Bernard Manning has died...

[beansprout]

And while I respect the grief of his family and friends, he's frankly no loss to the rest of us.

There you go Peach, it's showbusiness. I really mean it when I say I have never heard either Jim Davidson or Frank Carson or Bernard Manning, but the TV pages of the papers have always mentioned them, so they must be popular with someone.

Not that I read the TV papers as I do not watch tv.

Well, Bernard Manning was of my generation, and he was hilarious. He was not ignorant, UCM, and much as I love you, I would disagree.

There's one thing folk need to remember about 'racism'. Most ethnic minorities would prefer the Bernard Manning approach to the governmental, highly PC approach. Whenever government goes overboard to protect the 'rights' of the minorities, they are left feeling vulnerable.

They just want to belong, and humour is the best tool.

No have to disagree with you there desi, have never found racist and sexist "jokes" funny

That's up to you.

But the world becomes a smaller place when we lose the ability to laugh at each other.

I went to his club about 15 years ago. Didn't know what to expect and was shocked. He didn't just pick on people from the audience who moved about - anyone was fair game. He kept calling this poor bloke Peter Sutcliffe 'cos he had a black beard and making quips about that. We were with a guy who was quite overweight. BM ridiculed him mercilessly because of it. I didn't dare to move! Quite an uncomfortable experience.
However I can understand that people who knew and loved him are sad so can respect that.

Should be "laugh at ourselves" I think? Still don't think colour of skin or gender can be subject to being laughed at though. And I'm probably even more of his "generation" (whatever that means) than you.

Well if you were living in the 60's in Britain and were over 18 you probably wouldn't have known what racism was. You grew up in a white area with white people around you.

Occasionally you may have met a black person, but extremely rarely. Those people are now alot of the 60/70 year olds in Britain.

The minute you tell people of that age, that they HAVE TO think differently. You are on a trip to nowhere. Most of those people vote.

We (most of us) have grown up in a multi cultural society and have black friends if not relatives as I have.

Well the PARP

because the world is very fucking dull these days.

Desi, we laugh, trust me, me & my friends laugh because we are all very secure and confident.

I agree with UCM.

And racist/sexist/otherwise cheap jibes are FUCKING dull these days.

"What's the difference between an Iraqi woman and a pilchard?" he would ask: "One's oily and greasy with f***g bulging eyes, and the other's a fish. "

If losing the ability to laugh at that makes the world a smaller place... so be it.

I don't think laughing at each other is such a great thing. Laughing with each other is brilliant.

Then I will ignore the Parp on account of UCM.

Bernard Manning was not a racist. Most of the money he left in his will was to people of ethnicity.

I had an uncle who died three years ago. He was northern. Fucking hilarious. He ran a shop. When he died, the room was 'packed' with multi-race people. They outnumbered his family 20-1.

At the wake, I asked one of the Pakistani people why they were there.

'Because he was fucking hilarious. Because he gave my family a job, and because he made me feel at home.'

Has it never occurred to anyone, that being singled out is racist by its own definition?

Ok I have just bumped my head as I fell on the floor.

GREENSLEEVES actually agreed with me........

No its not

unless one is being singled out because of race obvioulsy

if you're singled out because, for ewzample, you are prone to wearing a hamster on your head that's not racist

Oh dear, never mind

You're losing your touch UCM- the liberals are agreeing with you

first me then greeny

Next the socialist world!

Right will re read my post in case I made a mistake....

He's no loss at all.

Because my uncle looked liked him and sounded like him.

It is easy to assume that people are racist.

Far to easy.

Hogwash, Desiderata. Bernard Manning was a lifelong racist and did a great deal to promote racism as a humorous medium and encourage other racists to see themselves as both acceptable and funny. Who he left his money to is a much more thorny and complex issue - but not the one being addressed here. Idealistically one would hope the phrase "guilty conscience" played a role here, or better still "self-disgust". But sadly I fear Mr Manning's emotional range was probably limited to "self-protection in the face of a changing political climate", or for the less acute reader, "Please don't stop selling me".

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Er, nobody's assuming anything. it was bleeding obvious. Not just racist either, sexist, homophobic and bloody obnoxious. A completely horrible and repellent man.