.. to be disappointed that a racist received a standing ovation!

[NannaNoodleman]

Danny Baker: Standing ovation at first show since Twitter storm www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-48249637

What is wrong with people. He showed his true inherent racism but people still believe he's a top bloke!

HbStowe....Who is refusing to acknowledge racism? I don't refuse to acknowledge it, when it is there. Goodness me, the people that make this link are disgusting. Perhaps some people have heard others make this link, I haven't. It's a new one to me. And a new one to lots of people. To be honest, I'm sorry I've heard about it . It's not a link that sprung instantly to my mind when I was shown the picture. I thought he was referring to it all being a bit of a circus, the media etc. That doesn't make me racist, nor does it mean I'm excusing racism. Ignorant of this link, perhaps, yes. But I'm so glad many of my colleagues were also ignorant of it. As I've said, perhaps it's a regional thing.

It's a racist photo if the intent was there, it was arrogant foolishness if it wasn't. I remain to be convinced either way tbh. Only DB knows. Either way though, this is a crystal clear example of white privilege in action. Had he been black and experienced monkey noise chants and had bananas thrown at him, it simply never would have happened.

I don't like DB and never have liked him. But he would have to be a special kind of stupid to do something in the knowledge it would likely jeopardise his career. Whatever I think about him, he doesn't seem stupid enough to commit career suicide. But then, we live in a time when Jimmi Savile seemingly pulled the wool over everybody's eyes despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

@NoSauce get off your “offended” high horse. It’s not a racist picture. The man is a moron but he’s not a racist.

Regional thing my arse.

Anyone who has studied anything at school such as politics, history, sociology, the science of eugenics, bloody English literature (!) would be aware of the reference.

The Nazis even, the way Jesse Owens was taunted in the 1939 Olympics.

More recently Michelle Obama experienced it.

I just don't believe you.

As I’ve said twice I think now, the picture is racist when coupled with the words royal baby leaves hospital. Royal baby = chimp. How you can continue to defend him is beyond me.

*1936 Olympics

I would guess it was inadvertant:

1. because it's a career-ending tweet once someone spots the racist interpretation, and he's not that stupid.

2. because he has a running gag associated with famous people/dressed up animals, so could easily have seen this as just more of the same. Yes, you'd have to have internalised a lot of white privilege not to spot the racist interpretation straight away, but I don't think that's unlikely. I didn't spot the racist interpretation myself when I first saw the photo; I wondered what the fuss was about. FWIW I am white and my kids are mixed-race and I call them monkeys all the time without any thought of it referring to their race. I call my nieces monkeys as well, and my nieces are white. One thing I have learnt from this controversy is that I need to stop doing that, because clearly there's a very strong feeling among many people that it's seen as racist. Another day, another tiny bit of white privilege understood...

HbStowe. Who am I excusing? Danny Baker? Have I said that? No I haven't. You have made that up in your head entirely. If, and I say if, people have compared black people to monkeys for hundreds of years then I and many others have been totally oblivious to this link. And I'm glad of it.

I don’t usually get involved with these debates/discussions but this is an absolute piss take. What do you mean “IF” like there could be some doubt this comparison exists?!! Its an insult for you to even have that doubt as you are implying millions people of black people over hundreds of years could have been lying about being subjected to this.

Your ignorance astounds me, and I do not believe for one moment you are this uneducated, and clueless unless you have never ever picked up and read a newspaper, never ever watched the news, never spoken to anyone on this planet and had a conversation about the world around you!

And as for all the nonsense of people saying “he may not have know she was mixed because I didn’t” the difference is he is a paid journalist, it is his job to keep abreast of current affairs and the top buzz news, and regardless of if you loathe or love MM she has been top news, specifically her race, so please can everyone, at-least drop the “he may not have known her race” excuse.

Deadwife. I did study history and English lit out of your list there, but not sociology or the science of eugenics (Don't think they do that in school?), and absolutely no one said anything about this link between black people and monkeys!!! What a preposterous thought! History was all about the Kings and Queens of England, and 1066, and English Lit was all about Chaucer. Never heard of Jesse Owens either Sorry. Haven't heard of Michelle Obama being called a monkey either.

Hoxtonbabe.....I say if, as I've never heard of this link. Nowhere did I say millions of black people have been lying. That's quite ridiculous. I'm really quite educated, but never heard of this link. As I've said, lots of colleagues hadn't heard of this link either.

I think it's a horrible connection. Posters on here say it's been used and well known for hundreds of years, but I'd never heard of it. I'm not the odd one out here either, as we were discussing this in work and lots of colleagues didn't make the connection and thought it strange. If it has been used in the past, it's a connection people need to be stamping out, not referring to it constantly.

It's still used today. It's something from years ago.

People are trying to stamp it out by making sure that when people like Danny Baker use this "connection" they experience consequences. If we just leave them be, how will we stamp it out? It will just continue like it has done for hundreds of years. Only now, marginalised people have more of a "voice" and more people empathise with them, so we are able to point out racism when it happens. Hopefully, soon we can get rid of this type of racism. But, it will be very hard it there's loads of people denying racism. Just because you and your colleagues didn't make the connection, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

As I've said, perhaps it's a regional thing.

