Bongo Bongo Land????

[thejudderman]

As usual the "what can I be offended about today" brigade are out in force!
Sad sad people need to get a life!!

[IggyB]

its an offended witch hunt!!!! Punish those that seek to be offended when we haven't given them permission to have those feelings

[ludwig]

^ Good point. Which side are you on by the way?

[douglas9401]

I'm not keen on the proliferation of bingo sites either.
And don't get me started on bunga bunga!

[jake-the-peg]

Well that's exactly what's so offensive isn't it?

The expression is one that implies that Africans are all uncivilised and corrupt.

And as such it's appealing to a (racially) prejudiced stereotype that it seems a number on this thread ascribe to.

Or are you going to try to disingenuously pretend that the expression means nothing of the sort and is actually very complimentary?

[emmie]

any worse than calling some British, knuckle dragging fascist morons,
see the double standards here... without knowing what people are like, how can one really dub them anything, or want to. Which indeed is what any number of ABers do.

[naomi24]

Jake, it might imply that to you - but not necessarily to all of us. Perhaps the mote is in your eye.

Em, good point.

[emmie]

because one's political affiliations are just that, you can be a good person, dad, mum, friend, brother or son, belong to BNP, or the Labour/Con/Lib Dems. Hold views that some don't like, well i don't like the following,
winter, too cold, makes me very down, people texting whilst walking along, cyclists on pavements, and a number of my horrible hawking, spitting neighbours..

[FredPuli43]

Emmie "any worse than calling some British..." ? The key word is "some" isn't it? It is not describing a whole race or country or group of countries. That's the difference between calling some British people 'knuckle draggers' and saying 'Bongo Bongo land'. And when knuckle draggers is used on here it is to suggest that all members of a political party or group are stupid and backward in their views. That may be a crude assessment, but is at least arguable on the grounds that they seem stupid and their views are backward.

[emmie]

sorry but it's the same, perhaps the man was generalising, maybe, but quite frankly the labels attached to UKIP, BNP, right wing newspapers, anyone who reads them, and indeed anyone who doesn't hold the same views as some on here, so that can encompass quite a lot of folk.

[emmie]

but who is to tell me my views if they are different from yours, Mikeys, is backward, just different that is all.

[sp1814]

I disagree with emmie on descriptive references.

Some who support extreme right wing politics are absolutely knuckle-dragging, uneducated moronic losers. Just as some who support extreme left wing ideals are naive wispy-washy PC, blinkered idiots.

Most of us fall between those camps.

By the way thejudderman - surely it should be 'what can I be offended by yesterday'? Seeing as you're 24 hours late with this post (it go done to death previously on another thread).

[FredPuli43]

Yes, emmie, but there is an ascribable reason for calling anyone whose views, political or otherwise, are contrary to one's own 'stupid' or, if you will , 'a knuckle dragger' viz. their views are stupid or those only to be held by someone primitive. Calling a whole race, country, nation, or group of countries stupid or knuckle dragging or backward is not ascribable to any rational thought whatsoever; it is just abuse based on, perhaps , fear or a wish to feel superior

[Khandro]

If he had mentioned one particular country receiving aid he would have been chastised for a pointed attack on it in particular. What better collective noun could be used to encapsulate the concept of a group of African countries receiving our taxpayers money? and did I hear correctly someone quoted a figure of 8 Billion pounds?

[FredPuli43]

Khandro, he could have used the "collective noun" Africa.We'd understand that that was short for "those countries in Africa that receive our aid". Why did he choose Bongo Bongo land ?

[factor-fiction]

Sounds about right, Khandro- out of total government expenditure of just under £700 billion and compared with our GDP of around £1600 billion

[sp1814]

factor-fiction...those figures sound right. I've always been lead to believe it's about 1% of government expenditure.

[factor-fiction]

Some info here. You can click and drill down
http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/government_expenditure.html

Foreign aid is more than giving out food and money to dig wells etc in order to help starving people. Amongst other things it's trying to help countries develop to become trading partners (we will hopefully benefit in the long run as India becomes a major player economically), it's about getting countries on our side politically (e.g. Pakistan) and it's about securing contracts for British companies.
I'm sure some does go to waste although I'm not sure how much, if any, goes on Ray Bans and fast cars as was suggested

[ChillDoubt]

As pointed out already by one poster, still freely available in the UK with it's 'catchy'(?) advertising slogan:

http://www.umbongo.com/

[ludwig]

This is why he's an idiot. There may be some validity to what his basic point, and a sensible discussion about where aid is directed needs to be had, but his use of a childish and arguably racist language serves to completely derail and detract from that debate.

These 'plain speakers' never come out of these episodes of plain speaking very well. They always end up looking at best foolish, and lucky if they still have a career, but they never seem to learn.