Police arrest UK woman for "offensive" child's toy in window

Police arrest UK woman for "offensive" child's toy in window

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

A MUM claims she was arrested and had her DNA and fingerprints taken by police because she had a `golly' doll in the window of her home. Amanda Schofield, 38, was quizzed by police on suspicion of racially-aggravated public order.

Amanda claims she removed the toy from the window after noticing it while putting her daughter to bed, only to be visited by police later that evening and notified of the complaint from a neighbour. She says she received a phone call nine days later asking her to attend Cheadle Heath Police Station, where she was arrested.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "Police received a report that an item deemed to be offensive was placed in the window of a house on Borrowdale Road.”

(visit the link for the full news article)

The Brits on ATS are often complaining about the fanatical "thought police". Articles like this convince me that it is really bad over there, and maybe those of us outside the U.K. don't quite understand how bad.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I wouldn't lay the blame at the feet of the police, I wouldn't say they acted out of order either. The police are public servants and have to follow up any complaints made by the public, regardless how stupid they seem, if they don't get seen to be doing their job then come the next financial year they may end up with less funding.

It is the society that is at fault here for been immature and not seeing the golliwog doll for what it is, a doll, a childs toy. I remember when a jam company used to have the golliwog image on its jam jars and you could collect tokens towards getting the doll.

No kid I knew at the time, me included could ever make the association between the golliwog doll and racism, its only the adults and the pc brigade that would do that.

Shame how the innocence of being a child is always spoilt in someway by adults, damn shortsighted and spiteful adults.

Wolfie

It's not the only time someone has gotten in trouble for displaying this kind of doll in the UK .

LINKY HERE

AND ONE MORE LINKY


My opinion is the police are the ones beeing racists. Had it been a doll resembling a white male it would never be a problem.

I'm flabbergasted at the stupidity outthere.

*digs a cave



[edit on 20-9-2008 by JustAThought]

Originally posted by Wolfie_UK
I wouldn't lay the blame at the feet of the police, I wouldn't say they acted out of order either. The police are public servants and have to follow up any complaints made by the public, regardless how stupid they seem, if they don't get seen to be doing their job then come the next financial year they may end up with less funding.

So the police are just to act on whatever stupid things the public accuses eachother of ?

Your comment offended me, i'll have someone over to lock you up asap.

People don't seem to realise that actually showing kids that they need to treat their gollywog doll differently to their other toys inherently reinforces the notion that there are differences between the races.

"This doll is forbidden!" from the cops simply shows the extent of ridiculousness in the UK today.

This was not the nation I grew up in as a child.

Can we bring back the Tories, please? Grey and dull as they are, they are, to my mind, a proper government.

What confuses the issue of the gollytoy* is that it's not a malicious racial caricature. It's not like, for example, the racial presentations of Jews in Nazi propaganda. There's no hate or mockery involved here at all. In Britain, traditionally - and I live very close to the home of the Robertson's golly - the gollytoy has been loved by generations over and is seen through very affectionate eyes. It's almost at cross-purposes to think that the gollytoy creates negative stereotypes when, more often than not, it's given as a soft toy which is usually loved, played-with, hugged and what-have-you. If anything, if gollytoys are meant to directly represent black people - which I don't necessarily agree with - then surely encouraging affection and positive feelings during young ages is a good thing? Not something to be seen as wrong or shameful.

There's a lot of confusion about Enid Blyton's gollies too, which have also received a lot of flak over the recent decades. It's generally thought to be that, in the Toy Town 'world' these loveable rogues - among my favourite characters as a child - were direct analogues for black people. However, it's not the case at all as they were both black children and gollytoys in her books. The gollytoys were simply that, toys, in the same way all the other characters were.

What makes this even more confusing is the 'old toy from the attic' element in the story. I see new gollies sold quite a lot in this country. In York, for example, most of the general gift shops sell them. I've not been to Liverpool for a couple of years, but the tourist gift shops used to to sell them there too and I presume they still do. The last time I went to Liverpool, I went to a exhibition illustrating Liverpool's role in slavery and literally, only a couple of minutes walk away on the Dock, you could buy gollytoys.

In Britain, I'd be very surprised if there was someone under, say 20, who made a link between a gollytoy and slavery, minstrels and so on, before they made a link to Papa Lazarou from the League of Gentlemen, who ironically is a caricature of gypsies and not blacks.

When it comes to negative stereotypes I'm fairly sure other children's toys and dolls are far more damaging.

*anyone see that particular episode of 'Extras'? I'm using the suffix 'toy' here as a I'm presuming the alternative is automatically censored.

The doll just looks like the darker version of Raggedy Anne. I don't see what the big deal is.

Here in America, I suspect we would find a similar reaction, if I understand the nature of the doll. I don't really know what one looks like. But there is a whole genre of collectible memorabilia where images of certain races were characterized through caricature and such portrayals are considered 'in poor taste' or 'offensive' in current polite society.

