Worst racism 'row' ever?
These people need to shut the fuck up. And just go to a Spoons as The Slug and Lettuce is shit.
Tweet This
Share on FacebookThread not appearing correctly? Click here to rebuild | Report this
- Watch: Lightspeed Champion - 'Marlene'
- Favourite Five of 2009 from Girls' Christopher Owens
- Watch: F^(k Buttons live in San Francisco
- Watch: HUNKS + Friends - 'The Magic of Christmas' ft. Sky Larkin, Los Campesinos!, Slow Club + more
- Investigating Witch Cults... DiS meets Broadcast
- Listen: So Many Dynamos - 'New Bones'
- Listen: Shearwater - 'Castaways'
- Yeasayer announce UK tour for 2010
Last.fm
SoundCloud
MySpace
Friendster
RSS
hooray for the comments
"It's PC gone mad now, I am Chinese and if someone put Chinese couple I have no problem with that."
Haha, I saw this yesterday
and was bemused. I thought I was either missing something or I was a massive racist.
Still, you get what yuo deserve going to a Slug and Lettuce pub.
If I was the employee who took their order
I'd write them a letter of unreserved non-apology.
just a question...
the outrage is centred on the fact that they were the only couple dining, but if they made their order downstairs before heading upstairs to the dining area, how was the waitress to know they were the only couple in the restaurant!?!!?!!?/11/1/1//!!?!?!??!?!?!?!
there could have been another couple upstairs!!!!!!
and the waitress had only just started her shift!!!!!!
and did not know this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah but you are a massive racist Fiona
* MASSIVE
Yeah, saw this.
"I do class it as racism. It spoiled what should have been a celebration."
Well, it's not REALLY racism - and you're a fool if you let it spoil your celebration.
She is an estate agent
says it all.
i just submitted that to APILN
What's that?
http://apiln.blogspot.com :)
nah balls to that and every other comment on here
I think it takes the piss and they're right to be angry and I also happen to like that pub
They're not right to be angry
and that pub is shit. HAVE AT YOU.
of course they are
I'd be angry if I was there and they put chiselled jaw bald sex god on my receipt. Just ask their bloody name, it's not hard.
That pub is pretty decent, I've had some good times there and it's better than the sodding 'spoons.
you should try the Lloyds upstairs in the shopping centre
I've been there too, only once though
and it's not very good
That'll be a Lloyds bar then.
It's like someone questioned what were the good points of a Wetherspoons (i.e. it's dirt cheap and generally no music/noise) and removed them.
One of the best spoons I've been in is the one local to my mum, the Coronet on Holloway Road. They really know how to serve some bitter.
Unlike some people I'm not snobbish or scared about
drinking in certain places
I've only been in three Lloyds bars.
I like Wetherspoons generally but I just find the Lloyds ones to be excessively loud and over-priced. It's not fear or snobbishness, it's just opinion.
it wasn't directed at you theo
'spoons and lloyds bars are both pretty shit.
Ah right. Now I drink ale a lot I appreciate the choice in a 'spoons.
But before that I was unmoved by them.
You never struck me as an Islington Green Champers Socialist type, Jack...
:D
Definitely it's not on.
it's opposite the cinema, near some good restaurants
and is about a 1 minute walk to the bus stops. I've even watched some football games upstairs before. Oh the horror.
By the by that is one lame green.
Yeah, I was clearly taking the piss.
Lamo it is. I normally go to the Camden Head if I'm in that area or the Mucky Pup if I've the time to walk that far.
Tbh
I was a litte bored and wanted some rabble. I disagree with you wholeheartedly though. I could perhaps be swayed by the idea that it's inappropriate to put that description on a receipt, if only because people working with the public should be aware that a seemingly great deal of them are over-sensitive bellends, but can't get down with the idea that it's racist in anyway.
^ basically my thoughts on this as well
it was stupid. i don't think it's racist.
