A pub named in honour of a model of car is to be rebranded over complaints it was offensive.
The Midget in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, shared the moniker of the eponymous MG car that had been built at the company's former factory in the town.
More than 1,000 people signed a petition, leading to the pub's owners Greene King agreeing to change it to The Roaring Raindrop.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g7eg7y0epo
No plans as yet to rename the road (Midget Close) where it's situated.
|
|
I'd have called it the "Mazda Bongo Friendee Auto Free Top"
|
World has gone mad.
Apparently the remake of the Dam Busters ran in to problems re the name of Guy Gibson's dog.
I watched a charming monochrome film the other night; "The Fallen Idol", where the main protagonist called people from Africa "blackies". I was amazed it had been shown uncensored.
One of my favorite films "The League of Gentlemen" (1960) has the line "I regret to say the bitch is still going strong." and it is often censored. If it was good enough for 1960, it's good enough for today!
|
>> Apparently the remake of the Dam Busters ran in to problems re the name of
>> Guy Gibson's dog.
If they show the fifties version of the film they usually bleep out the dogs name. That word was of course the code word used to confirm the raid's success. I think it's sometimes used with a 'trigger' warning.
One of my favourite authors is Nevil Shute who was active writing in the fifties.A couple of his books use the N word quite fully.
One, In the Wet, features an Australian pilot who is quarter Aboriginal and although his name is David Anderson he calls himself n***** Anderson. Even at the time, in the book's context, it causes a 'flutter in the Dovecote'.
Another includes scenes set in WW2 where American enlisted men, many of them black, are in Cornwall building aerodromes. The white officers are portrayed as segregationalists who refer to the men under their command by the N word. Their attempts to prevent black men from coming in the Lounge Bar of the pub are rejected by the Landlord.
|
>> >> Apparently the remake of the Dam Busters ran in to problems re the name
>> of
>> >> Guy Gibson's dog.
>>
>> If they show the fifties version of the film they usually bleep out the dogs
>> name. That word was of course the code word used to confirm the raid's success.
>> I think it's sometimes used with a 'trigger' warning.
Indeed, not bleeped out tho by dubbed with "Digger". There is the odd showing with the original script. Not a problem in my book either way, its of the prevailing attitudes of the time if broadcast, and does not detract from the story if not dubbed.
Generally I am not in favour of whitewashing history, it should be left as is as a lesson if nothing else.
|
>> Another includes scenes set in WW2 where American enlisted men, many of them black, are
>> in Cornwall building aerodromes. The white officers are portrayed as segregationalists who refer to the
>> men under their command by the N word. Their attempts to prevent black men from
>> coming in the Lounge Bar of the pub are rejected by the Landlord.
There is a famous WW2 US training film, shown to troops coming to the UK, and how to react to and enact with UK citizens. They were warned they would have to accept there was no colour bar in UK pubs, cafes, shops and public transport.
|
>>They were warned they would have to accept there was no colour bar in UK pubs, cafes, shops >>and public transport.
"We're all the same under the skin, I've cut open enough people to know" - Miss Z
|
>>Their attempts to prevent black men from coming in the Lounge Bar of the pub are rejected by
>>the Landlord.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bamber_Bridge
|
I see The Labour In Vain pub in Yarnfield Staffs has managed to retain its name, although the pubs sign has been 'sanitised'. It used to show a black boy in a bathub being scrubbed.
I wonder what the old Austin colour n____r brown is now called?
|
The other side of the coin.
Plenty of words in common usage today which elicit not even a bleep from the censor, that would have been socially and broadcast unacceptable 30 years ago.
I won't bother to list them- they would no doubt be asterisked out of existence by a profanity filter!
All a little daft - in a wider sense, sanitising history is but a short step from re-writing it. Having re-written the history we will then be incapable of learning from our mistakes.
|
Did you miss the one on the Beeb the other day, a petition against the pub called The Sly Fox on the basis that it was offensive to foxes?
www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5mym9l1e5o
|
>> Did you miss the one on the Beeb the other day, a petition against the
>> pub called The Sly Fox on the basis that it was offensive to foxes?
>>
>> www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5mym9l1e5o
>>
Oh ffs.
|
>> Did you miss the one on the Beeb the other day, a petition against the
>> pub called The Sly Fox on the basis that it was offensive to foxes?
I understand The Midget (Abingdon?) is being re-named as it's considered offensive.
Don't know what they intend to do about Midget Close nearby
|
|
...move it further away...?
|
In Linlithgow there was a very old pub called the Black Bitch - reference to a Greyhound type dog that was in local folklore. this was around 2020
The pub is owned by Greene King and was renamed as the Black Hound, removing offence to somebody. It lasted a short time and it has been renamed again as The Willow on 2022.
|
>> I understand The Midget (Abingdon?) is being re-named as it's considered offensive.
>> Don't know what they intend to do about Midget Close nearby
I didn't really understand that. It's named for the MG Midget, being near the MG works. A sign with a picture of a Midget on it should have been enough to remove any doubts about it referring to persons of small stature. And of course the removal of Randy Newman's Short People from the juke box.
