guy was being racist, but I can see why people might see it that way.

[prince al]

18 hours ago, Baron99 said:

Danny Baker? Racist or misguided fool?  I'll go with both. 

 

Never really cared much for him but what a strange way to end your BBC career & then trying to justify everything by telling reporters that you had no idea that a Prince Harry & Meghan Markle had just had a baby when there's been wall to wall media coverage for the past few days? 

 

So the social media post quoting their two names, alongside an old black & white photo of a couple holding hands with a baby chimp with a supposedly 'funny' quote about them leaving hospital with their new baby was mere coincidence? 

 

However having lost his job, the media will now be falling over themselves to pay him for his side of the story.  Maybe his old mate, Chris Evans will give him a job? 

Both!

[Flexo]

Meh. It's like when Jeremy Clarkson punched that guy. It's a convenient way to sack someone whose best years are long past and who has become a bit of an embarrassment to keep around.

[Brooker11]

This thread doesn't seem to have as many rabid accusers as Twitter who will only see one side of the story no matter what, the guy isn't racist he's championed many a black musician in his long career, he has a running "joke" about posting animals wearing clothes and he's likened the royals who he's not a fan of as a circus, I saw the tweet as a combo of both and skipped past what i saw as a fairly lame joke. I was quite surprised to learn the next day that he had been sacked for it, it was very badly misjudged but he's just had a career upturn with a tv series and stage play he's hardly going to deliberately post something to undo all that. foolish yes, racist not a chance.

[boyfriday]

6 hours ago, alchresearch said:

I found the picture amusing - its the kind of thing Have I Got News For You would show at the start or end of the show.  Mind you, I find most animal pictures amusing, especially monkey ones:
 

 

 

I couldn't see anything racist in it at all, though.  Does that mean the problem is with me - I'm blind to obvious racism?    When I think of Megan Markle, I think "American".

 

Or is it a case of people getting offended over the slightest thing, which seems to be the case these days?  

 

I did notice that many saying it was racist to Danny on Twitter were white, and didn't explain why it was racist.

Hi alchresearch, racist or not it's a particularly unkind way to depict a new born baby, I'm sure if someone depicted one of Danny Baker's children as a monkey in a suit wearing a bowler hat he might understand the upset such an image might cause.

 

Now, do I believe he's a racist? No I don't think so, I've liked his shows for many years and particulary enjoyed his appearance on Desert Island Discs.

 

Was the image racist? I'm afraid it is, not only because it depicts a mixed race child as a primate, but because of the historical resonance of the association,  an association created by white people to mock and demean black ones, believe me during my childhood I was regularly on the receiving end of it by people who now may well wince when they recall how they once behaved.

 

The fact you (or Danny Baker) don't see it as racist isn't necessarily the problem, but by promoting the picture he's providing succour to people who inherently regard black folks negatively.

[Brooker11]

19 minutes ago, boyfriday said:

Hi alchresearch, racist or not it's a particularly unkind way to depict a new born baby, I'm sure if someone depicted one of Danny Baker's children as a monkey in a suit wearing a bowler hat he might understand the upset such an image might cause.

 

Now, do I believe he's a racist? No I don't think so, I've liked his shows for many years and particulary enjoyed his appearance on Desert Island Discs.

 

Was the image racist? I'm afraid it is, not only because it depicts a mixed race child as a primate, but because of the historical resonance of the association,  an association created by white people to mock and demean black ones, believe me during my childhood I was regularly on the receiving end of it by people who now may well wince when they recall how they once behaved.

 

The fact you (or Danny Baker) don't see it as racist isn't necessarily the problem, but by promoting the picture he's providing succour to people who inherently regard black folks negatively.

I disagree that it's a racist image in itself, he was trying to compare the royals to a circus but made a very bad choice of an image to use, taken out of the context of this story its a couple walking a chimp.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Brooker11

[tinfoilhat]

1 hour ago, Brooker11 said:

This thread doesn't seem to have as many rabid accusers as Twitter who will only see one side of the story no matter what, the guy isn't racist he's championed many a black musician in his long career, he has a running "joke" about posting animals wearing clothes and he's likened the royals who he's not a fan of as a circus, I saw the tweet as a combo of both and skipped past what i saw as a fairly lame joke. I was quite surprised to learn the next day that he had been sacked for it, it was very badly misjudged but he's just had a career upturn with a tv series and stage play he's hardly going to deliberately post something to undo all that. foolish yes, racist not a chance.

Then he might have been better advised to pick an image where the child he's picking on - for want of a better phrase - is mixed race. Use a clown or whatever. Keep that image if the duchess of Cambridge has another, far safer ground.

 

Having said all of that, the BBC have gone big quite quickly, just as they did with Russell brand a few years back. Clarkson had to literally punch someone in the face to get sacked.

[Brooker11]

3 minutes ago, tinfoilhat said:

Then he might have been better advised to pick an image where the child he's picking on - for want of a better phrase - is mixed race. Use a clown or whatever. Keep that image if the duchess of Cambridge has another, far safer ground.

 

Having said all of that, the BBC have gone big quite quickly, just as they did with Russell brand a few years back. Clarkson had to literally punch someone in the face to get sacked.

He wasn't picking on a child he said ealier that the royals as a whole was a circus, he's a family man and appears to be a good one why would he single out a child, it was wrong but as usual has been blown totally out of proportion.

[tinfoilhat]

1 minute ago, Brooker11 said:

He wasn't picking on a child he said ealier that the royals as a whole was a circus, he's a family man and appears to be a good one why would he single out a child, it was wrong but as usual has been blown totally out of proportion.

Then show a family of apes. As I said, I don't think he's a racist but as bad decisions go, it's right up there.

[Brooker11]

Just now, tinfoilhat said:

Then show a family of apes. As I said, I don't think he's a racist but as bad decisions go, it's right up there.

I agree but the fallout has been OTT.