to complain that DD had an Empire Day theme at Rainbows?

[DancesWithTimMinchin]

DH is from a former colony. We don't think celebrating our history of colonisation is appropriate or inclusive. When we complained, the people who organise the Rainbow's didn't think there was anything inappropriate about celebrating Empire Day as a theme for a history-based afternoon.

AWBU?

What would you like to happen following your complaint OP?

this seems to be the thing at Beamish the weekend just gone

www.beamish.org.uk/news/beamish-needs-you/

I was going to post a link to the Beamish event as well, all the local youth associations were invited. It was 'Empire and Flag Day'. The Beamish is fantastic and does masses of educational stuff; I've been there when they've had school trips doing suffragette demonstrations.

I wonder if the OP lives in the NE and a leader has done something because of the Beamish day? There doesn't seem to be any other links online.

YANBU. At all. Fuck me, let's celebrate the oppression, genocide and marginalisation of the 'savages' shall we? Make them all civilised as the English as we crush their culture and perpetuate the white ideal.

Urgh.

SueTrinder - OP has said she lives in East Anglia, so nowhere near Beamish.

As a random aside, when I was about 8 or 9 I wrote a series of stories about a boy called Beamish Squinge.

I had never been to nor even heard of the town of Beamish at the time.

OP YANBU.

The British Empire was nothing to 'celebrate'. Can't quite believe how many people seem to think it's an OK thing for the Rainbow's to celebrate.

And as for the volunteer comments, as a volunteer, I would absolutely not want to glorify anachronistic and racist rubbish.

As others have said, I suspect this was a case of sitting in a lengthy planning meeting at Easter wondering what on earth they could do on May 24th, before googling the date and seeing Empire Day. I very much doubt any offence was intended, although it does and has caused offence.

Please do speak to the leaders and explain, gently, why this wasn't appropriate. They're just ordinary people and, however much it might seem obvious to others, people sometimes just need educating.

I volunteered with the Brownies for ages and that doesn't mean I felt morally OK to just do whatever I wanted, regardless of inclusivity or how the parents felt.

I think it's a very valid complaint. The British Empire is a dark and over-glorified part of our history that should be remembered but not celebrated and it was very insensitive of the local Rainbows to host an 'Empire Day'.

No doubt they did it without even thinking and with the best intentions, but that's why it's important to let them know why it wasn't OK. A totally justifiable complaint!

YBVU. These are people who are giving up there time free or charge to entertain your child. Don't go beyond the joke with the gratitude.

Another one agreeing with you, OP. In very poor taste. And good on the volunteers, but there are limits.

YANBU.

I've been hacked off enough at all the Queen's Birthday palaver at Dd's school. But this!

P.S Next time someone says how there's no ignorance about racism on MN, show them this thread.

I totally get not celebrating Empire Day for all the reasons above.

But - and I do not know this - it would be an introduction to one reason why Britain is the way it is today ie multicultural.

How old are Rainbows? 6? A bit young to understand 'Empire'. I would put it in a similar context to children learning about WWII and dressing up as evacuees. War remembrance is not a celebration but for 6 year olds it is dress up and a trip on a train.

People sometimes use 'celebration' when they mean 'commemoration', I have seen celebration used in the context of Holocaust day, it certainly isn't a celebration.

Troll?

What? This really happened, and we really found it offensive, and I really wanted other people's opinion on whether we were over-reacting - where is the trolling in that?

What would you like to happen following your complaint OP?

Just that the leaders understand why "Celebrating Empire Day" is not a sensitive or appropriate title for a dress up party, and be more thoughtful when selecting themes in future.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost The being "a volunteer doesn't mean you don't have to be appropriate" thing has been thoroughly discussed up fred.

There most definitely is not an empire badge!

There has been something at Beamish that a lot of people have gone to as I've seen it on FB but that's nothing to do with either Guiding or Scouting- just something Beamish organised and people have gone to. Never been to Beamish as it's miles away but it seems a good place to take them and unlikely to be very indoctrination-y. They do a lot of school trips too I think.

"a volunteer doesn't mean you don't have to be appropriate"

Not does your offence dictate whether something is appropriate our not

Not does your offence dictate whether something is appropriate our not

Erm, not just me - Empire Day was deemed to be no longer appropriate in 1958 when it was changed to Common Wealth day. It has not been appropriate for almost 60 years.

But presumably you don't care about the sensitivities of anyone who isn't the same as you GunnyHighway

Gunny
Indeed. It's those pesky 'facts' that make it inappopriate.

YANBU, totally inappropriate.

YANBU. And Gunny, appropriate to whom? If OP finds it offensive, it is, by definition, inappropriate in her eyes. Whose sense of propriety are you representing?

I've never heard of Empire day?
What were the children actually doing?

Yes they are volunteers - but that doesn't mean it's ok to teach anything. One would assume a volunteer in something like rainbows has a general vocation and want to work with children - therefore what they do with the children should matter.

And it's totally different to celebrate then to educate.

YABVVU. It's the history of this country.

I'd like to know what calendar they were using to realise this was 'Empire Day'. I think that would be a reasonable question to ask