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Original poster

To think Radio 5 host Danny Baker cannot stay at the BBC?

999 replies

KingHenrysCodpiece · 09/05/2019 08:41

Sorry if theres a post on this already.
Link www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7009283/BBC-Radio-5-Live-host-Danny-Baker-tweets-racist-Royal-Baby-monkey-image.html

He ought to go immediately.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
HBStowe · 10/05/2019 13:49

I think it says a lot that the strongest non-racist defence of the image (that I've seen) boils down to 'yeah, I agree it's a dehumanising image but Danny was actually making a joke that the baby is going to be less than human because one of his parents is Royal and therefore this 2-day baby is doomed to be cognitively impaired due to inbreeding.'

Extremely valid point.

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 10/05/2019 13:55

'mind not diseased'???

Fuck off, Baker. Just fuck off. I hope you never get another gig again.

2010Aussie · 10/05/2019 14:34

WeepingWillow and RedDog - come and work in my office. It's multi-cultural in an area which has been so for a very long time.

One of the BAME guys (born in the area) was joking about what might happen if Nigel Farage ever got to run the country (hopefully hypothetical).

"He'll probably get rid of people like me, working through the alphabet. But I'll be way down the list - P for Pakistani."

Another BAME chap "No, you'll be one of the first to go - A for Arsenal supporters. I'll be ok - T for Tottenham."

MrsBethel · 10/05/2019 14:42

It was a desperate and not very eloquent response, but he's just had an 'Oh Fuck' moment when he realises the racist connotation, so what do you expect?

'mind not diseased' is an incredibly ineloquent way to express that the thought never occurred to him.

And it is ineloquent, because plenty of people whose minds are not diseased will have had an instant reaction to the picture: people who have suffered racism along these lines.
What he was clearly rather clumsily driving at is the idea that if a white person like him sees that image and immediately makes a connection to race then that says something rather sad about that individual.

For racists the connection is immediate. For victims of racism the connection is probably immediate too.
For others the connection is there is you think about it for a moment, but for an awful lot of people it is not their first thought.

In your mind is it the 'royal baby' or is it the 'mixed race royal baby'? To an awful lot of people it is the former, and it actually takes little bit of effort to make the racist connection.

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 10/05/2019 14:45

I think that is absolute garbage

JacquesHammer · 10/05/2019 15:01

For racists the connection is immediate. For victims of racism the connection is probably immediate too.
For others the connection is there is you think about it for a moment, but for an awful lot of people it is not their first thought

For me it’s there because I write regularly about football for a client....now I wonder who else discusses racism in a sporting context as part of his job.

NoSquirrels · 10/05/2019 15:04

What he was clearly rather clumsily driving at is the idea that if a white person like him sees that image and immediately makes a connection to race then that says something rather sad about that individual.

Woah.

My mind is not diseased. I don’t spend all day thinking about race and privilege and diversity. But that photo is disgusting, really, on all sorts of levels and the racism screams from it. Unless you live under a rock you know that image is all sorts of wrong at first glance.

Dana28 · 10/05/2019 15:04

do know the Royal family through the ages have been inbred and suffered madness and weak intellect and would have assumed thus was the joke
Is that funny?

Well chimps in finery are a bit funny, especially when likened to the Royal family. Shoot me!

NoSquirrels · 10/05/2019 15:06

In your mind is it the 'royal baby' or is it the 'mixed race royal baby'? To an awful lot of people it is the former, and it actually takes little bit of effort to make the racist connection.

And again unless you’ve been living under a rock you know that the racism directed at Meghan has been vicious.

And that’s just your “average white person” who knows it.

You don’t even need to be a media-savvy journalist of 40+ years working for the national broadcaster. Fucks sake.

JamieVardysHavingAParty · 10/05/2019 15:15

^And it is ineloquent, because plenty of people whose minds are not diseased will have had an instant reaction to the picture: people who have suffered racism along these lines.
What he was clearly rather clumsily driving at is the idea that if a white person like him sees that image and immediately makes a connection to race then that says something rather sad about that individual.^

Yes. It does. That I used to be really into football.

I'll hold my hands up on that, 100%. Or should that be 110% ;) (I mean look at my current username!)

I'll wager all the people who follow him for the football jokes are also into football, too. So insulting them for having seen a couple of Kick It Out. Right Out ads in their time was a ridiculous tack to take.

areyoubeingserviced · 10/05/2019 15:22

I think the sad thing about this whole sordid affair is that Danny Baker is going to get more work .
My dc didn’t even know who he was. They googled his name and know all about him
Mark my words , he will be rewarded for his racist views , particularly in this current climate .

