Can we now finally get rid of 'Do they know it's Christmas'?

[Tokenminority]

This song drives me absolutely up the wall. It's patronising, reductive, and it completely harms efforts towards equality.

I understand the focus on equal opportunities and stopping police brutality, but other narratives, such as the pictures painted in the 'Do they know it's Christmas' song, can be just as harmful.

'Africa' is not a country. You did not go on holiday to 'Africa', similarly to how you wouldn't have sent that you went on holiday to 'Europe' when you in fact went to France.

Of course there are major problems surrounding poverty on the African continent, just as there are in other places, but African countries are not only filled with begging, malnourished children who have never seen a Christmas present.

The picture attached is a photograph of Lagos. If I went on the street and asked random people on which continent that photo was taken, would anyone even consider the possibility that it may have been Africa?

Oh my goodness. I think about this every single Christmas, I love that you've brought it up in June!!

The lyrics are so patronising. "The greatest gift they'll get this year is life" what the actual fuck?!

Meh, I can't get too ranty about a song that was made nearly 40 years ago and raised millions to help starving children.

And I like a good old fashioned whinge as much as anyone.

Didn't take long for the charity bashing to start, did it?

If we are getting rid of that song, can we also then get rid of offensive rap songs like this?

She was the perfect ho' but what do you know
The bitch tried to gag me
So, I had to kill her
Yeah, straight hittin'
Now listen up and lemme tell you how I did it
Yo, I tied her to the bed
I was thinking the worst but yo I had to let my N*** fuck her first yeah

The track is called One Less Bitch by NWA.

Do they know it’s Christmas is very dated but I know what I find less offensive.

Yes, this was surely what George Floyd was worrying about with that policeman’s knee on his throat.

The torture death of George Floyd has a meaning of its own (a terrible one), that is in no way detracted from by people listening to this song and thinking "jesus, that is racist". Both things can be thought about at the same time.

And both things are a result of deep seated racism. The lyrics of this some are massively offensive, belittling and racist, and good intentions don't take that away.

I'm born and raised African and I hate this song. YES, WE DO KNOW IT IS CHRISTMAS. There are vastly more practising, and very devout, Christians on the African continent than there are, or ever have been, in the British Isles. And "thank god it's them instead of you?" Jesus actual Christ, talk about telling on yourself.

Yes, even as an 8/9 year-old, I thought the song lyrics were really inappropriate and awful. It's hideous, but what can you do? I feel about it like Love Actually. It's just really dated and inappropriate and I genuinely wonder who still enjoys it. I think there is a huge amount of ignorance about Africa in general too.

My husband's mansplaining of this song has become a Christmas tradition for us.

Well actually, there are many more Christians in Africa that in the UK.

Well actually, there's snow on Mount Kilimanjaro practically year round.

(Although, a more forgiving interpretation of the song is that regions in Africa were not able to fully enjoy and participate in the festive season due to famine and maybe you should get over it and donate a fiver)

It’s had its day & did very well raising money. I agree it’s time to leave it in the past now.

It’s a terrible song.

But it’s a terrible song that was written in 24 hours. It’s a terrible song that raised money and public consciousness around the world. It’s a terrible song that led to We are the World in the US and LiveAid on two continents.

It’s actually quite a lot less terrible than an X-factor warbler raising millions for Simon Cowell.

I love the first 2 versions.

It is raised millions and saved many people from starvation (and yes, some of the money was mis-spent, but that is true of all big aid projects). However the lycrics are very dated, I'm not surprised that African people find it patronising, and I would not be sad to see the back of it, but...

.... Surely the worst thing about that song is that sanctimonious prick Bono singing 'Tonight thank God it's them instead of you'?

Are people really this thick? Does anyone really think that this line means, "I am really pleased that Ethiopians are starving, and not me"? It is so obvious from the context of the song that the line means, "Remember it could be happening to you, not them" and, by extension, "These people are just the same as you, so help them out". It's actually one of the most powerful and least white-saviour lines in the song, if you have half a brain.

My South African wife finds it very patronising.

YABU it was of it's time.