Greene King have renamed various pubs identified as being potentially offensive including 3 Black Boys and a Black's Head. They also been apologising for their links to slavery through their founder who was a plantation slave owner. Perhaps this is what attracted the protests about the Midget.
The Black Boy at Oving (not Greene King) is still so named. I've not heard of any campaigns to change it.
|
>> I understand The Midget (Abingdon?) is being re-named as it's considered offensive.
>> Don't know what they intend to do about Midget Close nearby
I take it you didn't see the first post in this thread?
That aside, I heard that Jeremy Clarkson has banned Richard Hammond from his pub, The Farmer's Dog in Burford.
RH was quite looking forward to visiting the Midget, until he heard about the name change.
|
>>I take it you didn't see the first post in this thread?
Well, yes I did. But I was replying to BT's post of 3 December. And just observing
- a sign with an MG Midget on it would remove the need to change the name; a suggestion that was not made in that post or in the BBC story. Unless I missed it, in which case I apologise and genuflect.
- that Greene King seem to be having a 'tidy up' of potentially offensive names.
Petitions - pah. I see the 'election' petition that had 6 million signatures at one point now has under 3 million. I wonder if they have been clearing out all the bot and duplicate votes.
|
The belief that finding a new word or phrase to replace one that some consider offensive (in this instance "small person" for m*dg*t) will change perceptions is flawed.
In tine the new word takes on the characteristics of the old - The process begins again. Attitudes change far slower than language.
Many years ago a road had a sign "cripples crossing". As this apparently caused offence it was revised to "invalid". The inevitable happened - "disabled" replaced it. The sign has now gone - had the need remained no doubt "disabled" would have gone the way of its predecessor signs.
Many would prefer direct language used without intending offence, and ridicule changes made. We would call a "spade a spade" - except we can't or shouldn't. In the late 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance, "spade" began to evolve into code for a black person.
|
|
I've never understood the difference between "Person of colour" and "Coloured person".
|
|
And if you speak Spanish, what word do you use?
|
>>The inevitable happened - "disabled" replaced it. The sign has
>> now gone - had the need remained no doubt "disabled" would have gone the way
>> of its predecessor signs.
>>
...."Disabled Parking" round here has largely been replaced by "Accessible Parking”..........
.....which is somewhat counter-productive, since it seems to be widely interpreted in line with its literal meaning(s).
|
>> >>I take it you didn't see the first post in this thread?
>>
>> Well, yes I did.
My question was put to BT though, not you :)
|
The kennel club has an issue. Girl Dogs are called "bitches" in all show classifications. Dog for boys.
Facebook and other social media platforms tend to delete posts with the word "bitch"
Its perfectly acceptable and correct to have a "black bitch" in the canine world.
bitch
/bɪtʃ/
noun
1.
a female dog, wolf, fox, or otter.
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 5 Dec 24 at 15:27
|
|
Talking of pub names, the ‘Eagle & Child’ ( cracking pub) in Staveley near Windermere, has been known to myself, friends and locals as ‘The Bird & B’tard’ for decades. Very un pc.
|
Someone has just told me that Midget Gems are now called Mini Gems.
The world has gone mad.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 6 Dec 24 at 15:51
|
|
They were called Mini Gems when I was a kid, and you got a tin of them at christmas.
|
I may have to give the new car the option of being called a Triumph Himald !
Ted
|
>>
>> I may have to give the new car the option of being called a Triumph
>> Himald !
>>
>> Ted
>>
Sorry Ted, but it's got to be called Theyald.
|
|
I've heard that Jaguar wanted to call their new model the LGBGT but MG objected.
|
>> They were called Mini Gems when I was a kid, and you got a tin of them at christmas.
I've only ever known them called Midget Gems until now.
|
It's Bassets who have rebranded them.
Lion midget gems are still midget gems, and the black ones still taste of licorice.
|
Charity shop visit today with an optical Christmas tree and a nativity scene - wooden stable and figurines Joseph, Mary, Jesus in crib etc etc. All in a cardboard box. First stop Red Cross.
"Sorry we don't take or sell anything that identifies a particular religious belief."
"Ok but why are you selling those artificial Christmas trees and a selection of decorations?"
Anyway 20 minutes later it had pride of place in the front window of the RSPCA shop for a bargain £6 :)
|
|
They probably took it to provide protection to the sheep and donkeys.
|
|
Its Richard little Jerk in the daily wail and its firewalled, makes Joseph Goebbels seem like the paragon of truthful unbiased reporting.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 17 Dec 24 at 08:45
|
...a tip for getting past quite a few paywalls (but not all).
Copy the url, and paste it into Google Translate on the "websites" option tab and translate.
Useful if there's a story/article you'd really like to read, though, even though it works on the above, best to keep it for something really interesting. ;-)
(Doesn't work on the Torygraph).
|
Political correctness gone mad again - Zero
