Celebrity Big Brother: is it really racist or 'just' bullying and bitchiness?

[LucyJones]

I'm really not sure where I stand. A lot of it just sems like school girl horridness

white trash = chav/ned/pikey in the US.

Spides if you're in NI.

pmsl at expat, the white trash avenger.

also for the 301st time. it was leo who said it, jermaine was recounting the story. but never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

I own 'The White Trash Cookbook'.

I gave a copy to one of my best friends, who, incidentally, is now quite wealthy, but who proudly uses her white trash upbringing as an excuse to visit KFC in Canon City, Colorado.

Where the two state prisons and the infamous federal prison 'Supermax' is.

'That KFC is extra finger-lickin' good', she proclaims.

Oooo, California, I might have to ask for that one.

Says my pal, 'Everything tastes better w/ketchup on it' .

She's a right larf.

My BIL also has white trash claims, including living in a trailer on a farmstead.

Despite having a master's in engineering, and being a senior-level engineer, he refers to DH as 'Scottish boy'.

In fact, just about everything of the male persuasion is a 'boy' of one sort or another.

Expat, with your linguistic expertise on this, is trailer trash the same as white trash?

Or do you actually have to live in a trailer to be promoted to trailer trash?

I also watched last night for the first time. The only BB I have followed was the 2nd one.
Jade is the type of low-life who would most probably have been a petty criminal were it not for BB making her famous for her thickness.
This is what is so wrong now. It is seen as perfectly OK to be like this. Where she comes from if you do well at school, your life is a misery because you are a 'swot' or whatever.
Shilpa is lovely, Intelligent, attractive and well-mannered. And they know it...

i also watched last night for the first time this series

jade is a gobby, aggressive madam who's in for such a shock when she gets out. almost worse though are danielle and jo - remind me of the kids at school who lurk behind the bully egging them on - unpleasant to say the least

According to my sources, there's a new housemate going in tomorrow - Darryn Lyons.

Wikipedia says:

"In 1992, Lyons founded the company Big Pictures, which supplies paparazzi-style photography for news organizations. He gained widespread media attention when his company sold a photograph to News of the World, which was used to support a claim that soccer star David Beckham was having an affair with his personal assistant Rebecca Loos. He often appears on radio and TV programs to speak about celebrities and news coverage of them. He was one of the six "business experts" on the Australian reality television program Dragons' Den, cancelled in 2005, and the BBC produced a documentary television series called "Paparazzi" about Lyons and Big Pictures, which is currently on the air."

oh it's all so bloody staged. Jade is scum. there's absolutely no doubting that. they played a clip on bbc today from last night's show and most of it was jade's bleeped out tirade and Shilpa apparently trying too talk to Germain. The bb house doesn't consist of one room only, shilpa could get up and walk away but she doesn't. and why doesn't she? either because she knows what good this is doing to her profile, or because c4 have a say in what does/doesn't happen in that house and who is allowed to go where and when.

I think what is happening is vile and I don't think it should be broadcast on national television, but I don't think Shilpa is vulnerable or innocent.

Agree with Tutter. They were like kids last night. Not sure if what's going on is racist or not - I've not seen much of it tbh, and haven't read all this thread. Certainly some of the clips shown on Breakfast this morning sounded racist. But whatever - Jade is SUCH a bully and I'd like nothing better than to see the end of her "career" after this. As for the other two girls, as Tutter said, like schoolgirl gang members, nothing to say but give the bully some kind of kudos by giggling and egging her on. Horrible.

Thing is, I think the argument that this bullying isn't racist is a red herring. I'm not of the persuasion that racist bullying is any worse than, say, bullying because someone is fat, or has red hair, or wears glasses.

Bullying is repulsive whatever it is based on. The effect on the victim is the same regardless of on what hook the bully is hanging their behaviour.

I do think that the bullying in CBB is racist, but, even if Shilpa had been white, they would have found something to bully her about simply because she shows them up for the low-life they are.

Yes, Freckle, that's true - which is why I think I find it hard to "classify" it! They are such different people, and Jade is clearly loving it - she would have found someone to bully, about something, and it would likely have been whichever other "nice" girl was in there.

I dont think they are being racist.

I think Shilpa is glamorous, highly educated, has a proper career and the others feel threatened by her, they arent being racist, just being nasty, school girlish. They also dont understand her culture.

I also think that to the Indian community Shilpa is very well thought of and they probably dont like the way she is being treated.

I assume everyone else is just as horrified that people in India will conclude that this represents British culture?

It was mortifying to watch it last night - Jade and the sidekicks were so reminiscent of bullies at school. I believe Shilpa would still have been singled out for bullying if she was white, but the racist/ignorant slant does make it worse.

Shilpa is looking for reasons why it is happening, and it is only natural for her to think it is because she is Indian. It is so hurtful to be on the end of that sort of abuse.

I can't believe how much dignity she has retained in the circumstances and feel very sad that our country is being publicly humiliated by these idiots.

I couldn't help convlude that if anyone wants a good reason why to send your kids to private school, then Jade and co are it.

Jade Goody single handedly brings down Britan!

I find Jade's behaviour completely over the top and her rant at Shilpa about the stock cubes was pathetic.

Shilpa remained calm and dignified as much as she could - and I dont belive for a second there are many people who would have remained so composed. Good on her for the comment about Jade's claim to fame being Big Brother, never a more truer word spoken - and what's more Jade knows it's true.

But it is a sad fact that there are probably more people like Jade, which only confirms why most of India is now judging the UK by her behaviour.

Jade has shown her true and pathetic colours, and I hope every brand which associates itself with her now drops her like the lead balloon she is!

Her question about Eskimos was demonstration enough that she is ignorant of other cultures and countries.

Through Big Brother she has earned vast amounts of money that most of use would only dream of, yet instead bettering herself through education and understanding, she has spent it on shallow, meaningless frivolities, such as papmering herself and her equally ignorant mother.

And all I can say is you can paint a house as many times as you like, but if there's rot there it will always come through!

As much I love CBB and BB something has to be done now to communicate to other cultures that although Jade probably does represent a chunk of the UK population. It's not something that the rest of us are proud of or support!

"The bb house doesn't consist of one room only, shilpa could get up and walk away but she doesn't. and why doesn't she?"

BUt she should'nt have to should she?

And her innocence and vulnerability is immaterial.

are

At the end of the day it was verbal abuse the way Jade ranted and raved at Shilpa.
I am disgusted that BB allowed such an awful verbal attack to happen. Surely there must be some kind of rules regarding respecting other people's feelings?

yes, you'd think that in their contracts there would be some sort of guidelines - for example, they're not allowed to discuss nominations. so how far will BB let it go before they intervene? What about if it gets physical?