H and M and the small boy modelling.

And I agree with Fennel that Alf Garnet made racists look pathetic, bigoted, ignorant and narrow minded.

But only because we've moved on from those days; at the time it was just thought to be funny [by some ]. I watched a programme about tv programmes from the 80's the other night, and even the people who were in them were astonished at the sort of stuff that was put on childrens tv back then. It was a real eye opener.

Warren Mitchell himself has said that the programme was meant to poke fun at bigotry.

It was, but it's popularity was probably because it fed off that 'bigotry'; and therein lies the dilemma I suppose...

It's a difficult one. I often call my (white) granddaughter a monkey - but I wouldnt refer to a naughty black child by that term. Am I being racist in reverse by being AWARE of the link in some minds between an animal & a human?? I find it hard to think that with the multitude of ad experts/ photographers etc on hand not ONE person queried the wisdom of the ad!!

TBH I am not worried about this - the child's mother wasn't, so that is fine.

Just to be a really boring old fart, the thing that I do not like is children's clothes that extol naughtiness: "Little Rascal", "Little Terror", "Dad's little horror" etc. Hate them.

I suppose you could read deeper into the advert and say its designed to make people question what is and isn't racism, and assess their own stance on the issue?

Hmm ... would you be happy with your white grandson wearing this? What about your black grandson?
It feels very different to me.

I have mixed race children and five of my grandchildren are obviously mixed race. They are my family and I love them. One grandson is particularly mischievous and funny and yes, I've called him a little monkey. No offence meant and no offence taken.

I certainly never tolerate racist remarks or actions. I do think, however, that some white people are are embarrassingly PC (politically correct) and this can create problems in itself.

I think we need to realise that under our skins, everyone is the same - organs, nervous system etcetera.

I have blonde hair and blue eyes and have also been the butt of racist comments.

Prior to these discussions yes I would have been, but that's the problem isn't it, I suspect the vast majority would of us feel the same.But we are so busy trying to avoid offence,& being politically correct, that we end up being guarded & over sensitive

I had a mixed race partner for several years, and he would never ever have put his child in the "monkey" sweatshirt. I have no doubt that he is very offended by it.

I agree with Rosina that people are looking for things to be offended by. I often call my Grandson a little monkey as a form of endearment. In fact it took me a moment or more to realise what people were so outraged about. I do not connect the term with black children as monkies, in fact a very racist acquaintance pointed the problem out to me... which makes me wonder who is doing the complaining.

I think it's important to remember that this mother and her little boy were probably paid for this. And if it's OK with his mother, I don't understand why it is anyone else's business.

It's only adults that see a problem with this as 6-7 yr olds playing on a bouncy castle were asked what they thought of the picture. They all said they would like the hoody better if it was in a different colour other than green. Hmm seems we could learn a thing or two from our younger generation .

I don't think anyone is saying that H and M were using the slogan as a racist comment Baggs. The point is that it was insensitive of them to use something that is almost certain to cause racist people to interpret it in a demeaning way.

I see what you're getting at there, atqui, and think you may well be right about how racist people interpret stuff. To me that is where the madness lies. I find racism incomprehensible but MrBaggs says it is unsurprising given the tribal nature of human beings. As a species we still have a long way to go before we leave that behind.

Of course the mother won't mind, she's being paid for her son to model for the photo. Well technically the child is paid but she's responsible for managing his account. Can be £500 a day for the right company.

I personally think for the vast majority of people, no racial slur even entered their heads because most of us are not racist. There are children's play areas called Jungle Jim's. I wonder if they were advertised with a black child playing in them, would people be offended by that? Seems to me people who are complaining about the ad are actually distinguishing between a black and white child and perpetuating racist thoughts. I do appreciate though that others feel differently.

anit I don’t see that it is ‘perpetuating racist thoughts’ to recognise that some people use the term ‘monkey’ in a way that is intended to cause offence.
As long as offence is intended, it will be offensive. When H & M used that slogan on that child, they sure as hell knew that some people would be offended by it and their action was quite deliberate IMHO.
What if the n-word was emblazoned on a child’s garment? Would that be ok too, because children don’t recognise differences in skin colour and most 7 year olds probably haven’t heard the word? Or because the mother was happy to receive payment?

I am the proud grandmother of three mixed race grandchildren and I feel it was very ill-judged by H&M to use a top featuring a monkey. Our black footballers often get met with monkey noises and there are always complaints about it, if that is racism as I believe it to be so then why is this top not judged to be the same?

It was common enough in the past for a child of whatever colour to be called a little monkey, if they were at all naughty or cheeky, but it was always an affectionate term IMO, with nothing racist about it.

It's only in the past decade or so that I've heard of it being used as racist abuse, initially only by sports spectators in Russia and other E European countries.

In the circs I think H&M were unwise, given that nowadays there's a whole body of people who aren't happy unless they've got something to be virtuously outraged about.

I think that these days people are being too oversensitive, looking for something to complain about. Surely the best thing to do is ignore it and get on with your life.Parents should teach their children to respect other people regardless of any differences.

H & M succeeded in getting huge free publicity and the child model's mother would be delighted because her wage earning child will no doubt benefit from the exposure he's had.
Early years age children do not discriminate against each other because of race, faith or colour. That changes as they mature and are influenced by key people and societal attitudes. To suggest that so called political correctness has caused the debate about this advert flies in the face of the racism directed at those who aren't white. Of course, non white people have prejudice against groups they see as different but it remains the fact that power in this world lies with white people - mainly white men.

Indeed maddy.
I switched on the radio this morning to hear an item about the vile abuse and even death threats that black footballers are subjected to, both on the field and on social media.
As long as that is going on in our society, anything that supports that behaviour, even in the guise of something so apparently innocent as a child wearing a t-shirt, must be regarded with disgust and disapproval.

6 or 7 year olds aren't usually racist, but a black child wearing this hoodie with both "monkey" and "jungle" on it would make the child likely to be taunted by some older groups.
That's the sort of racist bullying that a child might remember all its life.
Surely no-one would want to see that?

It is common that some people in a group that is being kept in its place by a dominant sector of society will collude with them because they have too much to lose by challenging them. My mother colluded with male sexist behaviour in the 70/80s and it wasn’t until she was in her 80s that she finally understood what feminism was about and took action. The mother in this case probably has too much to lose to say she believes this slogan to be wrong. I believe we have a moral duty to stand by people who suffer the taunts said with the intent to belittle, even if we don’t understand from our own experience, and make the effort to understand their impact on others.