- 05 Feb 2009 12:24
#1787273
source
That's the story. Now, contentiously perhaps, I am going to post some pictures in an effort to put what Carol Thatcher said into some sort of context...
These are the Golliwogs Carol is talking about. I remember them as the trademark of Robertson's Jam during the 60s, early 70's maybe? You could collect tokens, and send them off to get a lapel badge or a ceramic figure. Point is, the Golliwog is a part of British Culture which has been dead for a while, but is inevitable part of the childhood memory of most middle-aged British citizens.
During the 80s, there was a shift in British Culture, and the idea that this sort of imagery is racist gained currency, and it died along with 'The Black And White Minstrel Show' and Enid Blyton books.
Here's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga:
I've posted this image because it is relevant to the story. (I'm quite keen not to be accused of racism by Captain Sam and the gang).
So there it is.
I can't see much more than a very superficial resemblance between Jo-Wilfried and the Golliwog. Certainly no more than might be applied to any other person with dark skin and curly hair. Was this a racist remark? Probably. It obviously offended someone. Was it deliberately racist? Harder to say, but I suspect not. Does Carol Thatcher deserve the treatment she has received? I really don't know.
I'm finding the whole issue quite difficult to resolve in my own mind. Does anyone care to help me sort it out?
Carol Thatcher 'golliwog' jibe referred to black tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Carol Thatcher was dropped by the BBC for making a 'golliwog' remark about French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, according to insiders at The One Show.
By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
7:51PM GMT 04 Feb 2009
The daughter of former prime minister Baroness Thatcher has lost her job on the BBC One programme after making the comment backstage to presenter Adrian Chiles and guest Jo Brand.
She was discussing the Australian Open, in which Tsonga lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the quarter-finals.
Tsonga, 23, shot to international attention last year when, as an unseeded player, he reached the Australian Open final, beating Andy Murray along the way. He scored a stunning 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Rafael Nadal in the semi-final, eventually losing to Novak Djokovic.
Fans have long pointed out his resemblance to boxer Muhammad Ali. He was marked out as a promising talent when he won the US Open junior title in 2003, only for injury to put him out of the game for the next two years.
He is mixed race, born in Le Mans to a white French mother, Evelyne, and a black Congolese father, Didier. Sporting talent runs in the family - his father, who moved to France in the 1970s to study for a chemistry degree, was a handball international and his yougner brother, Enzo, is a basketball player.
Asked in a recent interview if he had ever experienced racism in the tennis world, he replied: "I cannot say I have. However, I have seen on many occasions, especially in soccer, expressions of racism. At the end of the day, stupidity cannot be controlled. You can only hope to contain it."
Tsonga is known on the circuit as a polite, serious man devoted to his family. He has said of his upbringing: "From my mother I've inherited my coolness and my serenity. From my father I've inherited respect for the rules and respect for the people around me."
His second cousin is Charles N'Zogbia, the Premiership footballer recently embroiled in his own controversy over "offensive" remarks. He refused to play for his club, Newcastle United, after manager Joe Kinnear called him "Insomnia" during a television interview. He signed for Wigan Athletic on Monday.
source
That's the story. Now, contentiously perhaps, I am going to post some pictures in an effort to put what Carol Thatcher said into some sort of context...
These are the Golliwogs Carol is talking about. I remember them as the trademark of Robertson's Jam during the 60s, early 70's maybe? You could collect tokens, and send them off to get a lapel badge or a ceramic figure. Point is, the Golliwog is a part of British Culture which has been dead for a while, but is inevitable part of the childhood memory of most middle-aged British citizens.
During the 80s, there was a shift in British Culture, and the idea that this sort of imagery is racist gained currency, and it died along with 'The Black And White Minstrel Show' and Enid Blyton books.
Here's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga:
I've posted this image because it is relevant to the story. (I'm quite keen not to be accused of racism by Captain Sam and the gang).
So there it is.
I can't see much more than a very superficial resemblance between Jo-Wilfried and the Golliwog. Certainly no more than might be applied to any other person with dark skin and curly hair. Was this a racist remark? Probably. It obviously offended someone. Was it deliberately racist? Harder to say, but I suspect not. Does Carol Thatcher deserve the treatment she has received? I really don't know.
I'm finding the whole issue quite difficult to resolve in my own mind. Does anyone care to help me sort it out?