In that sort of job (whether in HM forces or the Home Civil Service) your own or your colleagues standards personal views or values about banter don’t mean shit – you are expected to follow the rules, especially as you enforce them, either by regulations or direct force..
Where I once worked in the Civil Service, if two Pakistani lads had referred to themselves as Pakis in the office they would have got in trouble had anyone (including a white person) complained!
Even swearing in the office was frowned upon if there were many older people or ladies etc around, you would only do it if in a group of younger staff.
it may seem old fashioned or political correctness but that is what is expected of Crown Servants when on duty…
but theres another issue is of loyalty and trust – there was a time when it simply wasn’t acceptable in this country to pass on private details of Forces movements and actions to the media, (especially during an active conflict) nor for the media to report it in such a way what could cause greater community tension..
if in World War II some titled toff posted to Africa had written back to his mum saying “Gadzooks! My unit is full of wogs!” it wouldnt’ have been leaked by the War Ministry and ended up on the front page of the Manchester Guardian, and even if the editors had been told of such a letter they wouldn’t have published it..
It seems to have been overlooked that the media have also endangered the Asian soldier, who will now become a greater target for insurgents of Al-quaeda etc whilst before he would have been “just another soldier…”
your first point all tho true i don’t care much for .. imo the way infrestructures (think thats the word i am looking for .. mby instatutions is a better one) like the army need to have a compleatly diferant structure so i am quite glad that harry had gone against this … alltho probably not the best manor in wich to go against something …
however the second point you make is a very real and serious one .. alltho they made an attemp to hide his identaty by bluring his eyes .. i can’t see it being much of a chalange to any one to find out his exact identity and up to date full face pics of him … that is a very real risk for the lad
Public institutions of this nature are supposed to serve Britain and the Commonwealth, for the good of this nation.
It may be PR, political correctness or spin but we also need to have Commonwealth nations like Pakistan “on side” as they are also being influenced by more conservative forms of Islam coming from the oil-rich nations.
no one forces anybody to work for the Government or join the military.
I worked for the Civil Service as they gave me the best pay and opportunities during the last recession – Harry could just as easily have had the balls to say “stuff your bloody war Mr Blair, I’m gonna go yoghurt weaving with Dad, its hardly as if he would have ended up in the Tower…
What he has done (whether or not it was deliberate) is reinforced people views that the British Establishment is dominated by privileged white people and they aren’t prepared to give up this position of power without a fight – which is probably true in some respects.
There is a wider issue within the Army (and to a lesser extent the Civil Service) of bullying of all kinds which is what they are slowly trying to eradicate.
It may be PR, political correctness or spin but we also need to have Commonwealth nations like Pakistan “on side” as they are also being influenced by more conservative forms of Islam coming from the oil-rich nations.
no one forces anybody to work for the Government or join the military.
I worked for the Civil Service as they gave me the best pay and opportunities during the last recession – Harry could just as easily have had the balls to say “stuff your bloody war Mr Blair, I’m gonna go yoghurt weaving with Dad, its hardly as if he would have ended up in the Tower…
What he has done (whether or not it was deliberate) is reinforced people views that the British Establishment is dominated by privileged white people and they aren’t prepared to give up this position of power without a fight – which is probably true in some respects.
There is a wider issue within the Army (and to a lesser extent the Civil Service) of bullying of all kinds which is what they are slowly trying to eradicate.
i agree that the message it sends out .. or the ways that the comment he made can be viewed .. are on the whole not the one of a shining piller of sociaty that a royal should portay .. and that he is probably too young to realise that (or was at the time) or not, but he was born into royalty .. and obviosly rejects it some what and probably feels that he has no controll over what he has to do .. this i think is the reason he joined the army and does the inapropriate things he is some times documented doing … it’s a kind of rebelian to him. how else is the 3rd in line to the thrown suposed to fight back at sociaty .. (i’m not talking about the persivably racist remark he made .. just his general demeaner).
alot of people join the milatery because it’s cool to kill … or they fucked up at every thing else in there life and see it as the only option to them .. so yes people, not all, but i would say a fair few are forced to join. not by physical force or by forcing methods such as mandatory inlistments like witch i think you are talking about … but by manipulation and deperation. the army pray on either uni graduates .. (thats a choice they make them selves) .. or people that are thugs by nature with no other calling in life other than to cause violance .. normaly these people can’t get other jobs unless they train as boxers. i meen don’t get me wrong .. these are the people that are best suited to fighting for a living as that is there nature mindless killing machines ..given the “right” training. imo they are utalising a human flaw that is most probably caused by bordom or lack of other stimulaion in there lives .. possably they had bad childhoods/lives .. but instead of puting a half decent suport structure in place to help people with agression problems they would rather lock them up or entice them to fight for “queen and country”
coming back to the point a bit i can understand that there has been and still is a lot of ratsial bulling amongst other types of bullying in the army .. and this isn’t right (shows the mentality of army folk).. and probably not the wisest of ideas for harry to call his m8 that on camera if at all … especialy because of the bullying .. i meen who knows .. he could of just picked it up from another fellow officer that actualy was bullying that guy .. he might not of even realised ..
if rakim wants to call him self paki or mark wants to call himself a nigga i couldnt care tbh honest mate, its when people from another race start calling people from other races using words that have for generations been held as offensive, racist and out of line. up to you what you wanna do. Next time you see an asian lad call him a paki and see what he does and how offensive he finds it if you dont wanna belive me.
i’d just like to clarify my stance on this issue, as taken out of context my posts in this thread could seem that i am defending prince harry.
in no way is that true, i think its unacceptable and completely wrong for anyone to sling out racial slurs at people, and i find it offensive and disgusting, as many at my local will tell you (this is when i’ve heard a lot, lot worse things being said directly at people who they do not know!) i will not stand for it
my only thing i do not see as an issue is people using hitler as a costume, maybe i can’t explain it well but i see this as worlds apart from racial abuse and also can’t see the connection between using this costume and it meaning that you condone hitler in any way.
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