Don't Mention The War !
You know, it's a funny old world -- The British Film Institute recently awarded the classic 1970's sitcom Faulty Towers - written by and
starring Monty Python's John Cleese - the best ever TV programme to appear on British television. In 2005, the venerable organ The
Times (of London) held a poll to find the greatest British comedy series. Who won ? Faulty Towers, the hilarious comedy set in an
ailing hotel in Torquay, on the English Riviera (well, Torquay is on the Gulf Stream !).
I mention all this, because in one episode titled Germans, Basil Faulty mercilessly attacks his German guests with a stream of German
jokes and impersonations, including a quite brilliant version of the World War II German "goosestep".
Thirty years on, It demonstrates the fickleness and paradox of our (remembering I'm English) culture, because in this day and age
Germans would surely not be broadcast in order to comply with the ridiculous culture of Political Correctness currently eating its way
through British mores like an unseen cancer.
Hang about -- what's this got to do with beer, I hear you ask. Well, it all started with a letter that appeared in the October 2007 edition of
What's Brewing, the monthly newsletter for CAMRA members. In the letters page was a whining piece of prose from a CAMRA
member, complaining bitterly about the advertising used by the wonderful Shepherd Neame Brewery for their Spitfire Ale. As you can
work out, the award-winning advertising is about the World War II Spitfire aircraft with an endless barrage of jokes all aimed at our
Saxon colleagues across the English Channel. This particular CAMRA member described the advertising as "childish at best", and
then harped on in great detail about bloody Political Correctness, finishing up by saying he'd never drink another pint of Spitfire Ale.
This, in itself, is that geezer's loss, as I had Spitfire Ale listed as my very favourite cask ale on my 2003 Real Ale tour of England.
Fortunately, in the letters page of the November edition of What's Brewing, there was a rebuttal written by a normal person, who
referred to Mr.Political Correctness as "humourless", and that we should "feel sorry" for him. Hear Hear !
But then, that had me thinking -- firstly CAMRA member Mr.Political Correctness had really pissed me off with his Headmaster-style
bullshitting and lecturing. So, I decided to research the phenomenon that is Political Correctness and the results were horrifying. So that
I can return to the Spitfire advertising (of which I'm going include as much of it as this e-mail will hold -- it's that BRILLIANT !), I'm going
to keep my findings brief -- perhaps in the future, I'll turn it into a major article and throw it open to reader debate.
But anyway, it's not new -- "Political Correctness" started in Germany (of all places !) in 1923 by a group calling themselves the
Frankfurt School. In 1933 they moved to the United States and eventually spread out onto the campuses of American Colleges.
Moving forward in the Tardis up to the present day, I have always thought of the U.S. as being considerably conservative -- but let me
tell you, when it comes to Political Correctness, the United States is far more liberal than my home country which has become paranoid
in its obsession with PC (as we shall now refer to it). I noted that former members of the British Colonies are almost as paranoid with
PC: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand being three sad examples. All of these countries have become multi-cultural through
massive immigration, and now, we're all falling over ourselves to destroy the fabric of our own historical cultures; undermining our
personal responsibility and freedom; unintentionally creating categories against the very people PC is supposed to not categorize
against, and compromising free speech by making us conform to sayings and expressions that are so bloody stupid, it drives me to
distraction (and to drink !).
A few examples for your perusal taken from various anti-PC websites -- Since 2006, there are at least 5 documented examples in the
UK of people being refused coffee in Coffee Shops because they asked for "Black" coffee; and one example of a person being
refused because they asked for "white" coffee !
In 2007, a teacher at a Leicestershire school announced in his Sociology class that they were going to have a "thoughtshower",
because "brainstorming" is offensive to epilepsy sufferers. Here's a response from an epilepsy support group, Epilepsy Action -- "We
are often asked about the word 'brainstorming' and whether its use is acceptable. If the word is being used to describe a meeting
where participants are suggesting ideas, then its use is not offensive to people with epilepsy." Oh dear, strike one against PC !
Note the headline below on Britain's Daily Express newspaper -- it makes me cringe !
