To think Lord Sugar should be sacked from the BBC for his tweet?

[BlondeSea]

Earlier today Lord Sugar tweeted a photo of the Senegal football team with a caption along the lines of "I recognise these from the beaches in Marbella selling sunglasses!"

He doctored the image to add pictures of sunglasses. People challenged him online and he insisted it was funny and refused to apologise however since then he has apologised - he's obviously been forced to.

I won't add the image here, it's now been taken down but you can see it if you google it. AIBU to think this is disgusting, not funny, and he should be fired from the BBC?

Oh, just remembering, there was an interesting anecdote about racism in Sugar's autobiography, about when he was starting out. He'd hired some foreman or something in his firm, and sat by as he'd derided this young black Caribbean lad. Sugar recounted it in a shamedfaced way, saying he wished he'd picked him up on it (this was the 70s). Eventually he abruptly fired the bloke and his wife who worked with him there, but he admitted in the book that he often thinks back to the incident and revealed 'it haunts me' - he'd would think about what happened to the lad and how he would play it differently now, and wonders what became of him.

I just remembered that story because of this thread.

Never seen these kind of beach sellers, maybe Sugar has on his expensive jaunts. I don't think he'd have said it about any black players, certainly not England players, so in that sense it's not racist. But it might be a bit. But maybe the beach sellers really did look exactly like that.

Black people don't all look the same - I doubt the Senegal team looked exactly like the people from the beach, or that he remembers. But, to someone like him who seems to have these views, then he's saying he sees them all as the same.

He's unlikely to say it about black England players because there are white people in the England team too. The joke wouldn't work. It's a racist joke that needs a full team of black players in the picture to work. Maybe he could find a picture with only black England players, but he'd also be unlikely to use it because it's easier to demean people who are seen as more foreign. Black people from other countries, not the ones here who we just about accept (debatable).

I mean, on the other hand, we can imagine the long-haired whey faced pot bellied layabout flogging deck chairs on Brighton beach and say the England team look like that, (supposing they did) would that be racist?

This EXACT POINT has been addressed multiple times on this thread. Yet here you are with your embarrassing “what is racism?” musings.

As for the rest of your post: inane.

Oh, just remembering, there was an interesting anecdote about racism in Sugar's autobiography, about when he was starting out. He'd hired some foreman or something in his firm, and sat by as he'd derided this young black Caribbean lad. Sugar recounted it in a shamedfaced way, saying he wished he'd picked him up on it (this was the 70s). Eventually he abruptly fired the bloke and his wife who worked with him there, but he admitted in the book that he often thinks back to the incident and revealed 'it haunts me' - he'd would think about what happened to the lad and how he would play it differently now, and wonders what became of him.

Many people don't consider themselves racist and this anecdote about Sugar shows his decent side.

His joke was not malicious but it was racist.

I think that's the danger about racist/sexist remarks in that they're not inciting hatred. They're subtle and easily over looked as just a bit of a laugh. But they are part of a bigger problem.

I very rarely hear jokes that start "A white English man walked into a pub..."

The majority of offensive jokes are told from a white male view, as if the white male is the touchstone of society and non white males are just bit part actors.

Never seen these kind of beach sellers, maybe Sugar has on his expensive jaunts. I don't think he'd have said it about any black players, certainly not England players, so in that sense it's not racist. But it might be a bit. But maybe the beach sellers really did look exactly like that.
Lord Sugar's yacht rocked up in our marina a few days ago and I know this area very well. The beach sellers around here are on the whole from Senegal and are mainly tall, very dark, and with defined muscles, which is I think their racial body type/characteristic. However what he said was pretty awful and as I said earlier, I'm pleased he withdrew his tweet and apologised. I do hope people don't accuse me of being racist

This is the same Alan Sugar who has been criticising the Labour Party for its inability to deal with anti Semitism, yet cannot understand why the tweet is racist.
Idiot

Oh, just remembering, there was an interesting anecdote about racism in Sugar's autobiography, about when he was starting out. He'd hired some foreman or something in his firm, and sat by as he'd derided this young black Caribbean lad. Sugar recounted it in a shamedfaced way, saying he wished he'd picked him up on it (this was the 70s). Eventually he abruptly fired the bloke and his wife who worked with him there, but he admitted in the book that he often thinks back to the incident and revealed 'it haunts me' - he'd would think about what happened to the lad and how he would play it differently now, and wonders what became of him.

