To ask if there's something I'm missing about the allegedly "controversial" Diversity performance

[GlummyMcGlummerson]

Diversity performed on Britain's Got Talent, a performance which incorporated a message about BLM. Their performance, as usual, was incredible and sent out some great messages. The video is below.

It's had 10,000 complaints. Why?! am I missing something? Did someone's nipple pop out or something? What is the basis of people's complaints? The only reason I can think is that some people (probably because they're part of the problem) don't like it when others point out that there's racism in the world? Boo hoo to them

'What are you doing about it, GetOff?'

I'm very involved in raising awareness. I'd link the groups I'm actively involved in but I don't want people trolling as survivors have enough to contend with.

I'm very involved in raising awareness.

Ah so there's professional jealousy here too.

'Ah so there's professional jealousy here too.'

'Professionally jealous'. Wtf is that? You asked me what I 'was doing about it' so I told you'.

Professional jealousy. Where you have to tear down people who are doing a better job of raising awareness of their cause.

Being against racism is about basic human decency and it's something everyone should be against. It's not a matter of political opinion like brexit or trump.

Of course everyone should be against racism. Can we all just agree on that that so we don’t have to keep up the pretence that anyone here is arguing in favour of racism?

Black Lives Matter (the organisation) is a political movement with political aims that go way beyond raising public consciousness that black lives matter. BLM have political goals that not everyone agrees with. So if you are going to allow one political message on to BGT, it stands to reason that in the interests of diversity (the concept not the dancers), other messages should be heard as well.

Professionally jealous'. Wtf is that?

It’s the sound of someone rather pathetically attempting to wind you up with a nonsensical personal attack. Ignore.

No Jilly, it was aimed at someone who said that Diversity should have been doing some other type of campaigning that was maybe less public and not using their amazing dance talents and access to Saturday night TV.

The dance was ‘inspired’ by BLM, and influenced but it wasn’t a political campaign in itself. They were moved by it and referenced it. Art isn’t supposed to always make you feel warm and fuzzy (and dead behind the eyes like most of BGT rubbish).

Last night apparently it was moving to watch the outdated lyrics of Land of Hope and Glory at the Proms. I come from a town where there is an area named after a historical slave dealer and there is outcry about renaming it because it’s just part of our history innit!

So we are allowed to do things that are ‘traditional’, but nothing new, current or relevant in case it offends our tradition/history.

One of the worst things about people complaining about it, or making the sort of blinkered “can’t and won’t see racism” comments we are seeing here, is that many of those people will have young impressionable children and teenagers. If they watched it with them and made comments like that, all you can do is hope that they have peers who have learned better things at home who make a bigger impression than their narrow minded parents.

GOYHH and Jilly, please can you stop, your comments are not good.

Black Lives Matter (the organisation) is a political movement with political aims that go way beyond raising public consciousness that black lives matter. BLM have political goals that not everyone agrees with. So if you are going to allow one political message on to BGT, it stands to reason that in the interests of diversity (the concept not the dancers), other messages should be heard as well.

You do realise that this argument is propaganda created by the US right wing? Many of the claims that are made about the objectives of BLM have been entirely fabricated. There are a huge number of Marxist and anti-capitalist statements attributed to BLM that have never appeared on their website or any of their communications. When the only people who are claiming something are all from the same political stable that is opposed to racial equality then you need to start questioning if it is real or just an attempt to discredit the movement. I mean this is the same tactic that was used to try and discredit Martin Luther King - painting him as some sort of dangerous radical.

Agree with Dastardlythefriendlymutt's post earlier today.
"There is no form of protest against racism that is acceptable to a racist". - Bernice King
If that statement makes you uncomfortable -you now know why

I thought the dance was great.

I don't like the idea of having politics forced down my throat on such a "zone out" show.

I'm not interested in seeing BLM stuff in dance form on BGT, just as I'm not interested in seeing an abstract dance performance piece exploring the right to abortion, or shining a light on gay marriage: political issues, by the way, that havent been (or havent allowed to be) showcased on BGT.

