Nic Naitanui urges public to ‘grow together’ after mother paints son’s skin for Book Week parade

[Chief]

I don't think anyone is accusing the mother of intentionally doing a racist thing with her kid, there's a high probability she has no idea about the historical significance of blackface. The problem is that what she did has racist connotations to many people - and whether you agree with it or not or label it as 'PC gone mad' etc, the racist element is real and present. The issue therefore is what can be done to stop this kind of thing happening? NN hit the nail on the head with his response - education and not vilification is the answer.

All other posts in the thread are just wastes of server bandwidth. If you're one of the people that thinks people should be allowed to do blackface then no amount of evidence otherwise will get them to change their view, because it's the PC gone mad crowd.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

She said so in her post.

She just didn't anticipate that she would get such a huge negative response. She thought everyone else would say "Good on you, supermum! You showed those lefty greenie PC extremists! Neck a bottle, you deserve it! Reclaim Australia!"

 

[Forward Press]

In this case the black person doesn't care and it's a bunch of dickhead whites who are fanning the outrage. So we can tell them to STFU if we like.

The 'black person' does care. Did you not read Naitanui's Tweet? He's not exactly okay with it.

But I guess this is the usual dribble we can expect from Gus.

 

[Forward Press]

She knew exactly what she was doing.

She said so in her post.

She just didn't anticipate that she would get such a huge negative response. She thought everyone else would say "Good on you, supermum! You showed those lefty greenie PC extremists! Neck a bottle, you deserve it! Reclaim Australia!"

Yeah I just re-read it. Definitely knew.

Idiotic mother and even worse, she pushed it on her kid who doesn't know any better.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

Bit of tape with 'Naitanui' written on it would have sorted out everyone else.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Yeah that would've looked awesome.

 

[TheReturnofDS]

So you have to be a victim to have a reaction to it?

You really think so?

How do you feel about, say, child abuse? No reaction because you aren't a child?

Say your mum was beaten up? "Wasn't me, nothing to say about it" ?

You're really comparing child abuse to dressing up as someone?

Firstly one is actually against the law.
Secondly they aren't even in the same ball park.

taking offence for someone else is very different to having a personal view on ACTUAL racism or ACTUAL child abuse.
Thats a physical action against someone, not a so called 'racist act' that the 'victim' didnt even find offensive.

 

[JimDocker]

This Stephen Fry quote sums it up pretty well.

“It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so f***ing what."

If we stop doing things that people get offended by we will stop doing anything at all as there will always be someone these days that will get offended by it.

It's a nonsense.

I wondered when the Stephen Fry quote would come out.

 

[TheReturnofDS]

I am beginning to think BigFooty is full of idiots.

You didnt know that already?
Also isnt calling someone an idiot against the sites policy?

Also bit weird calling someone an idiot for a tongue in cheek post?

 

[TheReturnofDS]

Agreed. Friends set a standard for each other and can say things to one another that strangers may find offensive.

So, did this mother contact Nic Nat and ask him if he would find the costume offensive? Is she friends with Nic Nat?

No. She admits she thought it would cause offense (and her Facebook friends told her as much) but did it anyway. She was looking for a reaction and used her little boy to help. How anyone can defend her has me stumped.


I'm pretty sure the "norm" view is that painting your skin black to dress up and appropriate a black celebrity is a very kitsch thing to do and it's best to steer clear. Are you racist for doing it? Not necessarily. But the act of doing so is rooted in racism, and you can't tell black people to just forget all about that and move on.

Are you an anti-semite if you dress up as Hilter to a customer party? No necessarily. But guess what the reaction of Jewish people is going to be.

It would be more if you were anti-semite and dressed as a jew.
Otherwise wouldnt this kid just have dressed as a 'white oppressor'?

 

[JimDocker]

I prefer Stewart Lee's quote. Far more nuanced than the bollocks Stephen Fry quote.

"The kind of people that say "political correctness gone mad" are usually using that phrase as a kind of cover action to attack minorities or people that they disagree with. I'm of an age that I can see what a difference political correctness has made. When I was four years old, my grandfather drove me around Birmingham, where the Tories had just fought an election campaign saying, "if you want a fellow for a neighbour, vote Labour," and he drove me around saying, "this is where all the fellows and the coons and the jungle bunnies live." And I remember being at school in the early 80s and my teacher, when he read the register, instead of saying the name of the one asian boy in the class, he would say, "is the black spot in," right? And all these things have gradually been eroded by political correctness, which seems to me to be about an institutionalised politeness at its worst. And if there is some fallout from this, which means that someone in an office might get in trouble one day for saying something that someone was a bit unsure about because they couldn't decide whether it was sexist or homophobic or racist, it's a small price to pay for the massive benefits and improvements in the quality of life for millions of people that political correctness has made. It's a complete lie that allows the right, which basically controls media now, and international politics, to make people on the left who are concerned about the way people are represented look like killjoys.

