Why was Prince Philip allowed to keep saying offensive things?

[SewANeedlePullingThread]

There are so many examples of Philip saying offensive things such as:

"If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed." This was said to a group of students during a royal visit to China.

"If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?" This was said in response to calls to ban guns after the Dunblane incident.

"It looks as if it was put in by an Indian." This was Philip talking about a fuse box in a factory.

There are so many more examples. Why was he allowed to act this way whilst representing the Royal Family? I like a laugh, I can take a joke, but he was so often just really offensive.

He was from a different time, so some of those comments not seen as quite as bad as they would be today…

What was going to be done to him for saying these things?

A lot of people found him hilarious.

What were they supposed to do, gag him?

I suppose because, what sanction is there really? Like how do you 'discipline' or give consequences to someone so wealthy and powerful? Theoretically QEII could have stopped him attending events, I suppose, but there would have been a complete media storm and loads of speculation if she had done that.

One of the many reasons I am in favour of scrapping the monarchy, fwiw. You can't take people, raise them in total privilege and with total isolation from any consequences, and expect them to turn out normal. The real surprise is that there aren't more AMWs in the Royal Family.

How were people going to stop him?

We have a friend that used to regularly host him at events. Believe me, his public comments were nothing compared to the ones he made in private!

Who was going to stop him ? 😁At the time nobody ever said he was OK to say these things . The headlines made great fun of how gauche and inappropriate he was . And the reputation followed him forever . Butt of many a comedian.

I’m not sure how he could have been stopped - use of a cricket bat …
I think he had an inappropriate comment for almost every occasion

It was a different time then and although it sounds offensive, it wasn’t meant to be. My father knew him through his work and always said how nice he was and he treated people very well.
We just need to move on.

Because he was down to earth, said it like it was, said what everyone else was thinking, was a breath of fresh air, was hilarious, was a character, -have I missed anything?

It’s no excuse. The comments I posted, I believe were all from the mid 80s to 2000 ish. I was a young child to young adult then and these things were not acceptable. My grandad was born around the same time as Philip and learnt that these things were not acceptable. Philip had access to a wide range of people, the resources to educate himself and was in a position where he should have set an example. Instead he chose to continue to be offensive and racist.

My racist uncle loved him. Thats the issue isn’t it.

Not that "Of its time" bollocks. He was known as a racist arsehole at the time.

He was a total thicko who was surrounded by yes men. It makes me think that old Liz must have been a horrible old cow too - why else would she choose such a nasty little prick?

He was a powerful white male. Nuff said.

I thought the slitty eyed thing was hilarious. I'm Chinese.

Policing comedy is how authoritarian states start. Know the signs.

Said it like it was?

Racist.

My Chinese friend didnt and doesn’t. It was a conversation with her yesterday that has prompted my thread.

And he wasn’t a comedian, he was a member of the British Royal family.

To those saying it was the norm in the past, my late father was born in 1919. I never once heard him use racist language and if he had he would most certainly have been pulled up on it by me and my siblings. Prince Phillip got away with saying the unsayable because of his privilege.

You still haven't explained what you mean by allowed. He was a grown up and can say what he wants and clearly gave no shits about the consequences, as you probably wouldn't with his kind of lifestyle. No one can put him on the naughty step until he learns to only say nice things.

Either way, saying offensive things isn't a crime. Nor should they be. Least you one day find yourself on the "wrong side" - what then?

Because he was plainly extremely limited. He wasn't going to learn different, and he was powerful, so people were going to keep wincing and trotting out the old 'goodness me what a wag' line alternating with 'well he is from a different time'.

There are lots of people like that, it's just most of them don't get to have a platform.

He didn’t give a shit whether what he said was acceptable or offended anyone.

Chances are if someone pulled him up on what he said, he’d have told them to fuck off.

Its as simple as that really.

Because he was - and will always be - better than you.

That is how royalty works.

Heaven forfend we ever have a plebian monarch.

How would he have been disallowed, exactly?

It was pretty much acceptable at that time, it’s easy to look back and criticise what happened nearly 50 years ago. Many people made similar comments, no one batted an eyelid generally. I was brought up surrounded by people who I now realise would be considered racist and bigots, that was society where I lived, including my parents, grandparents and their friends.
Yes, it’s highly offensive and illegal now, but society now bears no resemblance to what it was then.
No one batted an eyelid at The Black and White Minstrels Show, Some like it hot, golliwog dolls and badges and many other things verboten today.