But JAIL? Really? What kind of social order does THAT represent?

[edit on 20-9-2008 by Maxmars]

To arrest the women is stupidity.
Ask her to take it down sure but arrest her?
That's stupid.
Not to mention her little kid put it in the window and had no clue what it would cause.
And when the woman saw it she took it down anyway.
Of course she will get off in court and she should sue them after she does.
For them to call her that long afterward, tell her to come to the police station, then arrest her, shows these specific police to be unprofessional.
To take her DNA and Fingerprints for this is an absurd waste of resources.

Originally posted by Maxmars
Here in America, I suspect we would find a similar reaction, if I understand the nature of the doll. I don't really know what one looks like. But there is a whole genre of collectible memorabilia where images of certain races were characterized through caricature and such portrayals are considered 'in poor taste' or 'offensive' in current polite society.

But JAIL? Really? What kind of social order does THAT represent?

[edit on 20-9-2008 by Maxmars]

It's perhaps wrong to compare what would happen in America with what has happened in Britain as, whilst there were/are definitely racist elements in society here, we haven't a history of segregation, Jim Crow &c. There's a different set of connotations at play here.

Originally posted by Merriman Weir
If anything, if gollytoys are meant to directly represent black people - which I don't necessarily agree with - then surely encouraging affection and positive feelings during young ages is a good thing? Not something to be seen as wrong or shameful.

Come on now we can't have children growing up caring for other "races" it would just throw the world in chaos. /sarcasm

No really...Well Said!!

People need to really get a grip, ITS A DAMN TOY!!

That is insane. I cannot imagine that such a thing would be enforceable.

lesson here: don't go to the police station voluntarily when asked to?

I'm not familiar with UK rights but so many rights would have been trampled on here in the US. "I'm sorry your honor, I was arrested because of a kids toy that was allegedly in my window a few days ago?"

And then asking someone to come to the Police station under false pretense and then arresting that person, is that entrapment?

Anyways, what is the exact 'crime' being committed here?

[edit on 9/20/2008 by toepick]

This unbelivable to me, when I was a kid I had dolls of all shapes, sizes, colors, and species. Who cares if the doll is black, white or red colored? Jeez... it's not like it has a string attached saying bad things or is like chuckie or anything.

There are black barbies out now, are those offensive to people as well?

Originally posted by Interestinggg
To arrest the women is stupidity.
Ask her to take it down sure but arrest her?
That's stupid.
Not to mention her little kid put it in the window and had no clue what it would cause.
And when the woman saw it she took it down anyway.
Of course she will get off in court and she should sue them after she does.
For them to call her that long afterward, tell her to come to the police station, then arrest her, shows these specific police to be unprofessional.
To take her DNA and Fingerprints for this is an absurd waste of resources.

Is taking her fingerprints and DNA really a waste of resources, for all you know she might not have been registered on the various databases and now she is and now she can be kept track of.

As much as the Brits like to talk about Americans losing their freedom at least we can put up one of those stupid dolls up and not get arrested fer crissakes.

The UK's government is already half muslim...I see the end is near for you guys..

Originally posted by MacSen191

There are black barbies out now, are those offensive to people as well?

Only in the UK...and Palistan and any of the other "stan" countries out there.
all of those muslim countries violate civil rights at will.
"Great Brittanstan"..nice ring to it

[edit on 20-9-2008 by Fathom]

The "Golliwogg" (later "Golliwog") is a rag doll-like, children's literary character created by Florence Kate Upton in the late 19th century. The Golliwog began life as a story book character created by Florence Kate Upton. Upton was born in 1873 in Flushing, New York, to English parents who had emigrated to the United States in 1870. She was the second of four children. When Upton was fourteen, her father died and, shortly thereafter, the family returned to England. The Golliwogg was inspired by a blackface minstrel doll Upton had as a child in America. At one point it was very popular in Europe and as a result has become a collector's item. However, the image of the doll has become the subject of heated debate. One aspect of the debate in its favor argues that it should be preserved and passed on as a cherished cultural artifact and childhood tradition, while opponents argue it should be retired as a relic of an earlier time when racism against black people was blatant.

The point is, if it is found offensive, then why all the fuss?
Why would anyone want their kid playing with something so controversial?

golli-wog.....WOG???
anyone seeing the links or are we all so anti-pc, that now it's not offensive to be racist?

this is a bye-gone era, and fair enough....it may have been the "norm" at the time and meant no harm.... but people were harmed and hurt and upset, and we should respect the rights and feelings of others anmd lock this crap away....or if you really have to have a golliwog, just keep it out of sight.












[edit on 20-9-2008 by blupblup]

Those dolls creep me out a little. But, to call the cops and have woman arrested for owning one is a bit more then extreme IMO.