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Original poster

Tesco Christmas card making fun of children with red hair

377 replies

Northernlebkuchen · 15/12/2009 11:48

here

I can't believe they think they should sell something like this. So glad this woman got them taken out of our local tesco - now what about the rest of the chain?

I know two children horribly bullied because of their (beautiful) red hair. It's just the same as any other discrimination - breeds hate and misery

OP posts:

atlantis · 15/12/2009 12:15

I sent this story to my ginger cousin who emailed back to say he was off to tesco to get one each for his four ginger haired children, so i'm guessing tesco's or moonpig will do a rip roaring trade in it this christmas.

Whats happened to peoples sense of humour? Oh yes we aren't allowed one under this government.

Shall we also ban all those dumb blonde cards and postcards?

MrsMattie · 15/12/2009 12:16

Morloth · 15/12/2009 12:19

What is it with the red hair thing here? I just don't get it.

StretchAndBitsOfTinsel · 15/12/2009 12:20

Oh great

My6 DD1 has started to be bullied because of her hair. She comes home crying saying she is different and people hate her because of her hair

So glad you think it's funny.

Meglet · 15/12/2009 12:20

I thought those cards were spiteful .

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 15/12/2009 12:21

I think dumb blonde cards are somewhat different as they're aimed at adults - who know and understand the "joke" (well at least - I as a natural blonde, and very dizzy woman do) - this card was about children - who - has been pointed out regularly get bullied because of their hair colour.

atlantis · 15/12/2009 12:25

" My6 DD1 has started to be bullied because of her hair. She comes home crying saying she is different and people hate her because of her hair ..

Why don't you do what anyone else would do and tell her she's not 'different' she's special, that anyone can have black, brown and blond hair but not many are blessed with the colour she has.

All children at some point will come home in tears after having been bullied, it's the nature of the beast (school) as parents we just need to bump them up, give them a cuddle and send them back to school with a few good come back lines.

saintnickelas · 15/12/2009 12:28

i heard that story on the news this morning, but they said sainsbury's.
maybe it was a generic card and not a tesco's only one?

i think it's bloody awful that ginger-haired people are "allowed" to be bullied, when you wouldn't get away with doing it to a black or asian person.

i often look at a ginger-haired child and think what a beautiful colour it is.

StretchAndBitsOfTinsel · 15/12/2009 12:39

Excuse me atlantis, but don't you think I have? I have red hair, so does DD2, DS1 and DS2, so she's not the 'odd one out' at home.

She's being BULLIED! She gets called names EVERY day. She has been pushed down the stairs. Her friend was picked on for playing with her! She's 7! How much do you suppose I just 'bump' her up and brush it under the carpet?

There is a girl in the year above who is Chinese. She has been picked on for her place of birth and colour. Nobody else is Chinese on their year. Should she be told to brush it off? Told she's special?? No. Because that's classed as racism

StretchAndBitsOfTinsel · 15/12/2009 12:44

And, it's not the same as having blond hair. Do blondes get picked on by Tango? Facebook groups such as kick a ginger day?

And she doesn't want to be 'special'. She wants to be like everybody else. She gets picked on by nasty people thinking it's a 'joke' and then she gets the nicer people commenting in the street/Sains etc.. but that also makes her stand out! And she has the great joy of getting to teenage years and kids/adults asking what colour her pubes are! really looking forward to that for her

mummyofexcitedprincesses · 15/12/2009 12:46

Stretch, I am sorry your child is being bullied, have you spoken to the school?

StretchAndBitsOfTinsel · 15/12/2009 12:53

Thanks mummyof. Yes I have spoken to the school. It doesn't really do much good. They are crap at bullying.

What makes it worse is (and I'm probably going to get flamed for this), but the one of the girls who is bullying is black. She keeps calling DD1 'ginger' so DD1 responded one day with "blackie" She is not racist, she's 7 and loves everybody, but she is just responding.
I did tell the teacher what she had said and we had a chat about racism and it being unacceptable, but DD1 wants to know why she can get into lots of trouble for calling names, and this other girl gets a 'warning', everytime!

Sorry if I've offended anybody with that comment. I am not racist, neither is DH. We abhor it and are trying to teach that to the kids.

