To see nothing wrong in the traditional nursery rhyme "Baa Baa blck sheep"

[Reallytired]

According to my daugher's nursery the nursery rhyme "Baa Baa black sheep" is racist. They have to sing "Baa Baa multi-coloured rainbow sheep".

Why is the traditional version considered offensive? It seems to me PC gone mad.

Oh I know it was a Jimmy Doherty program

and it was Kenya

baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

anyway sheep say meeeeeeeeeeer not baa

My cousin had a pet sheep. He was black and called BaaBaa. He had wool. What's the problem? Black sheep do exist.

I used to work with a very nice and fairly devout Muslim chap who used to get awfully pissed off with non Muslims being offended on his behalf. He was never offended by anything, be it hot cross buns being sold in the works canteen or us calling Christmas by it's name and not Winter Holidays but sadly was offended by the idiots who thought they were acting on his behalf.

Kenya/Zimbabwe.........close enough

no I'm absolutely positive these were goats I saw and not sheep, but I'm now sat here tring to remember if I EVER saw any sheep or pigs out there in 2 1/2yrs I lived there...........

MNHubble - I would really, really love to come across one of those dim people who think 'brainstorm' is offensive. Because I happen to have epilepsy and would enjoy putting them right in their place.

lol at MrsDepp's diva DD, bless. I would've dressed her in black on purpose tbh, can't resist those kinds of urges. Must grow up.

tsk tocc whats a thousand miles between sheep

apparently the red maasais in Zimbabwe too.
Not sure about pigs... they get sunburned easily don't they

I don't know bronze.......but now I'm going to look REALLY stupid next time my (ex)SIL rings and ask her about sheep in ZImbabwe..........and pigs [grin[

you will have to post and let us know

I will......after I stop ing - although I'm sure she won't laugh at me....................too much

I think you're making this up. But if it's at all true, and it seems other people have had similar experiences, so it might be true...

It's a fucking sheep. And they're not even being nasty about the fucking sheep. It's a fine upstanding sheep, generous with it's wool, even sharing some of it with the little boy down the lane (who may or may not be of African/Caribbean decent).

BaaBaa Black sheep has never been officially banned anywhere. If it has been banned in individual places it's because the people in charge of threads like this and acted on the myth.

But, actually, it does show that people are trying not to be offensive, and thinking about the language they use, and how it affects people, which is a good thing. Even if this particular "ban" is arrant nonsense. So, nothing to get worked up about. Better to go too far in the PC direction than too far the other way.

Very well said Seeker! I always want to be the voice of reason..but instead get myself worked up...

And don't be so bloooody stupid! comes roaring out of my mouth before I can stop myself!...

No one is stopping children from singing baa baa black sheep.. IF rainbow sheep have worked their way in to the song.. It is a very simple way of helping kids to learn colours.. And very traditional with children's songs to steal the music or lyrics because it is easier to teach when kids alreayd know the music.. Happens with all of them.

And just to remind you if baa baa black sheep was considered horribly offensive and racist to anyone..

Do you think they would be really happy for people just to change the words a bit?

Of course not it would still be the song that they find degrading...and I personally would find it even more offensive that it was still being taught (albeit with a twist!)

I have 5 children in my class at school and all 5 have epilepsy and we do 'brainstorm'!!

Yes epilepsy is considered to be 'electrical' activity across the brain so I can see where the brainstorm bit is related
but wondering whether we'd be told not to 'thought shower' as our children all have some degree of brain damage so their thought processes are delayed.

This is just plain silly. Show the nursery these pictures.

Black Welsh Mountain Sheep

Black Aberdeen Angus

Black Rock Hen

Large Black Pigs

All these are very traditional black animal breeds. Tell them a farmer told you.

"baa baa multicoloured rainbow sheep" doesn't scan.

I'm not sure this is even true, tbh.

TeamEdward - that's very interesting...

For some odd reason, certain breeds of black lambs revert to being white sheep as they get older. Don't ask me why, it's a sheep thing.

There is a tartan sheep at Auchingarroch, however.

Load of old sheep-shit.

Here is the beautiful breed of rainbow sheep we should be singing about And i think if it has to be about rainbow why the multicoloured bit, I have never seen a single colour rainbow:

Baa Baa Rainbow sheep have you any wool?

dd's used to sing baa baa rainbow sheep at their nursery.

i laughed

Sanielle - in that case, what about Eeny Meeny Miney Mo?

XH banned me from singing baa baa black sheep with dd because it was racist. I ignored him.

It's a sheep ffs

Oh, and "Run rabbit, run rabbit run, run, run,
Here comes the farmer with his fun, fun, fun...wtf

dd came back from nursery singing this version.

And don't get me started on the MacDonalds song which they were taught as well....

When my dd was a PFB I used to hate hearing her singing about the blind mice having theri tails cut off!

How on earth is it possible to bowdlerise Old Macdonald?

Or is it simply a reaction against the capitalist, propertarian, exploitationist, carnivorian values the song promotes?