It's just rude.
I suppose only the couple in question can say whether they
thought it was racist. Maybe it's harder for us to identify with them? Maybe like Theo said they've been labelled like that numerous amounts of times throughout their life and got a bit fed up with it happening whilst they just wanted an overpriced sharing platter and a glass of pinot noir.
...surely there has to be intention for it to be racist...?
I dunno - massive grey area/subjective/far too deep for dis on a wednesday morning. Anyways, they're being ridiculous imo - and those saying how hard is it to ask for a name etc... - this surely doesn't substantiate claims of racism, maybe laziness or lack of consideration but racism? Je ne le pense pas (bit of French for you there, Jacques).
Also, Slug and Lettuce sucks, like a slug on a lettuce.
It doesn't have to be intentional to be racist.
What has intention to do with anything? If you offended someone by saying something unintentionally do you refuse to apologise for it?
You'd be sorry for upsetting someone i guess...
although that brings in questions about folks' sensitivities etc.
With regards racism, intention's probably the wrong word, but i don't think the 'victim's' interpretation of something should be used to define whether it is racist or not...
Again though
I don't care. I don't see that everyone should be in the business of desperately trying to not offend other people. 'Black couple' is not an offensive term in itself and I struggle to see that it was used in an offensive context. I don't think it's fair to label a person as racist just 'cos some oddball takes offence at something they have thin grounds too.
not an offensive term to you but maybe to them
anyways I think the Nick Griffin thing is probably a worse race row at the moment
But that's the exact argument I can't agree with
I know it's not the same and I'm being a tad ridiculous but if I decide the word 'goat' is offensive, it doesn't mean I can have a pop at people who happen to use the word 'goat'.
a tad ridiculous?
christ
*Very ridiculous
How far should you go to make sure you don't offend people then?
oh come on
Amazing reasoning
honestly, it's one of the silliest analogies i've ever seen on here.
it doesn't warrant a reasoned counter-argument
It's very silly
Very overtly and consciously silly. But then again, it's not an analogy I'm linking to racism. The word black has an incredibly long and painful history behind. I'm suggesting that it's ridiculous to suggest you should somehow manage to avoid upsetting absolutely everybody's individual sensibilites. There are terms where there has to be some sort of consensus on whether or not they are offensive.
I'll have to presume you don't have an actual counter-argument.
It's not about having a concensus on whether or not they're offensive.
It's about avoiding anything that potentially could be deemed to be in this particular context.
Black, Asian, fat, disabled blah blah blah.
They're as unnecessary to use in this conext as they are accurate.
^ this. especially if you work in customer service
I said that elsewhere already
not exactly
I didn't use your exact words, no
'I could perhaps be swayed by the idea that it's inappropriate to put that description on a receipt, if only because people working with the public should be aware that a seemingly great deal of them are over-sensitive bellends, but can't get down with the idea that it's racist in anyway.'
or bamos' exact words, since my post was an
appendage to his.
His use of the worst analogy that mankind has ever seen for anything ever blinded me to anything else he'd written.
Conclusions:
Is this "racist"? Probably not
Is it unnecessary? Yes
Should it be in the local paper? Yeah, why not
EVERYBODY OUT
I'm fully aware of that
It was inappropriate for the description to appear on the receipt.
There's two different issues being debated here and I think they're being muddled; whether or not it's specifically racist and whether or not it's just more generally rude. I can agree that it's perhaps rude. I take umbrage with the fact that the couple have essentially accused someone of being racist/making a racist remark and with the fact that (I'm not talking about racism here, I mean it in more general terms) that you should be forced to apologise for saying something innocuous if someone else takes offence to it (specially considering that I don't think the term 'black couple' was used in an offensive context).
I think they're in the position to say if they feel it's racist.
Is it racism that could be brought to a court of law? Very likely not, but just because they didn't write 'niggers' on the receipt, just because it's a term that other black people might not have a problem with, doesn't mean it's not racist.
