Political Correctness Running Wild In Britain

[Invayne]

Toddlers who dislike spicy food 'racist'
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent

Toddlers who turn their noses up at spicy food from overseas could be branded racists by a Government-sponsored agency.

The National Children's Bureau, which receives £12 million a year, mainly from Government funded organisations, has issued guidance to play leaders and nursery teachers advising them to be alert for racist incidents among youngsters in their care.

This could include a child of as young as three who says "yuk" in response to being served unfamiliar foreign food.

The guidance by the NCB is designed to draw attention to potentially-racist attitudes in youngsters from a young age.

It alerts playgroup leaders that even babies can not be ignored in the drive to root out prejudice as they can "recognise different people in their lives".

The 366-page guide for staff in charge of pre-school children, called Young Children and Racial Justice, warns: "Racist incidents among children in early years settings tend to be around name-calling, casual thoughtless comments and peer group relationships."

It advises nursery teachers to be on the alert for childish abuse such as: "blackie", "Pakis", "those people" or "they smell".

The guide goes on to warn that children might also "react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying 'yuk'".

Staff are told: "No racist incident should be ignored. When there is a clear racist incident, it is necessary to be specific in condemning the action."

Warning that failing to pick children up on their racist attitudes could instil prejudice, the NCB adds that if children "reveal negative attitudes, the lack of censure may indicate to the child that there is nothing unacceptable about such attitudes".

Nurseries are encouraged to report as many incidents as possible to their local council. The guide added: "Some people think that if a large number of racist incidents are reported, this will reflect badly on the institution. In fact, the opposite is the case."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/education/2261307/Toddlers-who-dislike-spicy-food-racist,-say-report.html


Can somebody tell me what a toddler knows about racism or foreign foods? And PLEASE don't tell me the parents indoctrinated him!:shame:

[Alonzo]

I don't see anything about branding kids as racist, but instead teaching them about cultural differences.

I know in elementary school kids who brought ethnic foods where often laughed at, and I remember kids frequently doing that "Me chinese, me no da" or whatever it was, while holding up the corners of their eyes.

[hungarianflower]

Ah, isn't that the beauty of Western society. The absurd lengths we go to to protect our minorities.

Too bad our friends to the East won't return the favor.

[Alonzo]

Ah, isn't that the beauty of Western society. The absurd lengths we go to to protect our minorities.

Too bad our friends to the East won't return the favor.

Teaching tolerance both benefits economically and in terms of law, as those accepted as equals are more likely to be productive members of society.

[Invayne]

I don't see anything about branding kids as racist, but instead teaching them about cultural differences.

I know in elementary school kids who brought ethnic foods where often laughed at, and I remember kids frequently doing that "Me chinese, me no da" or whatever it was, while holding up the corners of their eyes.

Um, the gubmint agency is trying to brand them as racist:

The 366-page guide for staff in charge of pre-school children, called Young Children and Racial Justice, warns: "Racist incidents among children in early years settings tend to be around name-calling, casual thoughtless comments and peer group relationships."

It advises nursery teachers to be on the alert for childish abuse such as: "blackie", "Pakis", "those people" or "they smell".

The guide goes on to warn that children might also "react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying 'yuk'".

"Those people"? Saying "yuk" because they don't like a certain food? Hell, I'll eat almost anything, but if you put goat's balls, or what ever they are, in front of me, I'll say YUK too!:nana:

[Alonzo]

Where do they brand anyone as racist? They say "racist incidents". And children, at least when I was that young, didn't keep their indignation about other food to themselves, even if they weren't eating it.

[william the wierd]

With me and my brothers pre-school/after school guards were far more concerned about our escapes. They got wrote up by the base commander for the time I started dancing on the roof of the base theater as a diversion while my brothers cut through the Cecil Field perimeter fence. Dad claimed the JO at the base commander's laughed his head off at me telling the SPs something to the effect that it was my duty to escape or at least aid escapees. Don't remember that incident or the time I broke into girl's bathroom because I heard that their window was unbarred. I do remember being told that it was my tenth escape attempt when we were caught under the building with bolt cutters. I do remember that my oldest brother Mike got one of the longest spankings I can recall for that one and promised to stop using me as a scout and scrounge. I was paroled at age four or five.

[NIOSA]

Can somebody tell me what a toddler knows about racism or foreign foods? And PLEASE don't tell me the parents indoctrinated him!:shame:

Most toddlers think broccoli is "foreign food" :ponder:
This is a bunch of hogwash. Reminds me of the story I heard today that some muslims in GB are demanding that sniffer dogs be fitted with rubber booties before they can come in their homes & sniff for bombs & etc., "dogs are unclean". :rolleyes:

[GhostintheMachine]

What we may consider petty issues amongst children aren't always as small as we think.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qWEXJ-Qd1uw

[apdst]

Toddlers who dislike spicy food 'racist'

That makes Alonzo a big time racist...lol

[Muser]

Yet another example of the UK's barking mad efforts at political correctness; this is but one example of the ever-increasing lunacy that has infected that once-great nation. The comments are the best part and provide more worthwhile reading than the article itself, as is always the case with nearly anything I read online; at least the constituents responding appear to have some semblance of common sense.