Edit - The BF filter has made the n word something else.

 

[outabounds]

Another day, another beat up, I feel like I am living in the Jerry Springer Show.

 

[Gizza]

Its fiction. Anything goes. Game of Thrones has women being raped. Movies are full of murder, offensive jokes about all sorts of things religion, race, appearance.

It doesnt mean its acceptable in real life.

The entire history of blackface is white people playing fictional black people. Pretty sure this kid dressing up as NicNat is also fictional, unless you believe he actually is NicNat.

 

[Chief]

Are the dreadlock wigs, inflatable whatever the f*ck they ares and little plush toys racist / offensive?

Is it "let's all pretend we are thick" day?

 

[TheReturnofDS]

individual racial prejudice ≠ institutionalised racism. one can go both ways, the other does not. anyone who tries to equate 'white' experiences of racism with those of 'people of colour' are, in my opinion, well wide of the mark.

yep, we definitely disagree. and thats fine.

How many generations do we have to go before we dont have to treat racism differently for each race?
Isnt that the problem in the first place?

 

[Chief]

The entire history of blackface is white people playing fictional black people. Pretty sure this kid dressing up as NicNat is also fictional, unless you believe he actually is NicNat.

Except for the entire history of the issue, you've got it in one.

 

[Yellow Feathers]

Peoples lives are too easy now; we have no wars or struggles in places like Australia. We do, however, have plenty of time to be offended by everything. It's the era of double-standards and political correctness gone crazy.

I could go on and on about the enslavery and genocide of white peoples throughout history. Hell, I'm of Irish decent.

I personally think "blackface" should stop because it IS upsetting people. The problem is we start going down a treacherous path of forfeiting our rights to freedom. Today it's us, tomorrow it could be them.

 

[TheReturnofDS]

The 'black person' does care. Did you not read Naitanui's Tweet? He's not exactly okay with it.

But I guess this is the usual dribble we can expect from Gus.

Uh what?
He pretty much said he IS ok with it, but other people have recently informed him that its not viewed as ok by others.

 

[Chief]

You're really comparing child abuse to dressing up as someone?

Firstly one is actually against the law.
Secondly they aren't even in the same ball park.

taking offence for someone else is very different to having a personal view on ACTUAL racism or ACTUAL child abuse.
Thats a physical action against someone, not a so called 'racist act' that the 'victim' didnt even find offensive.

Good god.

I'd call what that mum did "child abuse" - mainly because she posted it online with a big "heck you PC lefties" message when that is not what the kid's intention was.

 

[barmy44]

How many generations do we have to go before we dont have to treat racism differently for each race?
Isnt that the problem in the first place?

seeing as insitutionalised racism is still very real and very widespread, and acts of individual racial prejudice still occur, probably a little while yet... we have come along way over the last 200 years, though.

 

[Bostonian]

The 'black person' does care. Did you not read Naitanui's Tweet? He's not exactly okay with it.

But I guess this is the usual dribble we can expect from Gus.

Obviously you can't read peanut.

Naitanui said he had encouraged such mistakes in the past but was now educated on the serious origins of blackface.

It was such a non issue to him he used to encourage it. That was until some white knight obviously dragged up something from someone else past and said hey Nic, forget about having fun with other people, you need to stop people looking at you as some kind of idol and create a false narrative that you're a victim instead.

I'm not whoever you think I am, You're all about the fail today camp.

 

[SloppyJoe]

I'm surprised there are so many people defending the mum in this thread.

What if his hero was Lin Jong? Would you all be defending her right to sticky tape his eyes into slits?

 

[hawks787]

So everybody argues and can't agree on racist or not.
Can we all agree on stupidity and close thread before 100 page " discussion " AGAIN.
Btw I'm sure I'm not the only bloke to have a beer before 12 in my life!

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

This is absolute tripe. What a joke. Surely it's a massive piss take.

 

[Armchair Critic]

Good god.

I'd call what that mum did "child abuse" - mainly because she posted it online with a big "**** you PC lefties" message when that is not what the kid's intention was.

Speaking of idiots on big footy

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

I'm surprised there are so many people defending the mum in this thread.

What if his hero was Lin Jong? Would you all be defending her right to sticky tape his eyes into slits?

Lmao

 

[juss]

The entire history of blackface is white people playing fictional black people. Pretty sure this kid dressing up as NicNat is also fictional, unless you believe he actually is NicNat.

Blackface was deliberate racism and discrimination against a certain group of people.
This kid is dressing up as his hero, obviously because he idolizes him.

You can't see the difference there?