Page 9 | To think Stacey Dooley was right in her response to David Lammy

CoolCarrie · 2019-02-28T13:12:11+00:00

“ 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.

Fazackerley · 28/02/2019 17:20

Yes, I get his point, but he lost me when he used her as an example. There's a reason he chose her and if you are blind to that then I despair!

nauticant · 28/02/2019 17:21

I initially thought it was a needlessly harsh comment but then I recalled about the ongoing scandal of African orphanages where the children are forcibly separated from their families and are put into an environment where they are prey for predators.

African children shouldn't be used as accessories or as a commodity to keep a UK based charity bandwagon on the road.

cittigirl · 28/02/2019 17:22

I don't see colour....all I mean is I just see a woman and a child. I don't think 'ooh it's a white woman holding a black child , how strange'. Maybe I'm alone in my view. Maybe I don't explain myself well but I can tell you my conscience is clear.

AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore · 28/02/2019 17:22

Agree with Lammy, and always find CR very cringe-worthy in its 'let's swoop in, do some rather beautiful, tragic photography 'at' those in need, swoop out'. I don't doubt it gets viewer tears and donations but the dynamic set up is an uncomfortable one. It would have been more appropriate if Lammy chose someone who is not known as an investigative journalist, but I agree that those photos are a very, very dated trope.

Incidentally, this is hardly new news, so I'm surprised it hasn't been taken on board - I did some work on how outdated this model was and the negatives of white saviour models in charity aid work in 2002...

ColeHawlins · 28/02/2019 17:22

He might have been better not to cite Dooley, but the attempt to present her as a brainless bimbo, or a naive teenager are characterisations which I am sure would piss her off....

She's working class and a professional journalist. Those are the key things about Dooley. Lammy is the one ignoring that.

cittigirl · 28/02/2019 17:23

Oh I do see racism, believe me.

hedgeharris · 28/02/2019 17:25

I don’t think donating to those worse off and raising awareness is setting yourself up as a saviour, for one, and also, the reason we have celebrities doing emotive things is because it raises money.

There are positive videos on the difference CR projects are making, but if everything in Africa is going swimmingly, why donate?

ColeHawlins · 28/02/2019 17:25

I don't see colour....all I mean is I just see a woman and a child. I don't think 'ooh it's a white woman holding a black child , how strange'. Maybe I'm alone in my view. Maybe I don't explain myself well but I can tell you my conscience is clear.

Do you mean that you don't attach any weight to it?

Do you 'see' Africa/Europe? Or Developed/Developing world? Or none of those things?

I'm trying to understand what you mean.

RockyFlintstone · 28/02/2019 17:26

Oh I do see racism, believe me.

You can't do, if you 'don't see colour'?

Do you understand the point that Lammy is making about 'white saviours'? About the context of it?

midsomermurderess · 28/02/2019 17:27

I thought it was trite. She has made no attempt at all to engage with the poor, or points, he is making. She was just huffy.

BlueJava · 28/02/2019 17:28

The fact is without publicity and reports that grab people's attention they won't get the money they want to raise. It's fine to say the formula is outdated but that I haven't seen a better way of raising money explained yet. Personally I won't be watching and don't donate to the Comic Relief type causes (I would rather do other things closer to home).

cittigirl · 28/02/2019 17:30

I guess I just don't understand why he has picked up on this partucular photo when there have been hundreds of others. Look, I know what I mean. It may not come across. Wish I'd not posted now. Of course, I am very much aware of the wider world, trust me

grumiosmum · 28/02/2019 17:30

"Poverty porn". Being discussed right now on Radio 4, for anyone who's interested.

unitoast · 28/02/2019 17:32

'Lammy is the rascist here imvho. Is it just me?'

He wasn't being racist. Racism is prejudice against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. Pointing out that Comic Relief PR fuels 'white saviour' complex isn't racist.

cittigirl · 28/02/2019 17:34

Ok fair point, sorry. I'm not in a good place today so I'll bow out now.

hedgeharris · 28/02/2019 17:34

I don’t understand what Lammy wants - are we supposed to donate but hate ourselves for thinking we’re saving people? It seems a ridiculous debate. Or are we only allowed to donate to charities staffed entirely by staff based in Africa?

I don’t know how many ordinary people this sort of twitter scrap helps

BertrandRussell · 28/02/2019 17:35

“poor old Stacey Dooley”

There we go again. 32 year old investigative reporter Stacy Dooley.
Are people patronising her because she is working class or a woman or both?

ColeHawlins · 28/02/2019 17:35

I guess I just don't understand why he has picked up on this partucular photo when there have been hundreds of others. Look, I know what I mean. It may not come across. Wish I'd not posted now. Of course, I am very much aware of the wider world, trust me

You mean that particular photo doesn't scream "colonialism" and "white saviour" at you as strongly as some other images do?

If that's what you mean, I do agree there's a lot of warm human interaction in it which doesn't make it the starkest example of what he's (quite reasonably) trying to flag up.

hedgeharris · 28/02/2019 17:36

Why didn’t Lammy go after UNICEF - Olivia Colman has been all over my Facebook in ads to donate blankets to cold children.

Newbuild · 28/02/2019 17:37

Ed Sheeran got a rusty radiator award years ago for his CR video didn’t he?
I agree with Lammy. To me personally, constantly seeing white hero’s with poor black kids fuels the ‘superior’ attitude that some white people have.
To the people saying ‘I don’t see colour’ I’m going to take a wild guess and assume you are white.

sushisuperstar · 28/02/2019 17:40

I'm team Lammy, although I've never been a fan of Stacey Dooley, I know many people like her but I've always found her irritating. That aside though - I'd agree with Lammy regardless.

nevernotstruggling · 28/02/2019 17:41

He's right. Dead aid is a good read if you don't get it

DonaldTwain · 28/02/2019 17:44

Lanny could have made his point without singling her out. He chose not to. There is a trend observable in men of his political stripe in this respect. I regard such men with the deepest possible distaste anyway - this merely deepens it.

waterrat · 28/02/2019 17:44

I agree with David Lammy.

This comment

I think if I was a mother being handed a mosquito net that would save the lives of my children then I wouldn’t give a fig who was helping or why.

Completely misunderstands the issues around empowerment and development. You actually would rather be able to afford to buy one than be handed one by a random celeb who was instagramming the whole thing for a country you had no connection to...

Cla9 · 28/02/2019 17:46

He’s absolutely right.