David Guiza Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 Danny Baker sacked by the BBC following his tweet a couple of days ago. I can't for one second imagine that he meant any of the obvious racist connotations, but they are exactly that - obvious. Assume the podcast he does with Lineker will continue as that's independent, but will be interesting to see given Gary's close relationship with the BBC and the 'looney left' as some love to call it.
Voll Blau Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 1 hour ago, David Guiza said: Danny Baker sacked by the BBC following his tweet a couple of days ago. I can't for one second imagine that he meant any of the obvious racist connotations, but they are exactly that - obvious. Assume the podcast he does with Lineker will continue as that's independent, but will be interesting to see given Gary's close relationship with the BBC and the 'looney left' as some love to call it. A very stupid thing to do, but I think a lot of the bandwagon-jumping criticism he's now getting in the wake of his sacking is unfair. He probably should've been a bit more sincere in the way he apologised mind. Hope the podcast continues, it's a really great listen every week.
Alf Bentley Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 38 minutes ago, David Guiza said: Danny Baker sacked by the BBC following his tweet a couple of days ago. I can't for one second imagine that he meant any of the obvious racist connotations, but they are exactly that - obvious. This. What he posted was incredibly naive, but done entirely with innocent intent, I imagine. Would have been difficult for any employer, especially the BBC, to ignore it, though. He's never struck me as someone with even a small bit of racism in his closet. But he is someone who'll talk from the hip for the sake of debate, instant humour or whatever. Shame.
The Syrup Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 Thats the third time Baker's been sacked by the BBC, must be a record.
RoboFox Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 As much as I like him, the BBC are right to sack him. The bloke isn't an idiot... He knew how it could be construed. It would be very difficult for them to give him the benefit of the doubt in his intent. It was a massive error of judgement, and the lack of sincerity certainly hasn't helped. However, the BBC's lack of consistency is a huge issue. How has Baker been reprimanded for this, yet Alan Sugar faced no consequences for his Tweet during the world cup?
foxy boxing Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 6 minutes ago, The Syrup said: Thats the third time Baker's been sacked by the BBC, must be a record. Now he's been sacked again he'll probably get a job at talksport!. the guy is just an idiot. working in the media you know what you can say and what you can't.
bovril Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 Can't believe he tweeted it honestly. How thick do you have to be.
egg_fried_rice Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 I feel sorry for him. It seems to me the mistake was genuine. Dim-witted for sure, but intent makes all the difference here.
ClaphamFox Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 I don't believe for one moment that he was aware of the potential connotation when he tweeted it. If he was aware of it, he would also have been aware that he was committing instant career suicide, which seems odd. And as soon as the racist connotation was pointed out to him, he deleted the tweet and apologised. I think he made a genuine mistake, but unfortunately that's enough for instant condemnation these days.
simFox Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 17 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said: I don't believe for one moment that he was aware of the potential connotation when he tweeted it. If he was aware of it, he would also have been aware that he was committing instant career suicide, which seems odd. And as soon as the racist was pointed out to him, he deleted the tweet and apologised. I think he made a genuine mistake, but unfortunately that's enough for instant condemnation these days. Or bringing his employer into disrepute, we'd all get sacked for doing that regardless. I call my daughter monkey all the time, she's a cheeky little monkey!
Vacamion Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 Stupid, blind and and sackable? For a national broadcaster, probably, yes. Is DB a racist? Almost certainly not, but this will always be dragged out and thrown at him. He's admitted it was a stupid error. I have a fair bit of sympathy for him.
Guest MattP Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 3 hours ago, Alf Bentley said: He's never struck me as someone with even a small bit of racism in his closet. But he is someone who'll talk from the hip for the sake of debate, instant humour or whatever. Shame. Having read his books and seen him live I'm absolutely certain he's not a bigot, nothing he expresses comes close to opinions like it. Absolutely baffled as to how or why he has done it. It's a great shame, he'll be remembered for this now and portrayed as a racist for the rest of his life. The modern day World has no forgiveness or mitigation for this.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 1 hour ago, MattP said: Having read his books and seen him live I'm absolutely certain he's not a bigot, nothing he expresses comes close to opinions like it. Absolutely baffled as to how or why he has done it. It's a great shame, he'll be remembered for this now and portrayed as a racist for the rest of his life. The modern day World has no forgiveness or mitigation for this. He did it because monkeys dressed up are always funny. Imagine the moment when the possible racist interpretation is pointed out to him. What can you do when you've f***ed up so gloriously, so carelessly? I think that's what'll save him. It's so ridiculous I think history will give him the benefit of the doubt
Guest MattP Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 38 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said: I think that's what'll save him. It's so ridiculous I think history will give him the benefit of the doubt I hope so as he's a top bloke. I can't see it though, you just can't do that sort of thing anymore whatever the situation - he's finished. Most annoyingly it probably means he can't do another tour and we won't get the second series of his BBC show.
