Is fairy tale of New York a sackable offence ?

[Veeveeoxox]

My OH played fairy tale of New York the censored version on a zoom Christmas party, he works in IT contracting moved from financial services to the public sector. They are now saying many people got offended and hurt by the song and they are wondering if he's a good cultural fit for this department .

AIBU to think this is absolutely ridiculous ? My OH is already looking for another job as the field is such in high demand he's not worried. They also waited until today to tell him instead of a month ago when the supposed incident happened.

I'm surprised they sang without any changes. I adore the song but I think the "faggot" slur isn't really something I want to hear

'Old slut on junk' is OK though?

(Not that I have a problem with the song, it's one of my all time favourites)

Do we have to censor all historical songs/films/books now in case someone gets offended.

I would understand if this had been produced in the current era, but we can't go back in time to make everything inoffensive.

Ridiculous.

the music was used in this years Kevin the carrot advert for goodness sake

Ridiculous. Admittedly it's a bloody awful song but this is a massive over-reaction, it gets played everywhere.

I have heard three versions of this song incidentally - and I hear each one every Xmas period (it is an awesome song!):

The original with the line "you scum bag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot" - sang by Kirsty McCall to Shane McGowan.

The one with the faggot word beeped out

The one where they have somehow changed it to
"you scum bag, you maggot, you're cheap and you're haggard"

metro.co.uk/2020/11/19/fairytale-of-new-york-edited-lyrics-to-be-played-on-bbc-radio-1-13619568/

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/pogues-fairytale-new-york-lyrics-19307294

So there are plenty of options out there to protect peoples feelings. It was written in 1985 though when casual homophobia was rife so I suppose it does reflect a historical era pretty accurately. I am never sure whether it's really better to just erase the past or keep it standing so that we don't repeat past mistakes. I mean is anyone proposing we erase the holocaust and pretend it didn't happen? I think the same people complaining about this song lyric would be outraged at the very suggestion.

It's also about down and out elderly alcoholics and I think verbal abuse is a pretty real facet of that condition. And nobody seems to mind that much about the misogynistic c word slur that women regularly have yelled at them.

If this is in writing he has a valid case for constructive dismissal!

Yes calling someone a reference to a bundle of old sticks and lazy is so offensive. And he didn’t even play that version!

absolutely ridiculous and its the censored version-wit the shit they play on the radio now i dnt get the criticism over ftony

@Veeveeoxox

My OH played fairy tale of New York the censored version on a zoom Christmas party, he works in IT contracting moved from financial services to the public sector. They are now saying many people got offended and hurt by the song and they are wondering if he's a good cultural fit for this department .

AIBU to think this is absolutely ridiculous ? My OH is already looking for another job as the field is such in high demand he's not worried. They also waited until today to tell him instead of a month ago when the supposed incident happened.

It doesn't really ring true. Who is 'they'? Who is wondering and why are they gossiping about it instead of tackling it directly with him?

Did it really offend people in huge numbers for thirty years before this was acknowledged? And is it now the hurt is being properly dealt with?

Or have people decided recently that it contains certain words which MUST be considered offensive, and therefore everyone should join in the concern about the said offence?

@HesterShaw1 The censored version was first released in the early nineties, so this is far from a new issue. The recent issue is actually the opposite, people trying to claim this is a new 'snowflake' issue when in fact it was highlighted decades ago.

@JorisBohnson2
"Do we have to censor all historical songs/films/books now in case someone gets offended."

It isn't just people being offended. We don't want the next generation hearing new slurs to throw at people. If certain slurs stop being in everyone's hearing, especially children, they die out.

that is very true. I remember it being bleeped out on the radio not long after it was released, mid nineties at least.

Although I don't have an issue with it and can't see why anyone would object.

They are at it.

I’m not sure I would want to work with a bunch of arseholes that can supposedly take offence at a song that has already been censored.

I suspect in reality it is for other reasons altogether. In which case I wouldn’t want to work with a bunch of arses that go ‘cultural differences - so no comeback’ rather than just being truthful.

They are now saying many people got offended and hurt by the song and they are wondering if he's a good cultural fit for this department .

I love the song so this is a case of, there must for the grace of God go I...

However. I'm also self-employed and am wondering how your husband reacted to being told the song selection had caused offence. As a self-employed contractor with no employment rights, in his place I think I would have inwardly eye-rolled (big-time) but outwardly given it mea culpa, so dreadfully sorry for causing offence, won't do that again, etc, etc, ad nauseam.

Was your husband possibly a bit argumentative when the situation was brought to his attention? Did he perhaps not give the impression he was taking the bollox complaint seriously?

@Samcro

My ds was told not to play the sound of silence by disturbed at work as it was too epic. FTOYY is not offensive.

Epic?

I doubt anyone said anything of the sort. They just want to get rid of him.

What kind of delicate snowflakes is he working with? That's utterly ridiculous!

Samcro
My ds was told not to play the sound of silence by disturbed at work as it was too epic.
FTOYY is not offensive.

Epic?

Presumably a typo but a great one.

Censored or not, most people know what the original words were, and therefore playing it IS offensive to some people, particularly homosexuals because of use of the type of sausage word.

It's like people who substitute F or C when writing, most people know what it stands for so it's still offensive. People should simply use a different word if they genuinely don't want to offend.

How were they offended by the censored version?

The ‘f’ word in the original had a meaning before the derogatory homosexual slur it has since become.

Very suspicious to me.

I heard it played in several shops before Christmas, "f" word and all. Though it's interesting we only mention it here censored, yet think people who have a problem with it are snowflakes. Can't be both really... It's either offensive or not.

Sorry, too epic?

What does that mean?

The F word or the S word? I’m guessing the F word because you can call women anything.

How ridiculous.

Innumerate songs contain offensive words. What if a white person put on a song with the n word?
A man put on a song that was degrading to women?
A woman put on a song that spoke down about men?
An atheist put on a song about the devil?

Censorship of music shouldn’t be a thing unless it’s ‘up with the nazis’ I don’t think anyone will lose any sleep.