And as I’ve said, perhaps it’s a wilful blindness to racism because it’s easier for you to pretend it doesn’t exist than to challenge it thing.

As I’ve said twice I think now, the picture is racist when coupled with the words royal baby leaves hospital. Royal baby = chimp. How you can continue to defend him is beyond me.

Royal baby = chimp......another hanger on in a performing circus. Doing a job a chimp in a suit can do. That's not racist.

Royal baby = chimp. It's a mixed race baby, hence I'll post a picture of a chimp. That is racist.

None of us know which one DB meant.

All the people saying ‘doing something racist isn’t racist if you didn’t mean it that way’ - do you believe this tripe in other areas of your life? If a bloke says to you ‘go and make me a sandwich’ would you make an excuse for him on the grounds that he maybe thought you were a chef?

Downthestrasa.....obviously it does exist, as people have referred to it, Ive not said it doesnt exist, but I've not been aware, and neither have many others. That's my point. Solely my point. Its a shame it does exist, but I'm quite happy I and many others didn't make this connection, as we shouldnt. As it's horrible. It's not as well known as people think though.

You're not really helping yourself explaining how little you know 🤷🏻‍♀️. Doesn't exactly strengthen your argument.

Eugenics came to my attention when studying the Nazis.

What next, Holocaust denial?

I'm in no doubt the BBC had no choice but to fire Baker, he demonstrated a total lack of judgement, but I don't believe he intended the image as a racist slur on the royals - he would have known that would be career suicide. He's sacked now, he's mortified, has apologised profusely and he's not coming back, what more do you want? He has used the monkeys in human clothes trope in his shows for years, if not decades. He used to do a regular "chimpanzees dressed as famous people" segment, and more recently has been playing a song "baby monkey riding on a Segway". He was an idiot, deserved to be sacked but the witch hunt circus needs to move on.

Definitely racist.

The tweet was perceived to be racist by many many people (rightly so). People of mixed race and black heritage have every right to be offended.

That does not necessarily mean that Danny Baker's thoughts were racist at the time of posting it. Only he knows what his thoughts were.

If it was a genuine mistake, Danny Baker is not the first person (celebrity or otherwise) to make a racist comment not realising the connotations or the damage that such a comment can make. Nor will he be the last. I imagine most of these people are horrified when they realise what they have said. The important thing is to educate people on how such comments can be perceived, not turn them into pariahs. If the racist connotations and offence are pointed out, a lot of people will hold their hands up in horror, apologise (genuinely) and learn from the experience. That should be all that is needed. The level of vitriol being used towards people who inadvertantly make similar remarks is not helpful. It leads to resentment, "the anti pc brigade" and in the long run will not help race relations.

Hopefully Danny Baker's experience will teach people to be careful of how a comment may be perceived by others.

None of us know which one DB meant

But knowing full well that black people are called monkeys by racists you’d think he would have realised how it might look before posting. He didn’t though. Neither did he apologise sincerely afterwards.

HbStowe...How on earth is it a wilful blindness to racism. No one I've come across has instantly known about this link. And where have I pretended it doesn't exist? You really are making stuff up aren't you.

All the people saying ‘doing something racist isn’t racist if you didn’t mean it that way’ - do you believe this tripe in other areas of your life? If a bloke says to you ‘go and make me a sandwich’ would you make an excuse for him on the grounds that he maybe thought you were a chef?

Well, it would be a pretty rude way to talk to someone even if they were a chef.

But if I was walking thru a cafe and someone said " please can I have a ham sandwich" I wouldn't be offended. I'd just say "afraid not, I don't work here."

Deadwife. Eugenics weren't studied specifically in school when I was there. Neither were the Nazi's. Even if Eugenics are studied specifically now, not sure they specifically teach people about this horrid link. Just because someone hasn't heard of a link you have, doesn't make them thick or uneducated, just that the link isn't that well known. Not sure why that us so difficult for people to understand. And to say I Would deny the holocaust is just ridiculous. Where on earth would you get that from. Im glad I haven't heard if the link. It's not a link that should be well known.

But if I was walking thru a cafe and someone said " please can I have a ham sandwich" I wouldn't be offended. I'd just say "afraid not, I don't work here."

Clearly not the comparison I was making.

You’re having a chat at the pub with some people you just met. You said something like ‘I am pretty career driven’. One of the men in the group says
‘Sure you are, now why don’t you go and make me a sandwich.’

Are you going to absolutely insist that he meant this in a totally benign way because he thought you were a chef?

Or are you going to think ‘wow, that was a pretty sexist thing to say.’

Because you should think the latter. It’s not your job - or anyone’s job - to go out of your way to make excuses for people when they do racist and sexist things. It is everyone’s responsibility to hold those people accountable, not find convoluted ways of pretending to ourselves that what they have done is ok.

HbStowe...How on earth is it a wilful blindness to racism. No one I've come across has instantly known about this link. And where have I pretended it doesn't exist? You really are making stuff up aren't you.

So are you now accepting that DB was racist after all? Because you can’t have it both ways. Either you think he was racist, or you are being wilfully blind to racism.