Primark's racist Walking Dead shirt???

scrumhalf

Sambostar said:

Wish I'd bought a shirt before they were pulled, just for crack,

If that's the way you wear t-shirts, how on earth do you put on your underpants?

EricTheWeary

I thought the Nike Lucille Just Do It t shirts were a reasonable clever play on words. 
It may well be that the designer of the Primark t shirt and the Primark buyer only know the Tiger version of the rhyme and have been completely surprised by all this - possibly they also both worked for Asda when the KKK outfits went onto their shelves in 2014. But, I think enough people know the N word version that plenty of people will find it offensive. Although I did get told to cover up my Speak English or Die t shirt nearly thirty years ago when I was completely naive about the idea anyone might find it offensive.


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Sambostar

I like Mike Muir's version of 'Sticks and Stones may break some bones but a .357's gonna blow your damn head off'.

KKK outfits at Asda?  Damn missed out there.  Seriously?

Edit: They were just wearable England Flags, no big deal.

EricTheWeary

Sambostar said:

I like Mike Muir's version of 'Sticks and Stones may break some bones but a .357's gonna blow your damn head off'.

KKK outfits at Asda?  Damn missed out there.  Seriously?

Edit: They were just wearable England Flags, no big deal.

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ThePrettyDamned

Reverend said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Genuine question, as someone who does think the shirt is a bit less than sensible, where do we stand on our national anthem? 

Regardless of what's sung now, there can be no denying the history - and this is something that's more commonly known. Should we commission for a new one? 

The sooner it is replaced with Denim And Leather by Saxon, the better. 

I would be completely okay with this 

starwarsnosebleed

Haha. Did those kkk flags actually make it into the shops?!
What were they thinking?

TheBlueWolf

Offensive???

Yeah, I remember the racist version of that rhyme but, if I were a black guy confronted with that shirt, I probably wouldn't be bothered. 
 
I think it's a hell of a lot more offensive to be white and claiming racism than it is to be racist.

Dominic

What a load of complete rubbish -some people really need to get a proper job that will keep their  minds busy rather than pontificate on the connotations of a nursery rhyme -then they wouldn't need to shop in Primark
You may as well shut down Tate and Lyle or Cotton Traders for their Grossly offensive racist derivation from Carribean plantation exploitation.........
 Better still shut down Barclays bank that was the principle funder/benefactor/profiteer of the SlaveTrade -in fact Barclays was allegedly born on the back of the slave trade ..........people obviously are not so aware!
 The merchandise should be removed on grounds of being tasteless cheap shit anyway.

Nomad

WezV said:

They used the "tiger" version of the rhyme in the walking dead.  To me it almost felt censored given the character.  Its still the way the rhyme goes in my head after growing up in the 80's

All a matter of experience, I suspect. Growing up in the 60s, I learned it as 'catch a tiger by the toe'. It wasn't until Pulp Fiction came out that I became conscious of the racist version (scene in the second hand shop), and I thought that was supposed to be an adulteration of the 'tiger' version thought up by the white character that was reciting it as a precursor to bum-raping either the black guy or the white guy.

starwarsnosebleed

It only said the first line of the bleddy rhyme anyway, so it cant be racist really unless it says the un-pc version of it.

WezV

Nomad said:

WezV said:

They used the "tiger" version of the rhyme in the walking dead.  To me it almost felt censored given the character.  Its still the way the rhyme goes in my head after growing up in the 80's

All a matter of experience, I suspect. Growing up in the 60s, I learned it as 'catch a tiger by the toe'. It wasn't until Pulp Fiction came out that I became conscious of the racist version (scene in the second hand shop), and I thought that was supposed to be an adulteration of the 'tiger' version thought up by the white character that was reciting it as a precursor to bum-raping either the black guy or the white guy.

The naughty version is so engrained I have to remind myself not to say it, tiger still sounds like one of those adverts where they take a well known song and subvert the lyrics.  It predates the first time I watched pulp fiction by quite a few years.

It also took me years to stop saying Paki shop, Phil's old favourite, ordering a chinky.... or referring to my japs eye.

I accept I grew up in an environment where these racial slurs were prevelant.  I try to be a bit better than that.


The rhyme just appeared as I was watching Smurfs 2 with my daughter.  It made me want to stamp on the next blue person I see

Teetonetal

Wow, I know the rhyme as the tiger version only - my sister used to sing it playing hop scotch.

Philly_Q

It's funny, this must be an age thing, or maybe regional - I only know the racist/offensive version of the rhyme, never heard any of the alternatives.... until today.

EricTheWeary

Philly_Q said:

It's funny, this must be an age thing, or maybe regional - I only know the racist/offensive version of the rhyme, never heard any of the alternatives.... until today.

Just looking at Wikipedia and there are many, many variations of the poem going back a couple of hundred years, the racist version came from the USA but seemingly popularised in the U.K. by Rudyard Kipling in the thirties. It's certainly the only version I knew until recent years. 

capo4th

I can't imagine catching a tiger by its toe they have large claws don't they? 

littlegreenman

I only knew the "tiger" version until I started primary school, when I heard the "N" version.

North Liverpool is, however, one of the most benignly racist places I've ever lived (and I grew up here). It's shocking how normalised racism is here.

The largely Irish Catholic community here don't even think they're being racist when they use those terms. "But that's just the way we talk", "I don't mean anything by it", "I wouldn't care if they call me a honky, so why are they bothered?" etc. All true and recent excuses I've heard from people I work with! People who do, however, get very bothered by Irish slights or jokes about paedo priests. Go figure.

The T-shirt in question? As a WD fan, it would make sense to me on sight. To others not aware of the show and that specific episode? Probably not in a million years. Very much a "niche product".

Evilmags

Growing up in 70s Scotland the N word version was the most common. Teachers didn´t blink an eyelid either. If someone of my age saw someone wearing that they´d probably associate it with the offensive rhyme. 

earwighoney

WezV said:

It also took me years to stop saying Paki shop...

I accept I grew up in an environment where these racial slurs were prevelant. 

Did you grow up in Bradford?  I'm sure the slurs are still in existence there!  

For many in the 80's at least (for myself anyway) the term 'Paki' was a pretty nasty term be it in the playground or skinheads (pretty sure they weren't into the club scene in Vauxhall...).  I find it perplexing that the term was used by some in a banal context, never the context I had experience of.  

****
I'm a bit taken back Primark are selling Walking Dead t-shirts though.  Can't imagine such a niche product would have a place in such a shop.  

earwighoney

littlegreenman said:

The largely Irish Catholic community here don't even think they're being racist when they use those terms. "But that's just the way we talk", "I don't mean anything by it", "I wouldn't care if they call me a honky, so why are they bothered?" etc. All true and recent excuses I've heard from people I work with! People who do, however, get very bothered by Irish slights or jokes about paedo priests. Go figure.

This applies to other communities/groups; no problem to ridicule certain groups/subjects but take offence when they are the subjects.

stickyfiddle

earwighoney said:

****
I'm a bit taken back Primark are selling Walking Dead t-shirts though.  Can't imagine such a niche product would have a place in such a shop.  

It's a huge TV show, so I'm not surprised. But to anyone who doesn't follow the show I can see the argument that the shirt might have racist connotations. 

I think the the bigger issue is that it's a really shit looking Tshirt.