Political Correctness or just Madness?

'harmless fun'

Unless you were part of the group being insulted.

My in laws weren't best keen on being referred to as N's or any of the other offensive words.

My nephew didn't deserve being called a m**g or a sp***a.

I knew I shouldn't have ventured to read this thread.

'Frog' is a racist derogatory name for French people. It should be outdated, disused and not at all common any more. It will raise some people's eyebrows.

Wandering off into musings about other versions of English's alternative names for common items is missing the entire point of the thread.. Calling the French 'frogs' is not a harmless alternative name for them.

I really can't understand why people are indignant about the BBC sticking a warning on the film. Does it cause them some personal harm in some way? Did they think that when we left the EU we could have our traditional racism back?

Did they think that when we left the EU we could have our traditional racism back?


Is the term Rosbif banned in France?

French with Emilie:
In the 19th century, british people started to visit France and the nickname took another meaning: british people take the color of the roastbeef in the sun!
We french people, know how to recognize english people on the beach : there’re the red persons!
Apologies for this article but this is just humor! Most of my english friends are at the moment more brown than I am! By the way, Enjoy this beautiful summer in France!

At least one French woman has a sense of humour.

OKLM

I was dating my French husband to be around 1977 .... when a film was released "A nous les petites Anglaises". Was I offended by the suggestion English girls were easy? Not at all. Come on, harmless little digs weren't seen as derogatory then, or even now.

I watched “The Godfather “ on iPlayer at the weekend, there was a warning about racist references and there were quite a lot and stronger than frogs too. They call us rosbeef I don’t feel offended any more than the Aussies calling me a Pom.

If you watch old black & white gangster movies Italians were referred to as ‘wops’ or ‘eyeties’. Chinese as ‘chinks’. Blacks as ‘niggers’ or ‘negro’.

Unacceptable language by today’s standards. Usual behaviour back then.

We ought not to judge history using today’s standards.

‘Fashions’ change. My elder relatives (in their 80’s) always refer to black people as ‘coloured’. As in ‘you know that coloured man who lives round the corner?’. They grew up using the term in the 50’s as they felt it was more polite than saying somebody was black. They thought that quite rude actually.

But times change. It sounds not only outdated but quite patronising to my ears if they say it. They are however nice people and I know they genuinely mean no offence so I don’t correct them.

But what harm is a warning doing to you lot that haven't yet entered the 21st century?

MaizieD

But what harm is a warning doing to you lot that haven't yet entered the 21st century?

This

I've just read up on this and the irony is that the term "frog" was actually used by the Court of Versailles in the 18th century to talk about the plebs of Paris.
l'ensemble du peuple de Paris étaient appelés «les grenouilles» par la noblesse proche de la cour. This was around the time of the revolution.
The word "frogs" subsequently made its way over to London to be used to describe Parisians.
Et voilá. There you have it. The French first called themselves "frogs!"

MaizieD

But what harm is a warning doing to you lot that haven't yet entered the 21st century?

Exactly.

If you dont like the warning you dont have to watch it

Et voilá. There you have it. The French first called themselves "frogs!"

And it was an insult even then, born of arrogance and a belief in the perpetrators' superiority..

Frankly, I would still feel exactly the same on this topic even if the British had christened themselves (or their 'lower classes') 'whinging poms', 'limeys', or 'rosbifs', or whatever.

You are missing the point I am making that surely people in the 21st century can cope with watching a 1970s comedy film about the British Army and a joke calling the French frogs. Just another step by the left to dumb down everything on the off chance a very delicate person (snowflake) is offended.

Yes, just water off a frog's back!

GagaJo

MaizieD

But what harm is a warning doing to you lot that haven't yet entered the 21st century?

This

This what?

Digressing slightly here, but talking about rosbif got me thinking about the awful word for a certain type of white male.

Gammon

Isn't that rather rude and insulting?

I cringe every time I see that being used. On GN as well.

"BBC slaps 'discriminatory language' warning on film version of classic sitcom that refers to the French as 'frogs' ".

Thank you for the heads-up about this. I shall be writing forthwith to the BBC, demanding to know why no similar warning was given about that edition of Dad's Army holding several of my personal characteristics up to ridicule, viz a Scot (Private Frazer) rolling his eyes outrageously and being grasping and venal; several elderly individuals behaving in a confused manner; and countless depictions of overweight people being less physically capable than their slim counterparts. Added to that was the deplorable lack of females amongst the cast, not to mention members of the BAME and LGBTQ communities. And where was the warning about sexual innuendo (Sergeant Wilson and Pike's Mum)?

In fact, the more I think about it, the more examples come to me, and the more enraged I become...

And that's the problem, isn't it? Once you start putting these so-called trigger warnings on things, where do you stop?

I'll leave Lance-Corporal Jones with the last word: "They don't like it up 'em, you know"
(More outrageous - and un-flagged - sexual innuendo..)
Where's my pen?

17:30Bodach

Fantastic post ???

I don’t think sexual innuendo is aimed at a group of people. Many programmes do have disclaimers about sex or violence which may offend, so a disclaimer about language can also be added and it’s covering the back of the broadcaster. You can close your eyes if you are offended by that warning. There was lots of huffing and offence taken when a certain group were labelled “gammons”, seems people can take offence about others being offended, which is rather ironic.

When I was young I would always have referred to someone as being coloured, never black which was considered rude and offensive. I think it was because black usually meant something dark, sinister, unpleasant, unhappy, not the sort of thing to call a person. Black night, black temper, black clothes (funeral) black jack, black heart. a black day and lots more. I still feel that calling someone black is insulting and it still goes again the grain!

, seems people can take offence about others being offended, which is rather ironic.

I'm not remotely offended. It just makes me cringe.

But obviously to some it's OK to refer to white men as gammon, but if they were to call the French, frogs, that would be wrong?

Double standards

And I've never called the French, frogs, either

And I have no problem with a warning on the film. There are so many warnings these days it's just the norm

Just stellar Bodach!

Soon the awful BAME will be out of favour

And quite rightly too

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53194376

If you are such snowflakes you cant cope with a warning you probably do need some help in coping.