I am pro BLM, pro choice and pro gay marriage. I read the papers and stay informed on these issues.

I'm not interested in having politics injected into mainstream entertainment, because political views are subjective and I dont feel one perspective should be given more of a platform than any other.

Sorry.

Are people now seriously trying to deny that dance is an art form?

Woe betide we make anyone uncomfortable eh.

I agree it’s fine to question BLM the activist group, it’s fine to question any activist group and BLM have some questionable aims certainly.

But Black Lives Matter isn’t just the group, it’s a slogan and movement that has caused a lot of awareness recently and when most people say it, or put it on their twitter profile or make a celeb video about it etc, they aren’t specifically referencing the campaign group, but the whole movement and the general sentiment.

When I see a BLM-inspired dance routine I don’t think “they want to dismantle the police, get that political campaign group off my telly” - it’s obviously not the motivation behind it at all. It’s a dance about systemic racism and the experience of racist persecution. And racist persecution, violence, neglect and discrimination by police does happen in the uk. That is not to lay the blame on every single police officer, but it does happen. Benjamin Zephaniah was on R4 the other day talking about it and it was eye-popping some of the things he described from his own experience. There have been severable high-profile cases - generally not involving guns as in the US but still involving deaths.

I’m not black but I am a woman and a feminist and you encounter a comparable thing with people telling you there’s no problem to complain about, women in the west have equality now, what are you making a fuss about? We absolutely do have racism including police and systemic racism here, and it’s totally reasonable to use a mainstream platform to draw attention to it.

And yes the re-enactment of a violent death argument is a bit daft. Unless you are also going to complain about every soap, cop show, hospital show, dr who etc where it’s more realistic and less arty.

I don’t watch BGT, so wouldn’t have seen this performance without this thread.

I thought it was excellent. Dramatic & heartfelt, with the right balance of positivity that we can make the world a better place.

Are people who think that 'the world would be a better place if people weren't racist' is a political view also cross that messages about racism have featured on CBeebies?

@GoldfishParade

Do you think this is rather arrogant and privileged in any way? It’s really nice that you can choose to live in a bubble where these things do not interest or trouble you. Unfortunately I don’t think black people, abused women or people who live every day with homophobia can say the same thing. If only it was a simple as turning on BGT to escape all of the worlds troubles!

GOYHH and Jilly, please can you stop, your comments are not good.

No, and I really don’t care that you think my comments “are not good”. I think YOUR comments are not good, but that doesn’t mean I believe you should stop saying them.

I thought the dance was powerful and emotive, completely opposing views to you @GetOffYourHighHorse.

You do seem to have a little fan club who follow you around the board arguing with whatever you post though, are you someone famous?!

In that case Jilly, I can only hope that you stick to saying them from behind the safety of a computer screen an anonymous forum and not in real life .

@Menora I didn't say these things dont interest me. I follow them in other formats. What doesnt interest me is to see an agenda, any kind of agenda, veiled as entertainment and forced on the masses.

I think if you feel the need to conflate the issue with the performance itself, you need to examine your argument.

@Strawberryraspberryjam

One of the worst things about people complaining about it, or making the sort of blinkered “can’t and won’t see racism” comments we are seeing here, is that many of those people will have young impressionable children and teenagers. If they watched it with them and made comments like that, all you can do is hope that they have peers who have learned better things at home who make a bigger impression than their narrow minded parents.

GOYHH and Jilly, please can you stop, your comments are not good.

If there children are fair minded like a lot of young people are they will register their parent is a bigot/ a racist and know to keep some of their private lives away from them.

The poster will then be complaining to all and sundry in a decade or so why their son/daughter refuses to bring their partner from another ethnicity or their mixed ethnicity grandchildren over to see them.

What doesnt interest me is to see an agenda, any kind of agenda, veiled as entertainment and forced on the masses.

What did you think of the opening ceremony to the London 2012 Olympics?

And presumably the makers of BGT had seen the performance before it aired & thought it was appropriate for their show.