Tag: Prince Harry

Well, with all the tabloids going apeshit about Prince Harry this morning, you have to start wondering if he’s taking after his grandad. Prince Philip is well known for his “faux pas”. Or more realistically, his blatant outpourings of humorous, yet insulting, gobshite.

The thing is, are Harry’s comments that bad? Or is this just more tabloid ****-stirring? Start with the fact that Harry’s not been in the news for a while. Most recently it was about how good he’s been and his serving in Afghanistan and the like. This video was filmed three years ago when he was fairly raw and in the army.

There’s another point. He was a squaddie. Members of the armed forces are well-known for being somewhat abrasive with their use of his grandmother’s English. And the fact is the video was a “home video” – in so far as that term still exists with the likes of YouTube and a million cheap Saturday night TV shows prepared to broadcast your every cockup to the slavering masses. I’m sure had he been near TV cameras he’d have shown more restraint.

But the big issue with myself is – did he mean it in an abusive manner? I’ve been brought up with my grandmother calling the local corner shop, “the Paki‘s”. She doesn’t dislike people of any ethnic minority to the best of my knowledge and always had the best relationship with the guy who ran the place. Face it, if she hadn’t she’d have gone elsewhere.

The thing is, it’s not necessarily a derogatory term. Sure, an Indian or a Bangladeshi isn’t going to like it. It’s like calling a Scot “Irish” because they’re white and have an accent. It’s down to how people perceive being called it.

It reminds me of a conversation I had in Israel a while back. I thought I’d blogged about this, but I can’t find such a post so I guess now. I was in a hostel in Jerusalem and at some point in the discussion, used the term “half-caste” to describe someone.

An American girl who up until this point had seemed quite reasonable, just went apeshit. “You can’t use that word! You racist” and so forth. I felt genuinely puzzled. I’ve been using the word since I was a kid and with no ill-meaning or repurcussion before.

A very dear friend of mine is from Sri Lanka, though grew up in Newcastle. We went to school together and we’ve shared holidays (we also went through a phase at school where I’d call him “nigger” and he’d call me “honky bastard” – never any ill will meant). He’s pretty dark-skinned and is married to a delightful Welsh woman with red hair and the whitest skin you’ve ever seen.

Their children are beautiful. At the time I was in Jerusalem, they only had the one daughter and I emailed it. I asked how he felt about the word “half-caste”. Was it offensive? Had I missed a bulletin somewhere telling me I was no longer allowed to use it? Apparently not, it seems, as he confessed that when their daughter wasn’t listening they’d refer to her as their “little halfie”.

So why did the American girl jump down my throat when I used the word? Perceptions differ, and if a guy in the army is going to get suicidal about being referred to as a “Paki” then he’s got no place there. The good thing is that the person in question certainly didn’t seem to have an issue with it.

Which brings me to the final point. If the person who the term was aimed at didn’t give a **** – then what harm is done and why the **** do the tabloids care?