Danny Baker says he has been 'fired' over royal baby chimp tweet

This is exactly right. I don't know when it was when we became so intolerant of other people's shortcomings and mistakes that the moment someone makes a step out-of-line there's immediately a baying mob with pitchforks and torches demanding that he be burnt at the stake. It's very worrying.

I do think that if the BBC are going to judge their employees as suitable for immediate dismissal based on something they said on social media, then it would be wise for them to advise all employees never to use social media. I'm surprised this isn't already in their contracts, given the legal implications.

This is exactly right. I don't know when it was when we became so intolerant of other people's shortcomings and mistakes that the moment someone makes a step out-of-line there's immediately a baying mob with pitchforks and torches demanding that he be burnt at the stake. It's very worrying.

How about people like you not calling for the sacking of everyone who says something they don't like? Would that be too awful? Do you do it at work as well, or just on the interweb?

Not sure I'd be comfortable working with someone who thinks that racist depictions of colleague's children as monkeys are a good idea, but I wouldn't call for their dismissal. It's different when you are talking about public representatives of the state broadcaster, I can't help thinking.

Of course intent matters. If I fire an employee it matters whether my reason was because they were bad at their job or whether it was because they were black and I didn’t like black people.

If you call a child a monkey your intent matters. Are you calling them that because they’re mischievous, energetic, like climbing things or are you calling them that because of their African heritage?

Intent is the only thing that matters.

What if they said something that could be interpreted in an offensive way without realising it and when it was pointed out, they apologised and tried to explain that it wasn't what they meant at all and seemed sincere?

I think it's probably an existing feature of 'human nature' that's been amplified and exploited by surveillance capitalist social media like twitter.

These twitter mobs remind me a bit of Orwell's 2 minute hate - which iirc was a popular feature of Oceanan society in 1984... but just because it's popular doesn't mean it is good for you.

for those who haven't read the book...



The impassive guys keeping an eye on everyone else... that's twitter

What if they said something that could be interpreted in an offensive way without realising it and when it was pointed out, they apologised and tried to explain that it wasn't what they meant at all and seemed sincere?

A lot of things seem obvious with the benefit of hindsight.

He's hardly 'doubling down' and insisting it was a good idea, he immediately backed down when the possible racist interpretation was pointed out... I don't know what was in his mind and neither do you but it seems possible it was just a mistake (& IMO this is the most likely thing)

In your opinion it was a mistake. But , so what? It was still an act of racism. Ignorance is not considered to be an excuse in direct race discrimination law.

How about people like you not calling for the sacking of everyone who says something they don't like? Would that be too awful? Do you do it at work as well, or just on the interweb?

I do think that if the BBC are going to judge their employees as suitable for immediate dismissal based on something they said on social media, then it would be wise for them to advise all employees never to use social media. I'm surprised this isn't already in their contracts, given the legal implications.

Yes but the problem is the caving in, the mobs can't be suppressed. Every time one of these lands, we see everybody do just that, rushing to appease the manufactured outrage for the sake of public relations. It's the media themselves that amplify the noise on Twitter, they have the power to make or break the latest social scandal. On top of that, there will be politicians trading the race card for a living jumping on any flash in the pan to add to the outrage. It's an industry, all this race game and it sucks for that. Nobody gives a damn about Baker as a human being.

Whether it is racist or not depends on the intention. Something only Baker himself can clarify and no one else.

Whether it is racist or not depends on the intention. Something only Baker himself can clarify and no one else.

Here we go again. Off the point completely! Should people really be let off the hook because their actions are believed to be unintentional? Look at the rhetoric you are using to down play acts of racism: " the mobs cant be suppressed " ,playing the "race card". This tired phrase is used by so many, often white, people to stifle the legitimate debate as to why multicultural Britain still has significant problems with racism. I think this tired phrase has ,rather ironically , elements of racism within it as well. Look at the situation: Baker sends a picture comparing a chimp to the royal baby knowing that its grandmother is black and that the mother is mixed race! Now you are trying to say that anyone who says that this is racist is playing the" race card". Ridiculous!

What?? So the person decides whether what they said is racist or not. So a Nazi who says he wants all Jews to die, should decide whether he was anti-semitic? I don't agree with this.

What?? So the person decides whether what they said is racist or not. So a Nazi who says he wants all Jews to die, should decide whether he was anti-semitic? I don't agree with this.

Well said. So many unbelievably poor posts of reasoning on this thread. Apparently people seem to think that Danny Baker gets to decide whether or not his actions are racist or not based on a range of excuses. Bizarre!

Stop pestering us with such lazy stuff, your comparison is no good. Baker never said he regards Archie as a monkey, whereas a Nazi saying such things could only mean them. You guys insult people's intelligence with your racial bias big time.