To want rid of the gollys?

[SueBaroo]

Dh just got given a shedload of very old gollywog models by FIL, who is cleaning out his loft. Dh reckons there's quite some money involved if a collector wanted them, but I think they're vile, and I would just like to bin them.

AIBU?

Yep, YABU. It'd be a shame to deprive someone of them who would really love them. But I'm a collector (not of gollys) so I hate to think that things go to waste unnecessarily when people would really want them.

YANBU, I'm terrified of them. My nan has a load of like teddy ones and when I was a kid I hated them, I'm still scared now. My dh finds it really funny.
But there may be some money to be made. Just get your dh to sort it out

How about selling them and giving the money to an anti-racism charity?

mmm, I think they ARE shocking and awful, and the people who might collect them are likely to be the ones who see nothing wrong in perpetuating a hurtful stereotype, and go on and on about how they're 'just dolls'....so selling them to a collector could just fuel that mindset. I did once find a US website of a museum that archived racist imagery ( possibly called the Jim Crow museum?)- from an anti racist perspective, I hasten to add. IIRC, that's where I read about the history of the gollywog, which although explicitly drawing on the 'minstrel' image, are not really known in the US. Maybe they'd like them.

MIL just gave youngest DS a huge (secondhand) golly for his 1st birthday. Planning to hide it until she has completely forgotten (probably some considerable time, she never forgets, that woman) and then bin it. Even if it might be valuable, I don't really want it hanging around for anyone to make money from or be hurt by.

Agree with madlentileater: do you think they may be of any historical interest?

Had a dilemma myself last night when I started reading Tom Sawyer to DS1 (almost 10) and kept coming across the 'n' word. Decided to keep it in as I read it aloud but gave very extended explanation of historical context and offensiveness, and ended up researching slavery with him for half the night, so very educational in the end. According to Wikipedia Mark Twain was an abolitionist. Not sure if I did the right thing though.

I do get the historical significance thing. I just loathe them to look at, and it feels even wierder to be making money out of them. I can't decide whether or not I'm just being squeamish.

It just shows how much the world has changed.
The ones my nan has were my mums and my aunt's that they were given for xmas etc. I couldn't dream of giving them to dc's nowadays.

I think you did the right thing- spending that time finding out together about slavery can only highlight for him how hurtful those words are. Interesting, too to see that standards can change nd what might have seemed acceptable once isn't now. ANd if you shar your dilemma with him, that also shows what a powerful taboo it is now, and why.

Better squeamish than offensive. Bin them. Any money you made you would feel too uncomfortable about spending anyway, I bet.

PP I think you did the right thing - not many 10 yr olds know where such language comes from and there are people out there now trying to "reclaim" the n word so it is good to know the REAL meaning and the first ways it was used. What harm did it do - nothing; just showed your DS a word that is now considered really, really bad and helped him understand why... all good IMO

YANBU I saw knitted golliwogs for sale in a gift shop in my mums village a few weeks ago and despite being very laid back about most things i was really horrified. My husband is black and my mixed race daughter picked one up and asked what it was. Just said it was a silly teddy but hated that she'd even seen one

Thanks MLE: he was fascinated by how attitudes have changed. Especially since I told him that I could remember kids singing 'eenie, meenie' using the n word (Australia in the 80s). That really shocked him and brought home how current the debate is. I hope when he hears rascist language (as sadly no doubt he will soon) he will be offended and speak out.

If they were given to dh by his father, I think I'd probably just let dh decide whether to sell or bin them. If they'd been given to you, fair enough to chuck them out - & fair enough not to want them in the house (I wouldn't either).

Oh, I wouldn't chuck them without him agreeing. I certainly don't want them here longer than necessary.

toomanyshoes

don't bin them if dh wants rid sell them and use the money. or give to charity.

So golly collectors are racist by default? What utter nonsense. Throwing them away isn't going to save the world any more than keeping them makes you racist. This sort of knee-jerk reaction solves nothing. Give them to the charity shop, they'll be glad of them when they make the money from the collectors.

YABU.

If it bothers you sell them on ebay and give the money to a decent charity, to bin them is an awful thing to do IMO.

When I was a kid I had a golly and it was my mate, I loved it to bits. I don't think kids see it in a bad way.

yabu
my sil collects golly stuff. she is not a racist. she also collects teddys and is not cruel to bears. db colects toy cars but doesn't steal cars.(can you tell they don't have children)

I wouldn't be happy having them around because there is that nasty connotation to them. I'd sell them quite happily, though.

Or donate them to a museum.