DeadWife · 10/05/2019 15:27

As Pedalleur mentioned way upthread that could be his whole aim. Boycott him in every respect I say.

Antigon · 10/05/2019 15:37

He said his go-to picture after a royal birth is the monkey picture but did he post it when William and Kate’s cherubic blond children were born?

jellyfish70 · 10/05/2019 15:41

Also if you have no awareness or interest in the royals , why are you tweeting about them? sorry Danny, don't buy it!

SpeckofStardust · 10/05/2019 15:49

Dana28 "overly zealous pc brigade"

Oops. Your wide-eyed faux naive mask slipped there for a second but it's ok - I don't think anyone noticed.

Dontbeadick · 10/05/2019 16:30

Ok first things first. That tweet was horrendous and Danny Baker should be ashamed.

But...I think it's important to separate people who are blatantly racist from those who have no malicious thoughts but make stupid statements based on ignorance. You simply can't compare Danny Baker's tweet to someone throwing bananas onto a football pitch.

We will never know what Danny Baker's true thoughts were, but I'm leaning towards believing him when he says that the race connection never entered his mind. Does that make him ignorant? Yes. Does it make him a terrible person? No. Hopefully he'll come out of this a sadder and wiser man, but I think it's harsh of previous posters to say that he is a disgusting person and should never work again or face criminal charges. Have you never done or said anything in your lives that you've regretted?

JacquesHammer · 10/05/2019 16:34

You simply can't compare Danny Baker's tweet to someone throwing bananas onto a football pitch

Nobody has done that.

DeadWife · 10/05/2019 16:35

But how can you be media- savvy and a football fan and not be aware of the connotations. How?

JacquesHammer · 10/05/2019 16:37

But how can you be media- savvy and a football fan and not be aware of the connotations. How?

Agreed. But he’s not just a football fan. He works as a pundit. He has discussed racism in football, including the parallels drawn between black players and monkeys, not only this season but this year!!

DeadWife · 10/05/2019 16:40

I agree Jacqueswas responding to Dontbeadick.

NoSauce · 10/05/2019 16:41

Well, even if the race connection didn’t enter his mind ( I believe it must have ) as he tweeted the photo and after being called a racist, he certainly didn’t react like someone horrified for posting such an offensive photo did he?

But...I think it's important to separate people who are blatantly racist from those who have no malicious thoughts but make stupid statements based on ignorance. You simply can't compare Danny Baker's tweet to someone throwing bananas onto a football pitch

But you’re guessing here that he didn’t have malicious thoughts and that somehow he should be treated differently to a real racist when in reality you don’t know why he posted it.

What he did was damaging and hurtful. No matter how you dress it up or down. There are no excuses.

MrsBethel · 10/05/2019 16:45

@NoSquirrels
"Woah.

My mind is not diseased. I don’t spend all day thinking about race and privilege and diversity. But that photo is disgusting, really, on all sorts of levels and the racism screams from it. Unless you live under a rock you know that image is all sorts of wrong at first glance."

I'm not saying your mind is diseased. He implies it, which he shouldn't - it's a flawed and desperate response. And you'll have noticed I acknowledge, in some detail, that most people will be capable of understanding the issues involved.

Where I disagree with you is on the 'at first glance' bit. It just isn't my instinctive reaction at all. I've never been subjected to it. I've never witnessed it. I've read about it in the papers, but that's all. The racist connotation isn't a natural thought to have 'at first glance'. I think for that to be someone's instinctive reaction to the picture, racism must have had more of an impact on that person's life. Maybe if you grew up somewhere tough and witnessed, and were appalled by, a lot of racism as a child, you would see it instinctively. As it happens, a lot of people don't, and it's only on a second look that they might 'get it'.

Dontbeadick · 10/05/2019 16:46

Like I said, the tweet was ignorant. I'm just saying that in that exact moment, he probably wasn't thinking along those lines. It is possible to be accidentally offensive. It doesn't mean he has racist thoughts.

JacquesHammer · 10/05/2019 16:51

I've never been subjected to it. I've never witnessed it. I've read about it in the papers, but that's all

I’m also presuming you don’t work in an industry where - particularly this season - it has been discussed at length?

Dontbeadick · 10/05/2019 16:53

@NoSauce of course there's a difference. Yes it was damaging and hurtful. That's why an apology is appropriate. It doesn't mean he is a monster and his career should be destroyed forever.

I agree his first apology was not good enough, but it was a knee jerk reaction. I imagine that if he had made the second apology immediately, people would be warmer towards him.