Too many excellent comments to list, but here's one I found especially worthwhile, particularly after hunting down that ridiculous "Sniffer Dogs Offend Muslims (http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/50071)" story that NIOSA alluded to earlier:

26. Posted by Joy on July 08, 2008 07:30 PM

Wayne #117: Why is it that the English are constantly derided as being racist for not wanting to adopt wholesale another culture, but those who come to our country for a better life are not racist when they refuse to adopt our culture and integrate?

Excellent question, Wayne!

[GhostintheMachine]

It advises nursery teachers to be on the alert for childish abuse such as: "blackie", "Pakis", "those people" or "they smell".

Boy, this is really overdoing it with political correctness.*sarcasm.* How is trying to eliminate early forms of racism that takes more implicit forms lunacy? People really should study social psychology and the impact that these so called small thing have upon people starting at an early age.

The guide goes on to warn that children might also "react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying 'yuk'".

I didn't hear anywhere that they were forcing children to enjoy different foods, sounds to me they are just trying to promote early understanding of diversity. It is hardly forcing people to assimilate with other cultures.

[ECW]

... sounds to me they are just trying to promote early understanding of diversity...

A lesson lost on many posters in this forum alone. No wonder kids are so fucked up: their parents still are.

[Muser]

Boy, this is really overdoing it with political correctness.*sarcasm.* How is trying to eliminate early forms of racism that takes more implicit forms lunacy? People really should study social psychology and the impact that these so called small thing have upon people starting at an early age.

<stares at Ghost> Yes. People really should, shouldn't they?

Let's indeed start with early age. Elizabeth Spelke's "baby brain" Harvard studies have shown that babies are 'prejudiced' because they prefer the faces and voices of their own family groups. Language - far more than race - determines this "prejudice".

‘Five-month-old babies will look longer at somebody who spoke to them in their language. Older infants want to accept a toy from someone who has spoken their language,’ Dr Kinzler says. ‘They like toys more that are associated with someone who has spoken their language. They prefer to eat foods offered to them by a native speaker compared to a speaker of a foreign language. And older children say that they want to be friends with someone who speaks in their native accent.’

Accents and vernacular, far more than race, seem to influence the people we like. ‘Children would rather be friends with someone who is from a different race and speaks with a native accent versus somebody who is their own race but speaks with a foreign accent.’Do you consider this an aberration? Some sort of negative birth defect akin to a disease? Or rather is it a pragmatic, ingrained survival mechanism for a baby or a child to trust its own? Was evolution wrong in priming babies to prefer/trust their own group?

I didn't hear anywhere that they were forcing children to enjoy different foods, sounds to me they are just trying to promote early understanding of diversity. It is hardly forcing people to assimilate with other cultures.I have a problem with this:

The guide goes on to warn that children might also "react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying 'yuk'".It's the height of absurdity for this guide to include this bit and assert that it's presumed evidence of "racism". Ridiculous.

As to the other forms of prejudice exampled, i.e. calling names such as "blackie", "Pakis", etc. - those are incidents that should indeed be dealt with; children should be taught not to ridicule, mock or insult others that are different from them, no "anti-racism" slant necessary.

Kids tend to ridicule and deride that which is different from them - it's a natural "kid" thing, sadly. My 6- and 12-year-old daughters were subject to a fair amount of abuse and bullying after their father died - the comments they endured were shocking. Had nothing to do with "race" and everything to do with "different".

Rather than automatically viewing children through the politically-correct "racist" lens, it should be approached that children generally tend to eschew "different" in ALL forms, and the overall focused teaching effort should be on accepting, or at least leaving alone, those who are different - whether Pakistani, deaf, blind, redneck, emo, no arms, no dad, in a wheelchair, picks boogers, or smells funny.

Nurseries are encouraged to report as many incidents as possible to their local council. The guide added: "Some people think that if a large number of racist incidents are reported, this will reflect badly on the institution. In fact, the opposite is the case."Nurseries are encouraged to "report"? Why is it necessary to "report" these incidences to a government council? Will the reports be added to a database? The intention to track these incidents is apparent. Will the child's name be used in these tracking efforts? Will the parents be found liable and at fault and will their names be added to the database? And what happens after that?

I have less a problem with the overall effort to instill tolerance and combat "racism", than I do with the "reporting" aspect of it. Heinous.

[Buck Laser]

Invayne, don't you have enough to worry about with complaining about the US's egregious errors? Do you need to correct the English as well?

