David Lammy/Stacey Dooley

Comic Relief etc promotes a particular vision of Africa that is not wholly true. Although there is poverty and famine there is also development and a growing middle class. My 7 year old granddaughter asked me how a black school friend got here when Africa has no planes, food, water etc. I loved her kindness of heart wanting to help those less well off than herself but was also shocked that she should have such a colonialist image of a whole continent.

I agree with David Lammy.
I wonder how much more the publicity is doing for the 'celebrity' than for the cause they supposedly espouse.
It's all very well having news teams in these places, they are doing things differently but, I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Lammy that white 'do-gooders' (my words) who pose with black children to highlight the difference and those who adopt children from different races and make a big hoo-ha about it, are guilty of perpetuating the 'white saviour' role.
Not a good idea at all.

PECS
bogoted comments
Those who continue to raise the isue of colonialism should look at the history of the African continent. Should/are those countries of Carthagenia, Byzantium and Rome and Ottoman (old names) be castigated for the colonisation of this continent before Europe?
And, if it is considered that we all continue to perpetrate the actions and prejudices of our forebears will such as David Lammy leave his wife and children because his father did? Very likely not, should we constantly say he will though because of his fathers actions...no.

If watching Comic Relief would viewers by more interested in watching a celeb or an African journalist?

I saw David being interviewed about this. He said they shouldn't send celebrities, but should use African journalists etc to front the films. I'm sure the reason they use British celebrities is that people here know them and it encourages people to donate.

I don't see that the colour of those giving aid should be an issue.
If someone was having a medical emergency, hopefully people would step up and help.
It's no different.

I hope so too. But you only have to read bigoted comments on here to see that many people still consider the shade of your skin important in the heirarchy of power!

PECS I hope his comments will not have a damaging effect on Comic Relief this year.

It’s just unfortunate that in the 21st century the colour of a persons skin is still newsworthy.

Native British person..what is that species?? David Lammy is a British born person!!

Maggiemaybe I'm fairly sure I watched that documentary. The young people who took part, including Stacey Dooley, were not, I believe, journalists but just ordinary young people. I didn't mean "reality" in the sense of Big Brother but that it was ordinary people, not professional journalists, responding to the situation they found themselves in.

I find it odd that Lammy is being accused of racism for just expressing an opinion, whether you agree with it or not, about the way in which African and white people are portrayed. My own feeling is that many of the comments on here have far more racist undertones.

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GG13 I do not think Lammy meant to suggest that charitable giving was wrong or that many lives had not benefited from Comic Relief.

His concern appears to be the reinforcement of a staus quo/ stereotype that is not healthy.

As I said before he might have been better to have done raised this after the last comic relief to have an impact on this current campaign.

paddyann do you think training teachers and doctors, providing healthcare, building hospitals, schools and clean water projects is a relic from British Colonialism?

Lily65 there are those on here who still believe the days of EMPIRE were great ...in fact the GREAT in GREAT Britain.They either dont or wont understand the damage done to other countries ...whole continents and millions of people because of our colonialisation.(is that a word) They think trying to mold others into British ways and western religions was the right thing to do .Some think its still OK to interfere in other countries as if we have some god given right .When will they ever learn?

I am going to put a thought out here -

If all white people stop sending aid and stop helping "people of colour" I am pretty damn sure that it would not be long before "people of colour" started to complain that the "white supremacists" do not care for "people of colour" or what happens to them, and call them out for being racists.

As I said in one of my earlier posts damned if we do damned if we don't!!!

(Sorry Anniebach I misinterpreted your post x)

Yes GrannyGravy. But he is white

Anniebach Prince Harry has his own charity in Africa - Sentabali (spelling?).

He spends a lot of time over there and doesn't always take a camera crew, The Duchess of Sussex has been with him as they have said it is their "passion".

Oops sorry loxy

I can believe that Foxylady too. Thank you for your insightful post. We live and learn on here which is good.

Anja, you did make me smile, so true, what a weird world we live in.

He should get off his backside and do something himself.

Though perhaps the sight of a fat black man, holding a thin black child might send out the wrong message too.

Prince Harry will be next ?

I remember a tale told to me by serving officer in the forces. Way back when Mr Smith was arrested and Rhodesia was being handed over to Robert Mugabe and it was being named Zimbabwe. They watched journalists throw handfuls of sweets in a bin and photographed the little children as they scrambled in there to get them. We then all gasped at the front pages at the poor mites who were starving so needed to forage. We as a Nation interfere too much in other people’s life styles. We should back off, and wait to be asked. India has repeatedly said they don’t require aid from us, but we still keep pushing it. Pakistan is the biggest receiver of aid, because we want them to guard the border with Afghanistan. We have ulterior motives with our donations. I heard a black lady say once when being interviewed about a book she had written that, if we did not keep jumping in to the Third World Countries, they might make more effort for them selves. After my Epistle, I might add I cannot stand Lammy.

I’m not sure what you mean about Dooley being singled out because of her early career, Eleothan. Her first appearance on TV, as far as I remember, was in Blood, Sweat and T-shirts. It was quite an eye-opener at the time and had a BAFTA nomination as best factual series. I can’t see why Lammy would have picked her out on the basis of this.

Although a lot of people object to aid, it very often comes with strings attached - trade agreements that offer very good deals to the country/countries supplying aid or prevent the receiving country from entering into other, potentially more favourable, agreements.

I do feel he made some valid points but I think it's rather a shame he chose to pick on Stacey Dooley. There have been plenty of other "celebrities", actors, etc., who have taken part in these TV charity events. It did make me wonder if he singled her out because she is not the conventional TV presenter, having originally got into TV through taking part in a reality programme.

I really don't see why this man's comments are labelled as "racist". He has a view and he has explained why he feels that way. Other people may disagree but he has a right to express his opinion without being called a racist or being accused of "having a chip on his shoulder" (a remark that is often made about non-white people who challenge the status quo).