In respect of this thread going haywire on Digital Spy, anyone who excuses casual racism as ignorance is as ignorant as the so-called casual racist and is actually a racist, him- or herself.
For the record, Britain in the 1980s was struggling to come to terms with its ethnic minorities. Google the Toxteth riots. Google the BNP's jackbooted "Paki" bashing from the 1970s.
When EastEnders depicted such racism in the 1980s, they were doing it for a purpose: to show that it was wrong. Somewhere along the line, they lost their nerve.
So Dot's "ignorance" and the fact Jim Branning locked his son in a coffin overnight as punishment for having a black friend (when that son was originally written a decade before as having racist tendencies, himself) isn't forgiven by the fact that within the past decade, both these characters have been written as lovely, curmudgeonly pensioners.
They were originally racists.
Since the two commentators on Digital Spy and the twentysomething whose screen name is Nevermindme on the Bullyboi Emporium, excusing racism as "ignorance" are most likely white and/or Celtic to the core, I'd suggest they leave their white privillege as well as their arrogant millenial attitude that anything that happened before they were born or can remember is irrelevant at the door.
For the record, Britain in the 1980s was struggling to come to terms with its ethnic minorities. Google the Toxteth riots. Google the BNP's jackbooted "Paki" bashing from the 1970s.
When EastEnders depicted such racism in the 1980s, they were doing it for a purpose: to show that it was wrong. Somewhere along the line, they lost their nerve.
So Dot's "ignorance" and the fact Jim Branning locked his son in a coffin overnight as punishment for having a black friend (when that son was originally written a decade before as having racist tendencies, himself) isn't forgiven by the fact that within the past decade, both these characters have been written as lovely, curmudgeonly pensioners.
They were originally racists.
Since the two commentators on Digital Spy and the twentysomething whose screen name is Nevermindme on the Bullyboi Emporium, excusing racism as "ignorance" are most likely white and/or Celtic to the core, I'd suggest they leave their white privillege as well as their arrogant millenial attitude that anything that happened before they were born or can remember is irrelevant at the door.
Reading the forum and you ask yourself is this for real? It is no coincidence they are white and young. They know nothing about the subject itself that much was obvious and you do question motive when they are so defensive of the indefensible.
ReplyDeleteWhite, young, privileged and entitled. The only ethnics with whom they've had any contact are rap musicians and stereotypes on EastEnders. Yes, older people are racist through ignorance, but ignorance should never be used as an excuse for any inappropriate behaviour. All they're doing is excusing themselves. They're the sort who preface racist remarks with the caveat "I'm not racist but ..." or "I have black/gay/Asian friends". Millenials - anything that happened before they can remember doesn't count.
DeleteThe Dot we're seeing now has only been in existence for a decade. Dot was a terrible racist, a gossip, judgemental, hiding behind the face of what she reckoned to be a good Christian woman. You still see traces of her bad side - her vanity and her selfishess. Sharon was wrong to dump her kid on Dot, but how many times did Tanya dump hers at the last minute with a lie about work, when she was fucking Jack? And Dot was wrong, last minute or otherwise, to carry on smoking across the table from a child who's been identified as being asthmatic and drinking - and she was knocking back the sherries - whilst in charge of him. Remember Phil Mitchell's reaction to Sharon's addiction when she had Lexie? And remember Cora being drunk and Oscar tumbling down the stairs?
Hmmm so it seems you are using TWO accounts on DS.
ReplyDeleteJust found you out. And you have the nerve to call others.
After all the years of harassment and bullying you have done it doesn't surprise me. I know each and every account name you have used since 2005 on several of the forums you continue to be banned from. Maybe I should set up my own blog listing your long history for everyone to read.
Go suck your thumb. I didn't even HAVE a computer in 2005. As for you, I do know you're not above publishing personal details of people on the web. Go take your insulin and make some more jewelry. Och aye.
Deleteso you are angelicprincess on ds? that makes sense.
DeleteNo. I am not. I have no account on Digital Spy. Ask the moderators if you want proof. I know you're ignorant, but just to enlighten you, there ARE people who were cognizant of the fact that the UK faced enormous problems with racism during the 70s and 80s and is still facing enormous problems. Why don't you do some research about this instead of making baseless assumptions? And learn some grammar and punctuation, whilst you're at it. For the record, Angelic Princess does not speak English as her first language. English is my first language. DO grow up.
DeleteWhy don't you go away and learn to think critically because your second, badly constructed, grammatically inferior sentence makes no sense. Racism is, unfortunately, universal. Yes, it's often a product of ignorance, but there is absolutely no excuse for it - not now and certainly not twenty or thirty years ago in this country. It still abounds, and anyone who excuses it for any reason is a racist, himself.
ReplyDeleteAs for myself, I have as much right to live in this country as you do, and I am not racist. You seriously need to look in the mirror and check your privilege and arrogance at the door. Oh, and whilst your at it, learn some new vocabulary. Reverting to name-calling is puerile.
Nobody excused racism with ignorance.
ReplyDeleteThey EXPLAINED it with ignorance, big difference.
Ignorance doesn't mean their racist attitude was acceptable or less offensive, it wasn't. But it goes to explaining a lot of people who inherit sayings, nicknames and attitudes in general and don't know much different.
Whether that describes Dot and Jim, whether they were raised in these intolerant households is another matter. That can be debated.
But a character changing over 30+ years and growing as a person is not out of the ordinary. Certainly not a retcon. Without character development, the show would be pointless (like it has much of the past 3 years).