Buce Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 I feel that he's hard done to. His explanation is plausible and all he's guilty of is being naive. Nobody wants to see racism but I don't think we have here.
Jattdogg Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 My 4 year old daughter is potentially racist. She refers to the african canadian baby in her daycare as "the black baby". It's my fault, with kids you have to be point blank sometimes and i didnt know the names of two babies except one was white and one was black. I was originaly trying to avoid using white and black but she wasnt clueing in. As soon as i said the baby with dark/ black coloured skin she was like ooohhhhh. Thing is she doesnt know his name... now whenever she talks about him she refers to him as black baby as opposed to his name. Had to have a 'talk' with her last night about not saying that and using his name. Talk about one of those parenting fails
ScouseFox Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 what else was he trying to suggest with that picture? it looks pretty fu cking racist to me, and he is an absolute idiot, end of story.
spacemunky Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 37 minutes ago, Jattdogg said: My 4 year old daughter is potentially racist. She refers to the african canadian baby in her daycare as "the black baby". It's my fault, with kids you have to be point blank sometimes and i didnt know the names of two babies except one was white and one was black. I was originaly trying to avoid using white and black but she wasnt clueing in. As soon as i said the baby with dark/ black coloured skin she was like ooohhhhh. Thing is she doesnt know his name... now whenever she talks about him she refers to him as black baby as opposed to his name. Had to have a 'talk' with her last night about not saying that and using his name. Talk about one of those parenting fails I don't see how saying "the black baby" is racist. Plus, kids will always describe things in the most literal way.
Guest Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 I'm usually quite sceptical about mistakes like these, especially if done by corporations or marketing people whose very job is to know better. But from what I know of Danny Baker he doesn't strike me as a racist (unless I'm missing something....I don't follow him that closely) and I could see if he is firmly anti-royalist and always views them as 'a posh circus', then other views wouldn't even come into consideration. Which maybe suggests that he's a bit naive, maybe close minded, but that's certainly not the same as being a racist. Anyways, lesson is: don't ever refer to monkeys in jokes, nicknames, metaphors, memes, or anecdotes coz you're playing with fire if you do.
Jattdogg Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 21 minutes ago, spacemunky said: I don't see how saying "the black baby" is racist. Plus, kids will always describe things in the most literal way. Ya its not really racist but rather something id rather not hear her say. Kids are pretty point blank. "Daddy you have a fat belly". I dont but i could lose 10lbs
Carl the Llama Posted 9 May 2019 Posted 9 May 2019 Yep nothing wrong with calling someone a black man, it's just sound use of an adjective. It's when it precedes an expletive like calling someone a "black bastard" that it becomes a racist term. Context and intent are important.
Captain... Posted 10 May 2019 Posted 10 May 2019 I think his explanation was pretty sound. “I didn’t think it was racist as I don’t have a diseased mind” he just didn’t see it because he doesn’t think that way. It is obviously naive and he probably would have thought twice if Meghan was black rather than mixed race. He saw a joke to make and took it and it has backfired massively. Lesson to many. Are a couple of cheap laughs worth losing your job. 18 hours ago, ScouseFox said: what else was he trying to suggest with that picture? it looks pretty fu cking racist to me, and he is an absolute idiot, end of story. He was suggesting they were parading their newborn around like a circus animal. It’s your baby go and enjoy being parents not wheeling him out for media shoots.
urban.spaceman Posted 10 May 2019 Posted 10 May 2019 15 hours ago, Carl the Llama said: Yep nothing wrong with calling someone a black man, it's just sound use of an adjective. It's when it precedes an expletive like calling someone a "black bastard" that it becomes a racist term. Context and intent are important. Not any more they’re not. If anything they get in the way of a good public shaming.
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