Poll: Tescos and Gingers

[DannyFree]

It was in the news the other week that Tescos had to remove a certain Christmas card from two of its branches in the UK after a woman and a relative of hers complained.

The cards contained the phrase,
"Santa loves all kids. Even ginger ones."

So, is this offensive, or just poking a bit of fun.
Also, would you say this is a double standard? Would more action have been taken if the card depicted an obese child, or a black child?

 

[Garla Mapit]

Yea, it's offensive. You're saying ginger (an insult already) kids are less worthy than other kids so you have to make special note that Santa loves them.

 

[GreyWolf257]

This is really, really funny.

...

I have nothing else to say, it's just funny.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Yes that is offensive. It implies that while Santa loves them, the people who made the card find them special.

Racist jokes is all about intention, and with that joke, it feels like they actually think so about gingers, even though they don't

 

[DannyFree]

Yea, it's offensive. You're saying ginger (an insult already) kids are less worthy than other kids so you have to make special note that Santa loves them.

Yeah, I would say that was the crux of the argument. If I remember correctly, the complainant was a natural redhead herself.

Also of note, there was an advert for tango out a while back that read,
"Drinking too much tango will make your hair turn ginger.
Yes, those ones too."

 

[ReincarnatedFTP]

It's only a joke.
The day you can say a racist joke and not get shit for it is the day racism is gone.

/b/ must be the wave of the future.

Anyways, I'll bet that card had people seeing red

I don't see how it's that offensive, it's the equivalent of a blond joke.

However if it had been "Santa loves all kids. Even if they're faggots/sodomites/insert racial slur here"....then it'd be offensive.

 

[DannyFree]

However if it had been "Santa loves all kids. Even if they're faggots/sodomites"....then it'd be offensive.

So there is a double standard, you're saying? I mean, where is the border between edgy and offensive?

 

[AvsJoe]

Offensive, double standard, hilarious.

 

[Disaster Button]

That's hilarious.

Incidentally, me and my mate were having a conversation about ginger people in town. He said, jokingly, that they were everywhere, like disease. So I exclaimed in mock out burst "GINGER'S HAVE FEELINGS TOO, THEY'RE REAL PEOPLE DAMMIT!" At which point a small ginger kid, with the saddest eyes I've ever seen walks past me with his mother and they both just stare at me as though I'd just eaten a baby and were mopping my face with a dead panda.

But by god if it wasn't funny.

 

[muckinscavitch]

It isn't offensive.. He loves children, including Ginger (bread) children.

(I do see what you guys are getting at with the word ginger)

they were insinuating with the time of the season and such.
Seriously, people take too much offense to EVERYTHING these days. People need to relax.

 

[DannyFree]

My flatmate (hope he doesn't read this) has a thing for redheads. It's quite entertaining to watch him mawkishly open doors and stand well out of his way to let them through, no matter how far away from the door they are.

 

[x0ny]

"It's funny until someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious" - forgot where I got that from.

I think over the years we (Britons) have become over sensitive(apart from me, I'm awesome). You know that road sign for elderly people? That was designed in a kids competition in 1981. A year ago people started complaining about that saying it was offensive/insulting to the elderly and demanded it be re designed, which would be extremely costly.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4568656.ece

 

[dalek sec]

Forgive me but what exactly is a Tesco?

 

[DannyFree]

Forgive me but what exactly is a Tesco?

Ah, sorry. I monolithic group of supermarkets. The equivalent to Wal-Mart, except we have Asda too.

 

[DannyFree]

You know that road sign for elderly people? That was designed in a kids competition in 1981. A year ago people started complaining about that saying it was offensive/insulting to the elderly and demanded it be re designed, which would be extremely costly.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4568656.ece

I remember that. Also about people pointing it out that it looked like the woman's hand was up the man's backside. How that made the press, to be honest, is beyond me.

 

[UltraParanoia]

Boo fuckin hoo, don't people have better things to do anymore than get their panties in a wad over every little thing?

Yes it's offensive. You might as well put, "Santa loves all kids. Even the illegal immigrant ones" with a picture of a Mexican child.

Write that in spanish and it would be hilarious.

 

[dont_blink]

Forgive me but what exactly is a Tesco?

is it bad that i find this post extremely cute??


also, yeah the card shoulda been taken down.
aside from anything else
i think ginger hair is gorgeous

 

[ReincarnatedFTP]

However if it had been "Santa loves all kids. Even if they're faggots/sodomites"....then it'd be offensive.

So there is a double standard, you're saying? I mean, where is the border between edgy and offensive?

Well generally jokes about hair color aren't offensive, whereas jokes about race/sexuality are.

I guess you could call it a double standard but I see a difference between "Santa loves you even if you're a brunette/Catholic/Muslim/Atheist/pot smoker/blonde" and "Santa loves you even if you're a dyke/slut/women who should be cooking and cleaning all day/big dumb male"

 

[Godavari]

Well personally I think it's a free speech issue. Whoever made the cards had the right to make them and the store has the right to distribute them. It's not like anyone had to buy the card.

 

[Numb1lp]

Ha, two of my wrestling coaches are ginger. I LOVE THEM!!! (I also love making fun of them)