Golly Gosh!

[Eggchaser]

Have we lamented Carol Thatcher's unfortunate and ludicrous expulsion from The One Show for using an innocuous word that many right-minded people simply associate with favoured childhood dolls and jam mascots? It's Political Correctness Gone Mad! As the spokesman for the League Against Political Correctness said, it's just a word, you have to look at the context in which it was meant. Sound fellow.

I blame the parents, myself.

[Mitch]

Golly Gosh!

Try as hard as you like egg, you'll never out-spoof Melanie Phillips:

It is hard to think of anything more despicable than snitching like this on a private conversation. People say or do all kinds of things which are perfectly acceptable in the context of drinks with friends or colleagues, but which would cause a very different impression if they occurred in public.

If we were all to be treated in this way, how many of us would remain in our jobs? Is there anyone who can honestly claim never to have uttered an injudicious remark when sharing a drink with friends?"

[Eggchaser]

Golly Gosh!

The sad thing is, there actually is a League Against Political Correctness and the Tory MP cunt spokesman was given valuable BBC airtime to waste with his "How dare they challenge our cosy world of bigotry" nonsense on Radio 5 this morning. Masses of texts were referring to the "eavesdropping" as something from the Stasi.

It's like that Campaign For Real Education nutter they always wheel out whenever the schools get mentioned. He occasionally makes a good point but it gets lost in the morass of frothing and bile.

[Incandenza]

Golly Gosh!

innocuous word that many right-minded people simply associate with favoured childhood dolls and jam mascots

Huh?

[Gangster Octopus]

Golly Gosh!

He refers to this:

[beak]

Golly Gosh!

inca, this happy little chap was the mascot of robinson's jam, until they were forced to take him off the jars and the merchandise, doubtlessly at the request of some bearded, guardian-reading, sandal-reading, weirdo-beardo, muesli-eating, bonkers brussels bonkerscrat.

[Eggchaser]

Golly Gosh!

What next, eh? Soon you won't be able to call someone a wog in the privacy of your own home without the Police arresting you! They should be out arresting real criminals.

[E10 Rifle]

Golly Gosh!

It is hard to think of anything more despicable than snitching like this on a private conversation.

Too right Mel, it really is hard, if not impossible.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Golly Gosh!

But was our Carol, erstwhile Queen of the Jungle, referring to Gael Monfils or Andy Murray? I rather suspect it could have been the latter, with his curly hair and jolly little smile.

[Guy Profumo]

Golly Gosh!

It is hard to think of anything more despicable than snitching like this on a private conversation

Eh?

How is this a private conversation?

La Thatcher was retained as a commentator on a BBC programme, was on BBC premises, was in a room with her BBC colleagues, and talking where she could be overheard by said colleagues.

If she's still in the building, she's still on the roster. (to mix a metaphor or two)

(And she hasn't been sacked by Auntie in any case, just told she won't be used on the One Show any more)

[Guy Profumo]

Golly Gosh!

innocuous word that many right-minded people simply associate with favoured childhood dolls and jam mascots

You mean you didn't all collect the badges and figurenes as kids then?

(Mine probably got thrown out years ago, along with all my Corgi toys and my Dalek. They'd probably be worth a fortune now)

[Fatter Hipper]

Golly Gosh!

Two jolly nice lecturing chappies from the Department of Twattering Foppishness were in the staff club at university this lunch time saying how Thatcher's sacking wasn't a sign of anti-racism, but a sign of anti-nicknamism.

To which I called them a "right pair of cunts" and walked off. By which, of course, I mean I sighed silently into my Guardian and veggie lasagne.

[Guest]

Golly Gosh!

Fatter Hipper wrote:

my Guardian and veggie lasagne.

There's newspaper in it? Is your university run by Principal Skinner?

"Much needed roughage and essential inks" etc.

[Guy Profumo]

Golly Gosh!

Wee Hughie wrote:

Fatter Hipper wrote:

my Guardian and veggie lasagne.

There's newspaper in it? Is your university run by Principal Skinner?

"Much needed roughage and essential inks" etc.

I for one, welcome… etc. etc. etc.

[Heliotrope]

Golly Gosh!

A blog featuring strange sewing and knitting patterns once featured a couple of patterns featuring the Golly, including one from the 1980s:
http://www.threadbared.com/2005/05/golliblog.html
There were lots of comments from this decade defending it, too.

[Guy Profumo]

Golly Gosh!

Looks like it's just stepped up to Defcon2

[Lucia Lanigan]

Golly Gosh!

"I would say that if her name were not Thatcher we wouldn't be talking."

This is my favourite part of the whole thing. According to The London Paper (or London Lite, whichever is the most insidious little shitpig of the runt) no less an authority than Norman Tebbitt has broken his silence to make a similar point. Of course, we'd all have heard of rennaissance woman Carol Thatcher if her mum was a greengrocer in Grantham.

I still don't know what she's actually supposed to have said. I guess no one's printed it for fear of libel.

I used to collect golliwog badges when I was a kid in the 80s. It never even occured to me that they were supposed to represent black people, any more than it occurred to me that Bod was supposed to represent white people. But then, all my heroes - Michael Jackson, Musical Youth, Daley Thompson, Five Star - were black; it wasn't like previous decades.

[Lucia Lanigan]

Golly Gosh!

Not to mention Walter Payton and The Fridge.

[Lucia Lanigan]

Golly Gosh!

Who I just wiki-d. Fucking hell, it was all downhill from the 1986 Super Bowl. Afterlives straight out of The Wrestler.

[Bored Of Education]

Golly Gosh!

They had the producer on Radio 4 this morning and they were still trotting out the "private conversation" and "snitching" accusations (I suppose they have to).

The woman was quite reasonably exasperated with the questions especially the one where she was asked if Carol Thatcher would have been sacked for making the same remark in the same company in the pub across the road.

They also brought up RossBrandgate (Brandenberg Gate?)

[Eggchaser]

Golly Gosh!

The distinction was made on Radio 5 by the BBC spokesman between the two in that, contrary to what Thatcher's agent says, the executive producer made several attempts to explain why some people might find this a tad offensive and that perhaps an apology was in order, and none was forthcoming.

Brand fell on his sword, Ross issued an apology and got disciplined, that's the big difference.

[Bored Of Education]

Golly Gosh!

Yes, sorry, I didn't elaborate. I assumed everyone would realise the comparison was risible

[Eggchaser]

Golly Gosh!

We are gollywogs of little brain, I'm afraid.

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

Golly Gosh!

Urgh. I was just in the post office and completely unprompted the woman behind the counter started going on about this, how "we're not allowed to say anything any more" and "it's gone too far".

I just mumbled that people probably should, at the very least, just think before they open their mouth in conversations with strangers but she wasn't having any of it.

[Mr Beast]

Golly Gosh!

In the car today I was listening to a phone in on Radio 5live where there seemed to be a necessity to be a raving right wing lunatic before you were allowed on. Fuck knows what they would have said on Talk Sport.

Radio 2 callers were even worse. It's political correctness gone mad, why are we worrying about the hurt feelings of minorities, it makes my blood boil etc etc

Or to paraphrase callers - why aren't I allowed to be a racist anymore and if they don't like it they can fuck off back to their "own" country. Gollywogs aren't offensive and nor were the Black & White Minstrels.

This was immediately followed by a feature on the England/Spain game next week and a discussion about how racist the Spaniards are. After all, they even dressed as gollywogs to harrass poor Lewis Hamilton. Well done the BBC.