Next, is a 2006 story from a Mr.Crossley in Yorkshire -- "My wife was working as a Teacher at a college in Bradford. The school
decided that the Christmas Party was "inappropriately" named. The new name for the Christmas Party was the "Winter Festival".
Those members of staff who opposed this change were threatened with disciplinary action if they refused to support the change".
And a story from Heather..."While living in Canada and working for Pottery Barn we were told not to say "Merry Christmas" but
"Happy Holidays". I called a blackboard (Chalkboard in the U.S) a blackboard and was told that I must never say this again as it is
racially offensive. I was also told that I could not wear my cross because it might offend our Muslim workers. Did anyone think that I
might be offended? I think not"
Oh, I'm having a bloody great time here -- Here's a couple of views about Christmas -- I'll just repeat that word, CHRISTMAS, from Pat
Spray in New Zealand, and Seb in London: "I am from New Zealand and 71 years of age. I feel the whole world around me has gone
mad with the emphasis on Political Correctness. This year the Salvation Army carol singers didn't come round at Christmas as we
have non-Christians living in the street and somebody thought that they might have been offended".
"I am 16 years old and an atheist but I don't mind nor am I offended by referring to Christmas as Christmas. This year at school we
did not have a Christmas tree. To the untrained eye the tree might have looked like a Christmas tree but it was, in fact, as the sign
pointed out a "Non-denominational Winter Solstice Evergreen Tree". Oh, Pleeeeeeze !!!
CHRISTMAS -- CHRISTMAS -- CHRISTMAS -- CHRISTMAS -- CHRISTMAS
Finally, a comment from Jason in Oswestry about a subject dear to my heart... "I used to work for a very big (one of THE biggest) retail
groups in the UK around eighteen months ago, based in Birmingham. I was a manager with my own office. During a football
tournament I draped an English Flag over my filing cabinet in support of the English team. When a senior manager saw the flag I
was told to remove it as I "... may be seen as a racist." I was disgusted by this, and it still angers me greatly to this day; not being
able to show an English Flag in an English city is... well, mind numbing. No bloody shite !
Anyway, you get the idea, and even our cat can work out what my feelings are on the subject ! To finish up with, here's a selection of
artwork from Shepherd Neame Brewery supporting their superb Spitfire Ale. Supporters of Political Correctness, please bugger off or
look away.
Cheers !
Quick, before that, here's some info about Spitfire Ale from Shepherd Neame --
No other aircraft captured the imagination of the beleaguered British people more than R.J. Mitchell's masterpiece, the Spitfire,
which has flown into history as a legend ! To honour the legend, Shepherd Neame's Spitfire Premium Bitter was first brewed to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 1990 and raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund.
And four years later, when victory was announced in the Brewing Industry International Awards – the Oscars of the brewing industry -
it was Spitfire, now one of Britain's fastest–growing premium ales, which won the Gold Medal and the title The Best Strong Cask–
Conditioned Beer in the World.
Here we go..
Archbishop: Ministers' PC Christmas cards "erode Christianity''
By Glen Owen - The Daily Mail
Dr John Sentamu sends out a rallying call
Britain's first black Archbishop has attacked Government Ministers for sending non-Christian Christmas cards for fear of offending
other religions.
Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu said the "liberal atheists" were aiding the "systematic erosion" of Christianity in public life.
He hit at policies such as saying "Winterval" for Christmas and changing "Happy Christmas" to "Season's Greetings" on Government
cards.
Ugandan-born Dr Sentamu, 56, who became Archbishop last year, told an audience of lay readers in Newcastle upon Tyne that
Christians should be more politically active to combat a rising tide of "aggressive secularism" and ensure that their principles were not
purged from society.
"Christianity is being systematically eroded from public view, more often than not in the fear of offending those who would not be
offended in the least or because of the mistaken belief that Christianity has no role to play in the public arena," he said.
"This systematic erosion is subtle, with minor changes which drip by drip erode centuries of Christian heritage and identity".