To my mind it's clearly racist in the sense it's a description that (as they say) wouldn't have been used for a white couple. They have been singled out in a way that reflects on their race.
If you're arguing is this the sort of racism that marks the future collapse of society and riots then clearly it isn't. If you're arguing that it seems to have been in no way malicious then I would also have to agree. And I don't think the couple in question are even arguing that it's wildly offensive racism or even intentional. All they asked for was an apology and (presumably) that hope that in future the waitress might question why she'd write a couple were 'black'.
Been labelled black?
As far as I'm aware, on some official forms you have to state your ethnicity, now, as much as I don't like doing this, I do it. You're making it seem like they have a problem with being black.
It's silly, it's probably a little bit rude and unnecessary, but it's not racist.
"Better than Wetherspoons"
They should paint that on the front in massive letters.
This thread has done that thing
where I can't see posts any more. A sure sign, that.
It's probably 'PC gone mad'
but I wouldn't personally refer to the only black couple in a restaurant as 'the black couple' if I were pointing them out to someone.
I don't think I'm really in a position to tell these guys what they should and shouldn't be offended by. Maybe he spends every day being the black guy in the office or whatever and therefore is a bit fucked off with being marked out in that way? Fair play to them.
Why not?
It's a term of description, personally valid. How would you feel about 'fat', 'ginger', 'tall', 'short', 'long-haired', 'Asian' etc.
It's not anything to worry about. As far as I can see, they are black. Has he got a problem with it? Sure, it looks silly that they've put "BLK" couple on the bill when they say they were the only couple eating in there but...REALLY?
Personally?
Perfectly, was the word I was looking for. In any case, if they were the ONLY black couple in the restaurant, among other non-black couples then it's really a fair way to point them out to avoid confusion.
Do they not have table numbers in this fucking place?
"How would you feel about 'fat', 'ginger', 'tall', 'short', 'long-haired', 'Asian' "
Tall or long-haired is probably as far as I'd go of those. The others are definitely not on. What's wrong with asking for someone's name or giving them a table marker thing or letting the serving staff use their heads and work out who the order might be for based on how many couples they can see who've clearly already been served and who's looking at them in a, "Is that my order?" sort of way?
Well, indeed. But it's not racism, it's silly.
ANYWAY, I didn't really mean those in a "putting it on a bill" to their faces kind of way, just a general person to person speaking "oh, whose bill is this" "oh that ginger-haired bloke". It saves on hassle.
If someone did it with me and said "big bloke with a beard" I'd think well, fair enough, I am a big bloke with a beard. You need a way to pick people out in various situations, people just need to accept what they are sometimes and stop worrying about it.
But we ARE discussing this situation.
I don't really think the couple are asking that we never ever describe them as black even if we're having a private conversation. Yeah, if I was describing someone to you in a conversation I'm sure I would use whatever descriptions came to mind, but we're not discussing that.
Equally 'big bloke with a beard' does not include words which are ever really used pejoratively. You're being deliberately obtuse if you think referring to someone as a 'tall guy' is the same as referring to them as a 'short guy' because it isn't: society makes tall men out to be the more preferred form. Equally you can call someone thin but not fat.
What's so stupid about this discussion is everyone going on about whether it's 'racist' or not like that's the issue. The point is that it's just a rude way of treating someone.
i've called someone a beardy cunt before
NIGHT OUT RUINED BY RUDE WAITING STAFF
Great news story
that might be the point as you see it,
but it wasn't really the point they were making and it wasn't the point the article in question was reporting.
Yes, it's insensitive and rude, I agree.
But the bloke himself said he thought it was racist, that's why people are talking about it!
Lanky goggle-eyed freak?
http://www.timboucher.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/daniel-pinchbeck-stephen-merchant.jpg
'I do class it as racism'
The point here categorically isn't that it's rude (at least not the couple in questionn's point). It's that it's racist. If anything, you're being obtuse!
