Racist Toys

originally posted by: windword
a reply to: DISRAELI

During my childhood, we played "Cowboys and Indians". There couldn't have been a more racist American pastime than ""Cowboys and Indians", and tasteless "Spaghetti Westerns".

Don't forget the 10 Little Indians children's' rhyme, either. Underpants the country over would have piles in them if kids sang that today. Not that there's anything remotely offensive in it, just singing about Indian boys would do it.

a reply to: Nyiah
And have you forgotten that "Ten little Indians" was itself a euphemism?

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: the owlbear

The golly came from an Enid Blyton book.

That made me laugh out loud! The cover for the book was priceless.
A thousand thanks old friend.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: Nyiah
And have you forgotten that "Ten little Indians" was itself a euphemism?

I'm only 1/4 Blackfoot, but all of my other Indian (feather not dot, and yes, we don't take offense to Indian for the most part) friends don't really care about the social stigma of our race. Except the drunken Injun stereotype, yeah it's a problem and yes, we can drink copious amounts of booze. I was clocked at .45ish twice in a hospital setting for non-drinking related things.

a reply to: the owlbear
I was actually referring to the phrase "Ten little [insert word beginning with N]".
I used to have a copy of the Agatha Christie novel under that actual title.

This sounds familiar..the Princess Leah slave figure had similar issues,because she had a chain around her neck.
I guess some people are scared to raise their kids to know the facts of life.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: the owlbear
I was actually referring to the phrase "Ten little [insert word beginning with N]".
I used to have a copy of the Agatha Christie novel under that actual title.

Whaaaaaa????

SERIOUSLY?
Wow, I don't even have a witty response for that...

a reply to: the owlbear
Yep. Now called "And then there were none", though I think the film versions also went for "Indians".

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: nullafides

It's a toy and one you can help teach the wrongs of the past to kids.
I see no problem with it.

Now my Gollywog when I was a kid now that was racist but I loved my Golly

.

My neighbor who is black collects them now.

Cuter than a Cabbage Patch doll.

a reply to: boymonkey74

My brother and I would sometimes use our mom's red nail polish for blood on action figures. I think we were really into Mortal Kombat at the time.

oh god and our poor beast wars figures...

originally posted by: the owlbear

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: nullafides

It's a toy and one you can help teach the wrongs of the past to kids.
I see no problem with it.

Now my Gollywog when I was a kid now that was racist but I loved my Golly

.

My neighbor who is black collects them now.

Man...I guess things are different in the UK.
Then again, you never had a huge African slave trade. Wow. I'm surprised the doll doesn't come with a slice of watermelon and a piece of fried chicken.

They didn't have huge African slave trade? I don't even know how to respond to this statement. Let me just put this link here. The US didn't invent slavery.

www.history.ac.uk...

Britain followed in the footsteps of the Portuguese in voyaging to the west coast of Africa and enslaving Africans. The British participation in what has come to be called the 'nefarious trade' was begun by Sir John Hawkins with the support and investment of Elizabeth I in 1573. (15) By fair means and foul, Britain outwitted its European rivals and became the premier trader in the enslaved from the seventeenth century onwards, and retained this position till 1807. Britain supplied enslaved African women, men and children to all European colonies in the Americas.

a reply to: cavtrooper7

is this a recent thing? i still have my "leis as jabba's prisoner" from 1997 and don't remember any complaints from when i was a kid, nor my mom complaining that she came with a chain. but she watched the movies with us.

originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: boymonkey74
You may have to explain what a Golliwog is to Americans. Few of us know what one is, or anything about its history. I happen to have a British aunt who gave me one, or I wouldn't know either. Hint for Americans: Think Black Minstrels

Is this similar to how folks overseas can still buy copies of Song of the South while we Americans are deprived of that because of the racial issues?

I grew up with a book that I loved called Little Black Sambo about a boy who got a nice set of clothes from his mother and had to give them away to some tigers to appease them. As he went along, he heard the tigers arguing over which looked best in his fine clothes and he climbed a tree and tricked them into chasing each other and they went so fast they all melted into butter. He collects the butter and his clothes and takes it home where his mother makes pancakes and they all eat a feast.

Largely because of the names and the black characters I'm guessing, this book has been deemed controversial. But I loved the story of the little boy tricking the tigers into melting and getting his clothes back.

Also, as he is being chased by tigers and the butter is noted as being ghi, it's clear this book is set in India. But, oh well, I guess no one else gets to enjoy it.

didnt see it posted yet but playmobile has responded,and with a little of historical knowledge this would not have been an issue.

its a FREED slave as pirates were not fans of practicing slavery

www.theguardian.com...

Playmobil said that the toy was intended to portray life on a 17th-century pirate ship. In a statement to the Washington Post, the company said: “If you look at the box, you can see that the pirate figure is clearly a crew member on the pirate ship and not a captive. “The figure was meant to represent a pirate who was a former slave in a historical context. It was not our intention to offend anyone in anyway.” The toy pirate ship, given to the five-year-old as a birthday present, comes with several figurines and also what Lockett describes as a “dungeon”, and can be found for around $90 at Toys ‘R’ Us, the large toy store.

listverse.com...

The freedom in economic pursuits and movements allowed among pirates is a powerful example of how their social progress was ahead of its time. Piracy was a challenge to the systematic oppression that allowed slavery to be a legal enterprise. We can’t forget the stark inequalities that blacks faced, holding the lowest positions on mixed race ships and being “shipped off” by slave owners to make money for them, but other pirates lived by a different code. They judged people based on their skills, because they didn’t live under the same flag as the colonists. Free black men served aboard pirate ships. Black Caesar was one notorious such pirate. His tale began in Africa, where he was a chief. He was tricked onto a slave ship, but during a tumultuous hurricane, he escaped in a longboat. He escaped with a friend—one he later killed because the two vied over the same woman. Eventually, Black Caesar became a seasoned pirate, capturing and controlling multiple ships. He joined up with Blackbeard and was working alongside him when Blackbeard’s ship was attacked in 1718. Black Caesar almost evaded capture, but his life ended in Williamsburg, Virginia at the end of a hangman’s rope.

make the slave white and lets move on

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: boymonkey74
You may have to explain what a Golliwog is to Americans. Few of us know what one is, or anything about its history. I happen to have a British aunt who gave me one, or I wouldn't know either. Hint for Americans: Think Black Minstrels

Is this similar to how folks overseas can still buy copies of Song of the South while we Americans are deprived of that because of the racial issues?

Similar yes. Although Golliwogs are now considered not PC in the UK too, and are getting harder to come by, because many stores won't sell them from what I've heard.

a reply to: Klassified

My neighbor has around 60 of them he gets them from car boots and ebay and such I don't think they make em anymore.
I hope he puts them on his xmas tree what he puts outside again like last year.
If he does I will get a pic .

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: Klassified

My neighbor has around 60 of them he gets them from car boots and ebay and such I don't think they make em anymore.
I hope he puts them on his xmas tree what he puts outside again like last year.
If he does I will get a pic

.

I'd like to see that. My aunt has one she's had since she was a kid.

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: the owlbear

The golly came from an Enid Blyton book.

Actually, it came from Florence Kate Upton in 1893. Golliwog origins. Enid Blyton's book came later. I did a bit of research on this years ago when I first learned of them. This article was a quick search, but it's close to what I learned from research.


The first Golliwog book...

Written by Kate in 1895.