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.

Well, you would have to be pretty unpleasant to think like that-but I suppose some people would

Oh come on. If this was another issue where someone used peoples black skin negatively to frame an entire complicated issue, would anyone say they find people taking offence difficult to understand?

I know the answer to that question already.

I think hes very unlikeable he was very abrupt and rude on a phone interview I heard. I think he lost his point saying "white saviour." His point he is trying to make gets lost in the way he presents it, he has alienated people which has already put people off of donating unfortunately as they have voiced their opinions.

As I said, find me a country with a majority white population where prosperous black “charity workers”swoop in and use picturesque white babies as props for their Instagram feeds to show how very altruistic they are, and I will call “black saviour” with the best of them.

Incidentally, he did not invent the expression “white saviour”.

He can be right and charmless of course @PinkCrayon . He's not an official spokesman for anything other than his constituents so there are plenty of other people to listen to on the issue, if you go looking.

Lammy is pretty sound on most things, frankly. Compared to almost all Tories, and a significant chunk of the Labour Party!

But who does go looking really cole alot of people dont. They read a news article or watch tv and see someone spouting off and think oh hes a bit of a dickhead and continue their day. Some will be put off of donating and have been.
He needs to learn how to engage people and convey his point without offending people.

I like Lammy. One of the few to consistently speak up for the Windrush and Grenfell victims. Even when they've fallen out of the news cycle.

But who does go looking really cole alot of people dont.

True enough.

Lammy is pretty sound on most things, frankly. Compared to almost all Tories, and a significant chunk of the Labour Party!

He's good on general thrust and broad sweeps. Weaker on the detail and real politik (such as calling for Oxford to institué foundation years). Possibly because he takes so much on.

He's a good, splashy headline grabber, though.

It doesn't matter if he invented the expression or not. Just as with a white politician he represents constituents of all ethnicities and has a responsibility as a public servant to be mindful of the effects of his words on a particular race or culture. If he wants to be open to offend, he can step down from his position.

And again you make it seem as if all white people are only selfishly motivated to go and help in Africa to make themselves feel superior and that they are also not doing voluntourism in white majority countries, like Russia, Ukraine, Romania and other countries all over Europe as well as in China and the Indian subcontinent. Are they singling out Africa especially? You keep choosing to overlook the fact that a lot of initiatives in Africa are organised by black people and black churches, some from the carribbean and South America. Black volunteers take just as many pictures. Is it ok because they are black? My sons old primary school Head teacher is black and travelled to Africa and had many pictures of her holding african babies and surrounded by african children. They were blown up and mounted on the wall of the corridors and main hall. She set up a partner school there. It is a more complicated issue than has been framed by DL.

Again certainly I agree that times have changed and maybe we have to step back and look at how people are helped, how volunteers and charities behave abroad and how celebs get involved. And I understand he was trying to address these things. But even if it is an academic term it just highlights for me the way identity politics is increasingly infiltrating academia in a not positive way.

ColeHawlins

He's a good, splashy headline grabber, though.

Apparently that is all he needs to be.

“He's a good, splashy headline grabber, though.“
Hmm. There are Grenfell survivors and Windrush families who wouldn’t agree.....

“And again you make it seem as if all white people are only selfishly motivated to go and help in Africa to make themselves feel superior ”
No i’m not. Just the ones who put pictures of themselves cuddling anonymous black babies on Instagram with inane captions.

Apparently that is all he needs to be.

He's good at it.

Hmm. There are Grenfell survivors and Windrush families who wouldn’t agree.....

Why not? I'm sure there's at least one political analyst or journalist amongst them.

Just the ones who put pictures of themselves cuddling anonymous black babies on Instagram with inane captions

So is it ok then if a black person does it? Or is it because SD is white?

Is the issue her choosing to put up a baby picture without permission or permission under duress of gratitude? Some people of all sorts have been guilty off in regard voluntourism.

Or is it a case of she's white so the only way this can be interpreted is racist?

Bear in mind nobody least of all DL bothered to ask her what her motivation was.

Something people of all sorts have been guilty of in regard to voluntourism.

Bear in mind nobody least of all DL bothered to ask her what her motivation was.

What's the point of that when it was so laughably obvious?

“So is it ok then if a black person does it? Or is it because SD is white?”
As I said- find me a majority white population country where black people come in and take pictures of anonymous white babies for their instagram feed in exchange for aid and i’ll happily call “black saviour”....

How dare anyone slag off Our Stace. Nation's sweetheart, ain't she.

“Have we found out yet why the racist Lamby didn't go to Africa when he was invited to go.”

Yes.

Have we found out yet why the racist Lamby didn't go to Africa when he was invited to go.

He's not racist.

He isn't obliged to accept the invitation.

He's explained why he won't go.

Have we found out yet why the racist Lamby didn't go to Africa when he was invited to go.” really!

What's the point of that when it was so laughably obvious?

What made it laughably obvious? Because the child she picked up wasn't a white Romanian child? Do you honestly think SD would not have taken that same picture if she had visited some orphanage in Moldova?

Are you saying the very act of picking up a black child and getting photographed if you happen to be white instantly implies actual intent to be racist? Just picking up a child? What about that person's previous actions or behaviour? Where does context come in? She is being judged for picking up and taking an insta of a black baby whilst being white. It seems just happening to have white skin instantly renders her motives as suspicious. I know how that feels and it's not nice.

And as I said previously, white people volunteer all over the world not just in Africa and take selfies holding children not just in Africa, and other ethnicities volunteer and exhibit the same behaviour also, so there's no evidence that people in Africa especially are being singled out by white people when it comes to taking photos in this way.

I am no fan of SD or of the format of sending Europeans abroad to impose western angles of interpretation aka journalism on the affairs of other countries. But jumping to the worst possible interpretation of what she did based on her colour alone is wrong.