Black Faced Morris Dancers Banned at ShrewsburyFolk Festival

AS I commented down line this is ignorance on the part of a complainant and an official somewhere.
This is a morris dance festival from Sandbach. It made a lovely day out and livened up the town.
So I am showing a picture of these guys enjoying themselves.

I agree with the poster[sorry, cant find it now] who said write an official complaint back.

It seems to me that people can do all the chat and emails etc they like, but no one official does anything unless there is an actual official complaint.

Since there has only been one offical complaint against this, perhaps a small number of official complaints the other way might overturn the decision.

Out of interest, do people agree that the black and white minstrels should not have been allowed to stay?

Ah well, thanks for trying, tegan. It definitely seems like PC gone mad. One complaint and a troop of dancers gets banned. Madness.

Political correctness gone crazy. Do these jobsworths have nothing better to worry about?

This is really stupid. As Tegan says this sort of dancing is traditional and almost certainly has it's roots in pagan times.
I do sometimes wonder if such ideas are partly the result of real ignorance on a lot of people about what racial offence actually is.
Like trying to change the words of Baa Baa Black sheep. which the link below explains

www.facebook.com/notes/vexen-crabtree/baa-baa-black-sheep-some-ridiculous-stories-about-it-being-banned-are-obviously-/215918456342/

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/black-faced-morris-dancers-traditional-disguise-or-simply-racist-9794704.html Seems it is not a new issue though!!

"It is probable the term morris developed from the French word morisque (meaning a dance, the dance), which became morisch in Flemish, and then the English moryssh, moris and finally morris. Flanders in the fifteenth century was an innovative cultural centre, and strongly influenced European culture in general. The earliest confirmation of a performance of morris dancing in England dates from London on 19 May 1448, when Moryssh daunsers were paid 7s (35p) for their services." Taken from themorrisring.org/publications/morris-tradition
Seems like an over zealous 'liberal' twerp has caused this rumpus...or it is a right wing stirrer trying to cause a rumpus. Either way it is ridiculous.

They know all this bags and say the decision hasn't been made lightly. It was only one member of the public that complained and that was taken up by FRESH. I did try to make a comment on the Shrewsbury Echo site but my technical skills let me down. I did vote though; I think it's 90% in favour of allowing the Border Morris dancers being allowed to continue.

The green faced Mollie dancers should be banned, just in case they offend any visiting Martians.

Better not try to ban them herd at our Folk Festival as this year at least two of the dancers didn't actually need to black up

the Smurfist PC Police are on your tail DB

If they painted their faces BLUE , would anybody object? Apart from Smurfs?

I'm a bit surprised the Morris dancers who black their faces didn't explain the history of the face-blacking to the festival organisers.

Could you write to (or email) the Shrewsbury Folk Festival organisers, with the historical info you gave us, tegan? Then they'd have a reply to whoever complained and could unban the Morris dancers.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201608/medium-310974-img-5816.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201608/medium-89872-img-5820.jpg

I'm sure someone from an ethnic minority would have more sense than to meet someone like this and immediately think 'they're ridiculing me'...and these people love dogs so they can't be that bad..

Apparently the complaint came from an organisation called F.R.E.S.H. Not a clue what it stands for but the spokesperson was a Jeremy Corbyn lookalike in a flat hat. To the best of my knowledge no person from an ethnic minority has complained. Just some patronising middle class twerps who need to do their research.

Forgot to say, it's a tradition and should not be banned as no racist undertones.
there is a hilarious episode of Jeeves and Wooster, set in Devon, that features a blacked up minstrel band ( but that was set in1920's)

Have never seen the blacked up dancers, here it's white smocks and sticks and hankey waving ( I like it, but DH falls about laughing.)

www.strawbear.org.uk

I've always wanted to go to this one
calendarcustoms.com/articles/whittlesea-straw-bear-festival
It probably all goes back to my time in Cornwall when I first followed the 'obby horse' round Padstow.

I am getting very these days (must be getting old).
At one time it was frowned upon to say 'coloured people' and people had to be called 'black' even if they weren't very dark-skinned.
Now the term seems to be 'people of colour' (I heard Dianne Abbott use it so it must be politically correct).

I see nothing wrong with Morris dancers putting soot or whatever on their faces to celebrate ancient traditions if it was to disguise themselves - or for whatever reason.

Near where I come from the dance dates from 1226:
www.abbotsbromley.com/horn_dance
but they wear horns and don't black their faces.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGCmVDl46rY

It's because they associate black faces with people of colour and not people who have rubbed soot on their faces*...which, to me is racist. Some morris dancers use yellow but it has only crossed my mind now [literally this minute] that they might be racist against the Chinese. Who was it that used to daub themselves in wode? That must be racist against someone somewhere. Heck; I'm finding racist links with everything now. I'm getting good at this#justneededabitofpractice*better ban Mary Poppins while we're at it...

Perhaps we also need to disseminate more of the history of the Morris dancers too, including that info that they blacked their faces as a disguise so that they were unrecognisable when they took the mickey out of their employers and "betters" who could sack them for it at the drop of a hat. They faced discrimination which could cost them their livelihood, that should be remembered, not overlaid by current pre-occupations.