5inthesleighbed · 15/12/2009 12:56

I think that cards like that make it seem okay to make fun of red heads. There would be a national uproar if it said black children or coloured children, or something deemed racist.

I have two "ginger" children, and I hate all this. They are an easy target for mindless bullies.

Stretchy, so sorry your daughter is gettig bullied about her hair colour. Is she the only one in her class with red hair?

SantaWears2shoes · 15/12/2009 12:57

doesn't suprise me, not so long ago there was one with the R word.

Flightattendant · 15/12/2009 12:58

Atlantis, your posts show an inordinate lack of education on this topic.

Stretch and others who were upset by the card - too right, it's abysmal and I am so glad that that mum stood up to Tesco about it and got them to do something.

Sense of humour indeed

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 15/12/2009 12:58

It made me very angry to. They are making fun of children because of their appearance, how can that ever be regarded as funny?

DS1 (7) is ginger and I dread the day he comes home saying he was called names because of his hair. I was and it was horrible

ILikeLentils · 15/12/2009 13:01

It's vile. I'll be complaining. They should not be justifying the anti-ginger mob. It's not funny.

When I was little adults used to ask "But do you have the temper to go with it?" at which I would get upset. The stupid gits would then reply "oo, she does, doesn't she?" or something else equally unkind or rude. And I was supposed to put up with it.

When my DS1 was a baby a woman came over to me in a cafe once and said it was such a shame that my lovely baby had red hair. When there are attitudes about like that a Christmas card like this is not a joke.

StretchAndBitsOfTinsel · 15/12/2009 13:01

Oh yes, the R word is getting more common too! Have heard it loads in the past few weeks.

She is the only girl 5inthebed. There is another boy, but he is quite hard?? Confident?? I don't know, he can handle himself.

E45 · 15/12/2009 13:02

This is the same company that had a Fathers Day card that said

I had to tell teacher my Daddy was helping me with my maths homework, she was starting to think I was a R-t-rd, Fuckers.

MNHQ

carriemumsnet · 15/12/2009 13:03

So glad someone raised this.

I heard the story on Radio 4 this morning in the what the papers say bit and the presenter laughed at the end as if it was a huge joke .

I was sitting on the bed with my gorgeous curly red haired ds - aged 8 - and he heard it and we had yet another conversation about why people think red hair is funny, with the added context of why people might think Santa wouldn't love you as much if you had red hair. It made me furious.

It might seem like a bit of fun, but the fact that society thinks it's OK to make pejorative jokes about red hair does, I believe, have an effect on children and the way their peers treat them. Age 6 my son asked if he could dye his hair and hoped that it would go brown (like daddy's) when he grows up. None of the rest of us have ginger hair but we constantly tell him how gorgeous and special he is (and believe me he is ) But things like this and the fact that adults think it's acceptable humour, give children license to be mean to other children, who have no choice about their hair colour - just as they don't have control over their skin colour. Thankfully we don't condone teasing about that.

Rant over.... as you were

Original poster

Northernlebkuchen · 15/12/2009 13:05

E45 - I hadn't heard about that. How awful

Atlantis - I have a sense of humour. I just don't find children being bullied funny and I'm pretty shocked that anybody would actually.

OP posts:

Awassailinglookingforanswers · 15/12/2009 13:06

StretchAndBitsOfTinsel · 15/12/2009 13:08

@carrie

I have 2 girls and 2 boys, each with a different shade of red! I constantly try to 'jolly' things with, "oh look, daddy's the odd one out!" and making jokes to people that we are single-handedly repopulating the world with gingers, but inside I am

5inthesleighbed · 15/12/2009 13:08

Bloody hell E45, that is a shocking card!

Stretch, I know what you mean. My DS1 (6) is lucky enough to have another boy in his class who has red hair, an I honestly think the only reason my ds1 doesn't bget picked on is because this boy is quite tough/hard/confident(?). It must be so hard for you

RainRainGoAway · 15/12/2009 13:11

Feel so awful for anyone bullied about having beautiful auburn hair. DS has brown hair with gorgeous auburn 'highlights' which will grow out .

What do they mean by R-word?

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