Regardless of whether it is the preferred form, describing someone as fat wouldn't necessarily be 'fattist'
though.
And the whole point is whether or not it is racist... that's what's being accused...
Agreed
It's bad enough living my life as a short person without having to be reminded about it by a RECEIPT. I can only imagine how bad it must be for a black person.
"JOHNSON? IS THERE A JOHNSON ABRAHAM IN THE HOUSE?"
i've never had a bad meal in the slug and lettuce
I've never eaten there but they do Wine Wednesdays so that's okay by me.
the one in Cambridge is fine
a good option for Saturday lunch if you're out and about - there's a dearth of good options in Cambridge, esp. in the town centre.
erm, now i'll admit to being whiter than a set of Hollywood teeth, but still
dictionary.com gives 3 definitions of racism:
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
how does referring to a couple as a "black" couple match any of these descriptins?
So we've established
it was daft, not racist.
he looks like that asisan bloke who used to be in eastenders
tariqs brother.
*assassin
i agree with biscuit
bad form
it wouldn't be a problem if 'black' wasn't used as an insulting term quite often
(maybe in subtle ways, like 'black boys', or 'big black guy')
I can understand why they might be annoyed, even if it wasn't meant to be offensive. They could have been identified by any number of other traits, like what they were wearing.
I can get annoyance
I'd probably have had a word with the manager and tried to wrangle free stuff out of it. That's entirely fair dos. But going to press because you think you've been the victim of racism and demanding an apology? Nah.
WORST RACISM ROW DISCUSSION EVER
I just got annoyed at how they refused the manager's apology and offer of free champers and food
No, we want the waitress to apologise as well.
Why stop there. Go the whole hog! Why not get the guy who programmed the computer to have "black couple" on the receipt
I reckon they wanted a South Park/Jesse Jackson 'apology'
this reminds me of that militant black guy sketch...
good work on the classic glum expression holding the reciept though
never fails.
what would have happened if another black couple went upstairs to eat?
I smell a shitcom
or a black chinese couple
or a couple of goats
Racism Row
is a soap set in Oldham
Agreed
like some other posters have said this was an act of foolishness and unprofessionalism, not racism.
Sometthing about them just calling a spade a spade.
*SAFETY WINK*
This is my favourite comment:
Nowadays you don't need to have table numbers. You give people a jug with a big wooden spoon in it that has the order number and they take it to where they want to sit.
- Peace Maker, Battersea
I blame the BBC.
Letting the BNP indoctrinate the nation has resulted in cases like this in my opinion.
so long story short
restaurants should stop putting in-house references on receipts, it's unprofessional and puts peoples' backs up.
not racist, just a bit insensitive and rude.
I don't think your opinion on whether or not the episode...
...is offensive or not is especially relevant. They were the people on the receiving end, they were the people who were offended and they're the people who are complaining about it. Do you not feel it's a bit arrogant to judge what THEY should or should not deem offensive?
The more important issue here if you ask me is whether it's newsworthy or not. I would say that, no, it most definitely isn't. Who cares if they're being silly by complaining, the whole thing shouldn't really be in a fucking newspaper...
.
BLATANTLY JUST ANNOYED THEY COULDNT GET RICE AND PEAS!
Definitely
You know what I hate? "Optional service charge". Oh what, because you think I might not be able to afford a tip? Or do I just look cheap? Cunts.
that blk guy's got a funny-shaped head.
AHEM MM MM MMM *clears throat*
look closer at the reciept. They had COUGH fried chicken COUGH COUGH.
http://i37.tinypic.com/536anr.jpg
Not that that means anything...or...anything AHEM MASSIVE SAFETY WINK
I bet they had some watermelon too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--g3PP3dfDo
all washed down with purple drink.
or Nurishment.
we've turned this thread into all win
.
I've just realised
Guess Who trains children to be racist.
:(