A month or so ago we were told that Prince Harry was to go on an Army equality course. I wonder if he has now completed it? This was after the uproar caused when it was revealed that he had been heard on a video using offensive language to describe a Pakistani fellow student at Sandhurst army college.
The revelation about his choice of language came at around the same time as a news story about Prince Charles calling an Asian polo player and friend ‘Sooty’. The friend, Kolin Dhillon, defended HRH.
We have also had the situation whereby Carol Thatcher was dropped from ‘The One Show’ after making ill-advised remarks off air about a black tennis player.
Not so many years ago attitudes were very different. For example, Rudolph Walker, now an East Enders stalwart, starred in an ITV sitcom in the 1970s which played on the friction between black and white neighbours. In many peoples’ eyes ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ actually helped the cause of racial harmony by showing how bigoted people can be – although it would never be broadcast today!
Another 1970s sitcom, ‘Mind Your Language’, would also not get screen-time now. The programmes revolved around a language school populated by a disparate group of foreigners struggling with the complexities of the English language and culture. Naturally the very non-PC humour derived from poking fun at the mistakes they made – but take a look at the reviews on Amazon today and be surprised.
More recently, ‘Goodness Gracious Me’, managed to poke fun at various sections of society, but without causing any offence. Sketches like ‘Going for an English’ really turned things on their head.
The fact is that we should all have enough respect for other people not to refer to them in words that are offensive. We all know that we live in a very diverse society today, a society of different religions, races and cultures.
Employers have a particular obligation to ensure that they have robust equality and diversity policies in place and that employees are aware of what is, and is not acceptable.
Let’s hope that the Royal Family now learns from its faux pas and remembers that the days of the Raj are long gone!
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