The adventures of two celebrities and a golliwog

Is it me or am I hearing a lot more about race in the media nowadays? Maybe my mental satellite is tuned into the race related stories but only this week I have seen or heard many stories about race relations, race rows and media race scandals in the UK.

Take Carol Thatcher, a media celebrity who used the term 'golliwog' while filming for the BBC's The One Show on which she appears regularly as a reporter. She had referred to a tennis player as a 'golliwog' when in discussion about the Australian Open. Three guesses as to who that tennis star may have been? Claiming it was said in 'jest' I must say that I am mildly appalled at the excuse. A racial slur in jest is a poor excuse and it just goes to show that racism exists in the upper echelons of society - maybe even more so than within other circles (she is Maggie Thatcher's daughter I'll have you know - the name is a dead give away). Oh and she appeared on 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here' and won it. Good for her I hear you cry. Her racial remarks recieved 2,200 complaints at the BBC. She also used the terms 'golliwog-frog' and 'half-golliwog' allegedly referring to French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, - who? I thought that too. She has refused to apologise in full, leaving the excuses to her spokeswoman. For all of that, she has of course been banned from The One Show and quite rightly so. The show is aimed at a diverse audience and she has offended many with her remarks. I wander what fellow reporter Hardeep Singh Kohli made of his colleague? Kohli who wears a turban and maintains a Sikh identity has appeared regularly on the show.

So what is a golliwog? I referred to golliwogs in a previous post when talking of my own experience of racism. They are rag dolls resembling black-faced minstrels and were apparently popular children's toys in Britain during the early part of the 20th century - way before my time then! The term however became a racist remark and was widely accepted as offensive.

Talking of golliwogs - they sell them at Royal Sandringham for £9.99!

I am sensing a them here? Racism, golliwogs and the Royals? The 20,000 acre Royal estate at Sandringham have been selling golliwog dolls for over year at their Sandringham shops. The Thatcher saga has now meant that officials at the Royal estate have been forced to remove the golliwog dolls from their shelves. Now I find this quite amusing as the dolls themselves were a toy that many older people remember fondly. In Britain the jam manufacturer Robertson adopted the golliwog as its emblem and that is where I remember it from or at least where it looks familiar. From a soft toy, a jam emblem to a malicious racist slur.. Its all a bit weird and out of proportion. Nevertheless, lets treat these current sagas as evidence that Britain is cleaning up it's racial ideologies, analogies and symbols.

Then all look round, as well they may

To see a horrid sight!

The blackest gnome

Stands there alone,

They scatter in their fright.

How the golliwog was introduced in The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg (Florence Kate Upton).

Talking of golliwogs and the affection given to them by grannies throughout the UK, how are race relations within the younger generation? Recently, teen star Miley Cyrus was accused of racism in her apparent racist gesture when pulling her eyes slanted in a photograph. This is political correctness gone mad! Maybe she was being racist and if she was, then shame on her. The laughable thing in this saga is that there was a young Asian-Pacific American in the picture (an Oriental person to you and me). Pulling the eyes into a slanted position is said to be offensive to Asian-Pacific people and rightly so. It would be the same as somebody wrapping a towel around their head and assuming to be a 'raghead'. Harry - anyone you know? Maybe this scenario is going too far and if she has offended anyone she has apologised accordingly. Lets move on and let Hannah Montana do what she does best. See the picture for yourself and make of it what you wish...

Sometimes criticism is deserved. Sometimes we have to bite our lip and let things be. The trouble is that race is a very sensitive topic and those sensitivities exist in varying proportions for everyone.... Where do we draw the line?