The original is just about passable for this excuse. However, I absolutely cringed when they remade it 20 years later. I was a teenager, and first time I'd listen to the lyrics properly, I was shocked they could say and get away with such patronising and quite frankly offensive bollocks.

Bullshit it's well meaning, it's definitely a mix of white saviourism and massive egocentric behaviour. Same reason Comic Relief has long pissed me off.

If we are going to “get rid” of every song that ever offended anyone there will be very little music left in the world!
And I certainly wouldn’t be starting with this particular song anyway! I wonder if those who are whining about it have ever raised the amount of money that this song has for charity?

Classic example of whattaboutery there, Raspberry. But back to the topic at hand...

Songs like this help to explain why, at school during the '90s I had people being shocked that I didn't live in a mud hut, or asking whether I played with monkeys and tigers when I went home for the holidays. It's part of the mental image that we create for people when they think of Africa and that's actually a bigger deal than it sounds, if they don't have the cultural context / exposure to balance it out. I think an update of the lyrics would be a useful exercise.

It was written specifically to address the Ethiopian famine of the time.

Ethiopia is a majority Christian country.

It also snows in Ethiopia.

Not sure about the song op, but as far as the picture goes, this is also Lagos:

"More than half of Nigeria's residents live in slum settlements, according to the 2015/2016 Slum Almanac. Nigeria's population, according to the US Census Bureau is growing at a rate of 3.2% a year and is estimated will be at more than 400 million people in 2050."

edition.cnn.com/2020/02/26/africa/nigeria-makoko-mapping-intl/index.html

It was made with very good intentions in its day and raised a huge amount of money to help the terrible famine in Ethiopia at that time. That is why people like me bought the record. The lyrics mightn't be ground-breaking but it was all for a fantastic cause.

Are people really this thick? Does anyone really think that this line means, "I am really pleased that Ethiopians are starving, and not me"? It is so obvious from the context of the song that the line means, "Remember it could be happening to you, not them" and, by extension, "These people are just the same as you, so help them out". It's actually one of the most powerful and least white-saviour lines in the song, if you have half a brain.

The thing is though, it only sounds ok in the sense you put it, if you are not, you know, starving in actual Africa.

The song was written with this idea that no "Africans" were every going to hear it. Because "Africa" was ever so backward and so on. But, here's the thing, loads of "Africans" heard that song, and still hear that song, and know that it's supposed to be THEM that's being sung about.

When you actually slow down and think about what that line sounds like to an Ethiopian person, surely you can see it's actually a revolting thing to say.

It only seems OK to you because you aren't, presumably, Ethiopian. Sorry to be so blunt about it but I really don't think British/western folk get to decide whether this song is offensive to African folk or not.

It's a terrible, terrible song

The money raised did save a lot of people from starving but also propped up government policies that probably killed just as many people

Genuinely don't see the enduring appeal! It's dumb AND depressing

Yes, lets bin it - along with all the money we give for wells and clean water and goats and fuck knows what else. Disgusting white people.

Of course there are major problems surrounding poverty on the African continent

Yes arent there?, i remeber back in the mid sixties raising money at school to feed the poor starving in Africa and it more or less was ever thus since then.

That country and yes I've bene to mid africain countris is really frustrating they can or could feed their populations but it still seems a long way off despite initives as per attached UN article.

And their populations are increasing which will unless they get sorted will result in yet more misery for them:(

tinyurl.com/y9d2vwav

And the Ethiopians are widely considered to be THE oldest Christian community in the world. St Philip's evangelization of Ethiopia occurred within decades of Jesus' death, and their traditions are deep, beautiful and strong. That makes the whole premise of the song a thousand times more offensive...

The lyrics are problematic, but it’s a good teaching point. I’ve discussed with my kids the naivety and ignorance of the lyrics, and the naivety and optimism we all had that we could raise money and fix the problem .

Yes, lets bin it - along with all the money we give for wells and clean water and goats and fuck knows what else. Disgusting white people.

Why are you so sensitive? Is your ego so fragile that an African person saying this song is offensive, means that you will never give to charity again? That seems a massive overreaction.

You could just say, "gosh, yes, I never thought of it like that before" and move on with your life having learned something.