"Examples can be seen all over officialdom: The change in official Government cards from "Happy Christmas" to "Season's
Greetings", the change to the asking for a "first name" instead of a "Christian name", the slow chipping away at the foundational
heritage that gave birth to those values we all share."
Dr Sentamu, who came to Britain 22 years ago after fleeing dictator Idi Amin, cited Birmingham Council's decision eight years ago to
rename Christmas "Winterval", Torbay's removal of a cross from its crematorium, the Royal Mail Christmas stamps which do not
feature Jesus and Plymouth's move to end free parking on Sundays in case it offends people who worship on other days.
"The people of Plymouth corporately need to make a robust but peaceful response," said Dr Sentamu. "Long-standing traditions
cannot be swept aside by a stroke of a pen."
Dr Sentamu has called for a rediscovery of English pride, warning that a zeal for multi-culturalism sometimes "seemed to imply, 'let
other cultures be allowed to express themselves but do not let the majority culture at all tell us its glories.''
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister always sends out cards with a Christmas greeting. The only exception is if
the card is being sent to a senior figure from another religious faith."
She added that the policy across Whitehall was "a matter for individual Government departments".
Blacks and Asians? No, they're 'visible minority ethnics' say police
By Rajeev Syal - The Daily Telegraph
The Metropolitan Police will no longer describe black people as black, as part of a new attempt to counter charges of racism in the
force. Both black and Asian people will in future be referred to as "visible minority ethnics". The term, which replaces the phrase "black
and Asian minority ethnics", is expected to be adopted officially in January.
'Visible minority ethnics': a PC step too far?
The decision was criticised yesterday as unnecessary and confusing by black police officers. Anna Scott, the general secretary of the
National Black Police Association, said it amounted to a step too far by the "political correctness" movement.
"We have gone from saying 'black ethnic minority' to 'black minority ethnic' to 'visible minority ethnic' in a matter of years," she said.
"There has been so much emphasis on the issue of terminology, that the issue has become confusing for black police officers, let alone
white ones. We are risking becoming too politically correct at the expense of being clearly understood by officers and the general
public."
A senior police official told The Telegraph that some white officers were using the phrase so that they could avoid saying the words
"black" or "Asian", for fear of causing offence.
The official claimed that the term would allow these communities to be distinguished from others - such as the Irish and the Greeks -
whose members are, according to the new terminology, "invisible" because they tend to be light-skinned.
In the 1960s, the phrase "coloured" was officially used by some police forces. By the 1970s, this had changed to "black" to describe
people whose ancestors originated from the Caribbean and Africa and "Asian" for those who originated from the Indian subcontinent.
The phrase "ethnic minority" was also widely used as a collective term for both groups, but this was dropped in favour of "minority
ethnic" five years ago, prompting criticism that it was an improper use of English.
Bernard Lamb, the chairman of the London branch of the Queen's English Society, said that the new description was grammatically
incorrect and over-sensitive.
"I do not like this new term at all. The word 'ethnic' is an adjective and you cannot pluralise an adjective," he said. "They seem to have
used a euphemism for black and Asian when I imagine most black and Asian people do not mind the words at all." The change will cost
a significant sum of public money in retraining officers and rewriting manuals and a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said that
some senior officers were already using the term.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Authority said that the new term was not a redefinition but was meant to standardise the
phraseology used by the police.
"Concerns have been raised about the nature and range of terms used in papers presented to the authority when discussing ethnicity.
"To ensure that there is a uniform approach and understanding of terminology used in future, and that offence is avoided, the January
meeting of the authority's equal opportunities and diversity board will make decisions about the terminology we expect to use," he said.
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Sir - The new Metropolitan Police terminology for black people and Asians as "visible minority ethnics" shows the lunacy into which the
force has been driven by political correctness. Presumably, if the police are told by an old lady that she has been mugged by a black
man with a limp who spoke with a strong Welsh accent, they will now ask the public to help them find "a mobility-challenged visible
minority ethnic person speaking with a distinct invisible minority ethnic accent".
Thomas Thompson, Thursby, Cumbria
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