Fawlty Towers “Don’t mention the war” removed.

[boredtotears11]

Aibu to say I think that is a ridiculous decision by the BBC.Theyve removed it from its streaming service because of its “racist slurs”. It was a classic piece of comedy. I mean if they start picking apart old classic comedy how far are they going to go. Dads Army next?

@boredtotears11 - are you really so lacking in insight that you would start a post to berate a show being removed WITHOUT ACTUALLY KNOWING WHY?

For gods sake, check your facts dear.

Sorry for hijack but derxa I have PMed you a while ago about Playmo ideas!

@fascinated

No, but German heritage kids are being bullied and this kind of thing normalises anti-German prejudice. It just makes life harder for a lot of people, especially kids.

The episode mocks anti-German sentiments. How does that "kind of thing" normalise anti-German prejudice?

On Monday a bunch of drunken football fans in Coventry cornered 2 black kids and were throwing missiles at them.They were screaming racist abuse.
When the police arrived, some tried to say that the black kids had a knife, so guess who was handcuffed?
A knife was found in a bin and video footage shows one of the thugs holding a knife standing next to the same bin. The black kids were unarmed.
The words the thugs were chanting , N and W, the same as in this Episode. This incident is not being reported anywhere apart from The local paper despite the police issuing a statement, and yet the removal of a few words from a TV show is reported everywhere.
The priorities of a non racist Britain in which BLM doesn't need to be protested.

Well I’m watching them all again on Netflix in protest.

@FruitPastillesaregood

Well I’m watching them all again on Netflix in protest.

I suspect you’re far from being the only one.

It was more the obsessing about the war in general, on British TV. Sorry, wasn’t being precise.

Sorry for hijack but derxa I have PMed you a while ago about Playmo ideas! I've just found it. I tend to delete MN emails without looking too closely. Reply sent.

The world has gone stark staring bonkers.

*No, not the episode. Just the couple of words.
*
Yes, they are removing the episode WITH the words and replacing it with the version WITHOUT the words.

That's how it should be, those vile words have no place in any TV programme.

Yes, they are removing the episode WITH the words and replacing it with the version WITHOUT the words

My point still stands - if there was already a version without the n and w words in, why on earth wasn't it being used in the first place? Another option would be to bleep offensive words out.

The n and w words haven't been acceptable in the UK for 20 years or more.

Mittens030869
That's how it should be, those vile words have no place in any TV programme.

But if blanket ban those vile words in a historic context we also lose important messages in the mediums of rap, grime and literature today. Most of the backlash currently happening is not because of people disagreeing with BLM fighting for a more fair and inclusive country but what they see as a dismantling of their own culture and history. Bristol council failed over many years to address a simple solution(putting a plaque on it) to a problem a minority of Bristonians had, obviously the majority of Bristol people didn't give a shit either way but unfortunatly in a democratic system there will always be winners and losers. The coversation about the statue should have been solved years ago but a positive is that that converstion is now being had, but the knee jerk reaction that has also come with it has got a lot of peoples backs up because it's too much too fast.
I worry that what would be reasonable ajustments over a period of time will do more harm than good if the narative continues to snowball by becoming a witch-hunt over how people behaved in the past.

Presumably it was also ok for Zimbabwean and now South African white farmers to be routinely murdered all in the name of the past

there was another thread where we were told that we are not allowed to bring that up because of what happened in Palestine.

On Monday a bunch of drunken football fans in Coventry
I thought the pubs and football matches were still all off in the UK, let alone bunches of people? They must have worked hard to achieve this pre-Covid triple whammy.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-52991885
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8411025/Police-launch-probe-angry-crowd-Coventry-City-football-fans-pelt-two-black-men-bottles.html
metro.co.uk/2020/06/10/group-football-fans-chase-two-men-one-was-seen-knife-12830358/
Seems to be quite widely reported now.

Quick google for top ten grime songs, number 1 Stormzy Still Disappointed. Contains Btch, Prick, Dck, Whre and N*ggas. If words are unnaceptable do we silence people like Stormzy? Of course not, (I think his passion for education is brilliant) but if people are complaining about inequality and language but then say we can use derogatory language but not you it's only going to fuel more racism.

@ravenmum

On Monday a bunch of drunken football fans in Coventry I thought the pubs and football matches were still all off in the UK, let alone bunches of people? They must have worked hard to achieve this pre-Covid triple whammy.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-52991885
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8411025/Police-launch-probe-angry-crowd-Coventry-City-football-fans-pelt-two-black-men-bottles.html
metro.co.uk/2020/06/10/group-football-fans-chase-two-men-one-was-seen-knife-12830358/
Seems to be quite widely reported now.

Coventry were awarded promotion after their season was finished so this was some of their fans out celebrating.

There’s a lot of anti Irish stuff regarding O’Reilly the builder. The Major calls Manuel a ‘Dago’.
Are these references going to be removed too I wonder?
The scenes where people are slapped or hit must be beyond the pale because they are assault.
I could go on...

But - anyone that Basil abuses always ended up having the last laugh didn’t they? Because he was the joke.

@titbumwillypoo

Quick google for top ten grime songs, number 1 Stormzy Still Disappointed. Contains Btch, Prick, Dck, Whre and N*ggas. If words are unnaceptable do we silence people like Stormzy? Of course not, (I think his passion for education is brilliant) but if people are complaining about inequality and language but then say we can use derogatory language but not you it's only going to fuel more racism.

The misogyny and racial terms in rap and grime is worse than anything on any UK sitcom, including the ones never shown.

They make Alf Garnett look woke.

@FruitPastillesaregood

There’s a lot of anti Irish stuff regarding O’Reilly the builder. The Major calls Manuel a ‘Dago’. Are these references going to be removed too I wonder? The scenes where people are slapped or hit must be beyond the pale because they are assault. I could go on...

Cybil attacks Basil a few times so there's domestic violence as well.

YABU.

Shows like that should probably not be shown again. Lets look forward not back to old shows from 50 years ago.

Lets look forward not back to old shows from 50 years ago.
Do you never watch shows from your youth?

But - anyone that Basil abuses always ended up having the last laugh didn’t they? Because he was the joke.

Exactly. Some people seem to entirely miss the point. He’s a snob, he’s got no people skills, he’s mean and he’s hen pecked.

Yes, ;people miss the point. Also things are of their time eg the bible and we don't go into libraries and start removing bits from books do we? We don't change language used in a particular time because today it is regarded in a different light. If we do we expunge the historical record and begin re-writing history and then never learn things from and about the past.

But - anyone that Basil abuses always ended up having the last laugh didn’t they? Because he was the joke.

Exactly. Some people seem to entirely miss the point. He’s a snob, he’s got no people skills, he’s mean and he’s hen pecked.

But no one is arguing that this isn't the case. They're just objecting to the racial slurs, not to the whole sitcom. With those slurs cut out, that episode of FT can still be watched and laughed at.