[GhostintheMachine]

Let's indeed start with early age. Elizabeth Spelke's "baby brain" Harvard studies have shown that babies are 'prejudiced' because they prefer the faces and voices of their own family groups. Language - far more than race - determines this "prejudice".

Do you consider this an aberration? Some sort of negative birth defect akin to a disease? Or rather is it a pragmatic, ingrained survival mechanism for a baby

No, I understand this is human nature. But does this mean that children 3+ should be ignored every time they pass judgment on things that are different? Or should they be taught understanding?

As to the other forms of prejudice exampled, i.e. calling names such as "blackie", "Pakis", etc. - those are incidents that should indeed be dealt with; children should be taught not to ridicule, mock or insult others that are different from them, no "anti-racism" slant necessary.

Kids tend to ridicule and deride that which is different from them - it's a natural "kid" thing, sadly. My 6- and 12-year-old daughters were subject to a fair amount of abuse and bullying after their father died - the comments they endured were shocking. Had nothing to do with "race" and everything to do with "different".

Rather than automatically viewing children through the politically-correct "racist" lens, it should be approached that children generally tend to eschew "different" in ALL forms, and the overall focused teaching effort should be on accepting, or at least leaving alone, those who are different - whether Pakistani, deaf, blind, redneck, emo, no arms, no dad, in a wheelchair, picks boogers, or smells funny.

The article talks about become aware of "potentially-racist attitudes," I don't see this as branding a kid as a racist. It is not being just politically-correct, recognizing implicit discrimination is something that social psychologists have worked hard to bring to light. I think that this article most likely fails to fully describe what the guide actually has in it, I am sure that it includes more than just race, but all forms of discrimination. And yes, it is good to understand that many children tend to eschew different, but that doesn't mean that it should be ignored. I think we agree about that. I am sorry to hear your children went through such a hard time, kids can be very mean.

Nurseries are encouraged to "report"? Why is it necessary to "report" these incidences to a government council? Will the reports be added to a database? The intention to track these incidents is apparent. Will the child's name be used in these tracking efforts? Will the parents be found liable and at fault and will their names be added to the database? And what happens after that?

I have less a problem with the overall effort to instill tolerance and combat "racism", than I do with the "reporting" aspect of it. Heinous.

The guide added: "Some people think that if a large number of racist incidents are reported, this will reflect badly on the institution. In fact, the opposite is the case."

Sounds to me like they are more trying to collect data than they are to "single out" children or put parents liable. Could use further explanation. I do think that governmental oversight on holding people accountable can become a bit over the line.

[Invayne]

With me and my brothers pre-school/after school guards were far more concerned about our escapes. They got wrote up by the base commander for the time I started dancing on the roof of the base theater as a diversion while my brothers cut through the Cecil Field perimeter fence. Dad claimed the JO at the base commander's laughed his head off at me telling the SPs something to the effect that it was my duty to escape or at least aid escapees. Don't remember that incident or the time I broke into girl's bathroom because I heard that their window was unbarred. I do remember being told that it was my tenth escape attempt when we were caught under the building with bolt cutters. I do remember that my oldest brother Mike got one of the longest spankings I can recall for that one and promised to stop using me as a scout and scrounge. I was paroled at age four or five.

:madlaugh:BAD!

[Invayne]

Invayne, don't you have enough to worry about with complaining about the US's egregious errors? Do you need to correct the English as well?

Why are you taking offense to this, Buck? Political Correctness is stupid AND dangerous no matter what country it is practiced in.

[Invayne]

Kids tend to ridicule and deride that which is different from them - it's a natural "kid" thing, sadly. My 6- and 12-year-old daughters were subject to a fair amount of abuse and bullying after their father died - the comments they endured were shocking. Had nothing to do with "race" and everything to do with "different".

Damn, that's terrible. Kids can be downright evil sometimes...guess that's why I never wanted any.:shame:


Rather than automatically viewing children through the politically-correct "racist" lens, it should be approached that children generally tend to eschew "different" in ALL forms, and the overall focused teaching effort should be on accepting, or at least leaving alone, those who are different - whether Pakistani, deaf, blind, redneck, emo, no arms, no dad, in a wheelchair, picks boogers, or smells funny.

Absolutely right.


Nurseries are encouraged to "report"? Why is it necessary to "report" these incidences to a government council? Will the reports be added to a database? The intention to track these incidents is apparent. Will the child's name be used in these tracking efforts? Will the parents be found liable and at fault and will their names be added to the database? And what happens after that?

I have less a problem with the overall effort to instill tolerance and combat "racism", than I do with the "reporting" aspect of it. Heinous.

It probably goes into a database and they'll have a "record" that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. When they outgrow their "normal kid stuff" and try to get a job in later years, the employer will punch his name into a computer and find out that he said "yuk" when offered spicy Kimchee, and he won't get hired because of his "intolerance".:madlaugh: