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

We have to pretend everything is aok for the white kids so they eat their tea and go to bed like good happy safe children. We can’t have them thinking about what’s really going on in the world.

Little tarquin doesn’t need to know about how the black kids in his class (if there are any) will grow up facing extreme prejudice from those who are meant to protect them. But it might put tarquin off his fish fingers to see black people expressing themselves in a beautifully choreographed, cleverly written and extremely emotive way. Dear god it may make tarquin an ... an... an anti-racist. Oh how could we face the shame?

I thought it was fantastic and necessary. Black and minority ethnic people can’t switch off the racism they experience while their kids have tea or while BGT entertains and doesn’t upset the whites. Everything is political. Choosing to ignore the reality for the majority of black peoples in the world is political. Being able to sit down and watch shite like BGT without having the weight of institutional prejudice against is a privilege. Shame on those who can’t see that.

Don't understand why anyone would be offended.

There was nothing upsetting for kids in it. If Diversity's performance was too violent then ban Eastenders which has far worse at times and earlier in the evening.

I hope Ofcom tell the racist twats to fuck off to the far side of fuck.

Those saying their children don’t need to see it? What don’t your children need to see? My 4 year old watched it and had no clue it was about a murder because he doesn’t know the George Floyd context. To him it was just a nice dance to nice music.

My 4 year old sees more overt death and scary scenes regularly on the Disney channel. So let’s rule that out- it’s not about the fear of children watching death scenes because there’s no way a young child would have known it was depicting a death scene by watching the dance alone.

If it’s for fear of starting a conversation about racism to your children - when is too young to talk about racism? Again the younger children (under sixes) won’t know the dance is about racism anyway. The older children will but I think it’s an important conversation to be had. My first racist experience (that I remember) was age six when two of my classmates threw rocks at me and said I couldn’t play with them because I was a dirty blackie. Many black children cant choose to avoid a discussion about racism. It’s definitely better to have a discussion about racism forced on you through educational TV entertaining, than forced on you through being a victim of racism.

To have that level of complaints it seems like an orchestrated campaign by far right groups, which needs investigating in itself. Most people with those views can't find their arse, let alone the email address for Ofcom.

I like the message and the dance but I worry about how George Floyd's family feel about his murder being reenacted for entertainment.

Black people are only acceptable when they’re providing light family entertainment for white people through dance (they’ve ‘got rhythm’ you know!) Not when they’re speaking up about issues that affect them.

Those people who feel ‘got at’. Textbook ‘white fragility‘. Google it. Or don’t. But be reassured that your viewpoint is understood - it’s definitely not original, intellectual or difficult to understand. It’s predictable and extensively documented.

As for the poster who told the OP to check her privilege... I would laugh if it weren’t so sad.

They didn't re-enact a murder.

Imagine getting mad about this.

I might be totally misremembering this but didn’t those shadow dancers do a dance which incorporated Images of drowning refugee children.? I don’t remember any complaints about that! So obviously only an issue when it’s black people being political.

10,000 complaints. Guess there’s at least 10,000 racist twats who were bothered enough to complain.

It's up to me to give direction to my children, not Ashley Banjo. If I want my kids to be informed about issues, I will arrange that. If I want my kids to be entertained then I will arrange that as well. It's my decision to inform my children about race or political issues at my time at a pace of my choosing, not Ashley Banjo's.
That's why it's inappropriate. Not the message itself.

Ok. Do you apply that principle to every bit of media or information your children consume? Or just racial issues? If it’s just racial issues, then why don’t you want a black man to inform your children about racial issues?

@Graciebobcat

They didn't re-enact a murder.

I saw a police officer rest his knee on a man's kneck. Isn't that exactly how George Floyd was murdered?

*neck, stupid phone

I enjoyed it. It was a classic Diversity performance with great choreography and a slight political bent.

It was a toned down performance from the original ‘I can’t breathe’ statement that they put out a couple of months ago.

Younger children won’t understand the underlying message, older kids will try the moves and (some) adults will lose their minds!

Just watched it, thought it was terrific!

Because Britain is an inherently racist country, full of racists. It's all well and good in London and other major cities where it seems multicultural, but the home counties and rural areas are full of old angry white people who are xenophobic because of what they read in the DM. We have a racist govt and we have voted to leave the EU because were fed up of "that lot coming over ere taking our jobs".

@Graciebobcat yea they did. Or are you claiming that the death of George Floyd wasnt a murder?

I wonder if a dance troupe who were Jewish did a piece showing a German dragging a child and pretending to gas them live on stage, whether there would be a similar outcry over complaints

Four years ago, Alexander Petrov and Anastacia Antelava performed on Russian as an SS guard and a Jewish girl, who was shot at the end of the routine.
Tatyana Navka and Andrew Burkovsjy skated a routine on Russian DOI in striped pyjamas and stars of David to music from Life is Beautiful.
Both routines scored highly - it was only media coverage whipping up a furore (like has happened this week) that caused a 'public outcry'.

I mean I'm white and didn't think it was trying to directly link me to murderers

And yes black people kill other black people and white people, there are always wicked individuals who go on to be murderers of all races. But separate from and on top of that there is systemic racism in both the uk and us. Having lived in both it really is more pronounced in the US but it's here too and there are endless studies and stats that show black people are more likely to die in childbirth, lose out on a job to an equally qualified white person and various other markers.

BGT is hardly a sacred space to those saying it's in poor taste, not like they were break dancing inside a church or something

White children are young enough to learn about racism if black children are young enough to experience it.

I saw a police officer rest his knee on a man's kneck. Isn't that exactly how George Floyd was murdered?

They portrayed a small amount of the violent incident which lead to George Floyd's death. Entirely suitable for part of a hard-hitting dance routine about current events. How could they have left that out given the subject of the routine?

I hadn't seen it so thanks for the link. I doubt Diversity (or Simon Cowell) care about complaints, if anything they probably glad it's caused such a stir and that people are now talking about BLM again.

I thought it was excellent and I think it summed up very briefly what has been happening this year and ended on a note of positivity for the future. I don't think it is offensive to anyone.

@FrenchOrGreek

It's up to me to give direction to my children, not Ashley Banjo. If I want my kids to be informed about issues, I will arrange that. If I want my kids to be entertained then I will arrange that as well. It's my decision to inform my children about race or political issues at my time at a pace of my choosing, not Ashley Banjo's. That's why it's inappropriate. Not the message itself.

This is so pompously ludicrous.

Do you police every book your child wants to read to check whether (a) it is entertainment or (b) informative about issues and then permit them to read it or not depending on what you want at that time? What on earth do you do about the (many millions of) books that manage to do both at the same time? And TV? If it's "information time" do you turn it off if something happens in the programme that they laugh at or enjoy?

And I presume, of course, that you sit in the back of every lesson they attend ready to pull them out at a moment's notice if they are exposed to something not sanctioned by you?

The level of ignorance as to the myriad ways we as humans inform and educate ourselves and are informed and educated by others is just astounding. If you are going to exercise that level of control over when and where and how your children learn about the world in which they live, you are going to have to keep them in a box.