Some people only see minorities as real people, if they are ones that they are in close contact to. I suspect this is the case with Alan Sugar.

I had a work colleague that used to moan and moan about Polish people taking everyone's jobs etc. etc. She would even say these things to me - brown with an immigrant mother. But, the woman who did her nails was Polish and guess what? She was ok, she was great - because it was someone she knew in real life. Everything else she was talking about came directly from the daily mail.

Some people find it easy to demean the group, but not the individual. It's how Trump can claim Muhammad Ali is his friend, whilst saying a bunch of other racist things.

Oh yeah
The tweet wasn’t even funny

@downstrada you are absolutely right about the abstract/personal view of racism.

Totally agree downstrada
One of my neighbours would go on about immigration from Europe and the Europeans ‘stealing ‘ British jobs. Despite being aware that my husband is a Spaniard and her cleaner is from Lithuania

One thing I must say is that I am shocked by the number of posters who don’t find this racist.
As others have said, it’s a prime example of racism. The victims are not seen as human because of their colour.
If there had been a photoshopped photo of eleven Shylocks counting money and this had been linked to an Israeli team , would Alan Sugar find it funny? I don’t think so

I don’t see anything wrong with the people who sell sunglasses and handbags at the beach. Indeed I’ve had many a pair of ‘ray bans’ for a bargain and I’m most grateful.

For that reason I don’t understand the joke anyway and why people would feel the need to defend these people who are simply trying to make some money to live.

Or are they lesser black people or something?

Don't you just love it when white people try to dictate what is and isn't racist. You're able to find it funny because the colour of your skin has never held you back in life or made you a target. It's like a man telling a woman what is and isn't sexist and an able bodied person telling a disabled person what is and isn't disablist. White privilege is realer than ever and so many are ignorant to their advantage.

It wasn't even a funny joke, which may have made a bit more sense. The timing showed it for what it was. An African team doing well, let's denigrate them. As well as people in poverty that do need to sell stuff on beaches. Distasteful, shoddy and yes racist.

YANBU OP.

I think he thinks it is banter, the majority see it as racist.

And the BBC... Well, Jimmy Saville proved what they stand for.

But its alright for those very same sunglasses sellers to call us dirty white meat, freebie rides and sp**k buckets when we won't buy from them?

One called my 10 year old chicken nugget, and then explained it's cheap white meat.

2ManyChoices would you be able to explain how this is relevant, please?

But its alright for those very same sunglasses sellers to call us dirty white meat, freebie rides and sp**k buckets when we won't buy from them?

One called my 10 year old chicken nugget, and then explained it's cheap white meat.

No one on here is going to defend what they said.
Did you find what they said funny?

So what exactly is the point you're making?

But its alright for those very same sunglasses sellers to call us dirty white meat, freebie rides and spk buckets when we won't buy from them?

One called my 10 year old chicken nugget, and then explained it's cheap white meat.

So, what you're saying is that because individual sunglass sellers have said nasty things to white people, including your child - then it's ok to treat all black people badly and make racist jokes? Is that what you're saying? Or, do you just want to make racist jokes about Senegalese people? Listen, I agree that saying those things is disgusting, but I don't think it's reason to start being racist.

Would you think it's right to be horrible to white Americans, make racists demeaning jokes about them, just because you don't like Donald Trump? I'm guessing here you wouldn't because you see white people are individuals but black people are a group.

Let me know if I'm wrong.

Let’s can realistic, downthestrada - it’s unlikely that poster dislikes Donald Trump

Let’s can realistic, downthestrada - it’s unlikely that poster dislikes Donald Trump

et’s can realistic, downthestrada - it’s unlikely that poster dislikes Donald Trump

I know, I know! First thing that came to mind.

And the moral of the story is that you can get wankers in all shades?

Who knew eh?

People named Alan Sugar might be wankers
Some sunglasses salespeople might be wankers
Some footballers might be wankers

That's why group identity politics will always fail to unite

But its alright for those very same sunglasses sellers to call us dirty white meat, freebie rides and spk buckets when we won't buy from them?

No. Where did anyone say that is OK? And what has it got to do with Alan Sugar doing racist tweets?

“But its alright for those very same sunglasses sellers to call us dirty white meat, freebie rides and sp**k buckets when we won't buy from them?

One called my 10 year old chicken nugget, and then explained it's cheap white meat.
”

Are you clinically fucking stupid?