To think Stacey Dooley was right in her response to David Lammy

[CoolCarrie]

“ Africa doesn’t need white saviours” says Lammy commenting on pictures of Stacey Dooley on a comic relief trip. Why pick on her? Loads of celebrities over the years have gone to Africa to show how money is helping the poorest of the poor, and the huge difference it has made over the years.
What Africa does need is governments that are not corrupt and better leaders.

You know I don’t care anymore, get on with it . All the money and time we’ve spent you’re not going to get anymore.

Maybe he should go then. Lenny Henry was one of the ones who did it too though surely?

I dont think Stacey's intentions are bad , she's probably just doing what loads pf others have done before her. Challenge is good, it mitigates change.

Of*

Give back the narrative to the people in the target group, let them have their voice, instead of rich Westerners coming and speaking for them. I don't think it is about race, David Lammy made it that, what does make me uncomfortable about this, is that you have rich celebrities coming into very poor areas for a walk about and photo shoot in their designer clothes worth so much more than these people will ever have, and then going back on their private jets to their warm mansions, that is the problem. They have no idea the lives these people live and the hardships that they face. Or what they need even!

Imissmichael. I agree with you.

I think it would have been the same if Naomi Campbell or Beyonce had visited Africa, rich celebrity holding token poor child. Same if celebrities had visited orphanages or villages in Eastern Europe or Brazil and had a walk around holding a token poor child from the village. Celebrities using these children as props to help their career or as part of the charadeee thing.

We are ALL just people. Why do we have to separate people by calling them 'Black or White' ? To me this just perpetuates the problem. Both sides feel they are being got at. Morgan Freeman said "You stop calling me Black and I'll stop calling you White"...end of racism. Yes it would take time but eventually it would become the norm. It would stop the 'victim culture' and it would stop people who are not rascist feeling they are being unjustly accused. It would also make us ALL take responsibility for our own lives and stop blaming a multitude of other things for our own mistakes.

I agree Pensionista, it has gotten out of hand, and people are grouping one another into neat little categories, I guess it helps them to make sense of it all, but does not help the wider debate to just focus on a person's colour.

“If Stacey had been black nothing would have been said, he said it as she is white, racist”

No. As he repeatedly said, it isn’t about HIM (Black) going, either. It is about enabling / empowering people to speak for themselves.

Pensionista but in this case it isn’t all about race. DL cited race as that is part of the power dynamic between Western and developing nations. If racism was magically abolished, there would still be the power and economic difference between poor and rich nations.

DL is saying let the people speak for themselves. Support them to have their own voice. Let’s look at colonialism and it’s effrcts in all this.

It absolutely doesn't. Which is why the term 'white' saviours is extremely problematic and prejudicial. Plus it does not address the fact that a reasonably well off black celeb has western privilege equivalent to or in some cases more than a white celeb (in terms of visiting a poorer economic country).

It is not just colonialism though is it! Would David Lammy have spoken like that, had SD visited an Eastern European Orphanage or poor Chinese village or a slum in Venezuela, I don't think so, you would still have that rich/poor divide, them and us.

I totally agree with you KingHenrys exactly, I am glad this discussion has widened within the past few threads beyond the sheep way of thinking, and people have challenged this view and become much more critical.

It's a masterclass in white fragility in here.

“It's a masterclass in white fragility in here.”
Yep.

Nope it is a reasonable open and critical discussion here actually! Perfect example of narrow thinking.

HotpotLawyer....... I was making a general point. Looking through this thread, if you take the words Black and White out, your left with a completely different argument. IE Stacey holds baby in Africa and is 'obsessed' meaning what a gorgeous baby. I'm 'obsessed' when I hold my Grandson, he could be green for all I care, I just think he's beautiful. However the argument would then become about journalists, celebs etc going to Africa to help ?? or to further their own agenda, publicity etc. Completely different without 'any' colour being mentioned. My take is there will ALWAYS be the rich, poor and the inbetweeners, the selfish, the unselfish etc. It's life. But I do wish with all my heart we could just stop dividing people on the basis of colour. As I said we are just ALL people , the good the bad and so on.

Oh come on, Aeroflot! It was you started talking about the “disgust” being shown towards white people on this thread!

Terms such as 'white fragility' 'white saviour' and 'white supermacist' are very unhelpful, and does nothing to look at the wider issues, instead just narrows it down.

Yes Bertrand and you are perpetuating it.

instead of focusing on the wider issues, and how we can help poorer countries speak for themselves.

By making this about race, which Lammy has undoubtedly done, we miss the much sadder fact that we need to use our celebrity obsession to actually make people care about the huge suffering in other parts of the world enough to share some of their wealth.

Exactly Hopoingdown, to help highlight the issues, as they may not have the technology and know how to do this, how are they going to get it out there in public, so people start to help where is needed. Due to DL comments, people are already stopping their CR donations, which is really sad, so vital money that is needed, will not get to those who need it.

The guy is a complete c**t.

What SD did wrong was put a picture of her with a poor child on insta with the very vacuous sentiment by it, what DL did wrong was make it a racial issue when it is not, and therefore detracted from the issues of that country.