Teddy Bears Picnic

[scorrie]

"If you go down to Khartoum today, your sure of a big surprise. If you go down to Khartoum today you'd better go in disguise. For every bear Mohammed there was, a mob gathered for certain because.... Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their backs whipped!!"

ps Any truth in the rumour that the BBC have sold Flog It! to Sudanese TV?

[Moi x]

Every Teddy Bear who's been named,
Is sure of a lash today,
There's lots of marvellous things to eat,
And wonderful ladies to slay.

Beneath the trees where nobody sees,
They'll lash and bleed as long as they please,
'Cause that's the way the Mohammed Bears have their picnic.

[Ricco]

Very good, and very droll - both of you. This is the spirit that makes us win. Not 1000's of us out shouting for blood-letting in the streets, not rending our clothes and scattering ashes, not wailing in public and beating our breasts... no, simply turning every misadventure into humour. As someone we know once said - turn the other cheek.

[Torvaig]

I'm quite shocked at the above posts (1st and 2nd). Isn't that the sort of thing that makes any divide between religions/nations worse? There is a woman in jeopardy because of extremists and you can laugh at it?

[karia]

Totally agree with Torvaig on this one.



karia

[Angela]

Totally agree with Torvaig on this one.



karia

Me too. :(

[changilass]

Whilst the first 2 posts are not very pc, I found them amusing. Folks need to accept that there are differences in culture and religion and deal with it rather than going overboard. I much prefer folks dealing with things with humour than violence. Humour has been used to highlight the difference between our own home nations for years, why should it not be used about other nations.

Humour is supposed to be the best medicince after all, and do most of the religions not advocate turning the other cheek.

[Angela]

Whilst the first 2 posts are not very pc, I found them amusing. Folks need to accept that there are differences in culture and religion and deal with it rather than going overboard. I much prefer folks dealing with things with humour than violence. Humour has been used to highlight the difference between our own home nations for years, why should it not be used about other nations.

Humour is supposed to be the best medicince after all, and do most of the religions not advocate turning the other cheek.

Sorry, changi, I really can't agree. In my case at least, I don't feel it's anything to do with being pc. I simply can't find any humour in rhymes about people being lashed and bleeding, or any other form of violence or torture.

Perhaps I need to apologise to scorrie and Moi x for my inability to see the funny side here? I'm afraid I just found these posts utterly un-funny. :(

[changilass]

This is an extract from a pm I sent to someone else

'It would be a boring world if we all agreed about everything, I can see your point of view, and my initial reaction was 'ouch' but I know from experience that humour can get us through some situations that otherwise would be unbearable.'

Would it be better if we all came on here ranting and raving about what is happening, throwing stones at the percived enemy, or should we all just keep our opinions to ourself, which is tantamount to condoning things.

Houmour can be a good way to relieve stress caused by things our minds wont let us deal with any other way.

[karia]

Hi changilass,

It is also important that people feel free to disassociate themselves with the post...which is what we did.

Doesn't make us a humourless bunch just that on this occasion it made us more uncomfortable than amused


Karia

[golach]

Houmour can be a good way to relieve stress caused by things our minds wont let us deal with any other way.
Changi if the first two posts were humour, then why were they not moved to the Jokes Forum?
Mocking any religion is bigotry in my eyes, and I am an agnostic

[Solus]

Cant see the problem in a bit of light hearted humour, not to be taken to seriously !

[helenwyler]

I agree a sense of humour is a basic human necessity....and the .Org has a good many posters with a generous gift for it:)!

I have no problem with religious jokes, but found the images of whipping and lashing in the first two posts upsetting, especially as the poor woman's predicament hasn't been resolved yet:eek:.

[scotsboy]

Changi if the first two posts were humour, then why were they not moved to the Jokes Forum?
Mocking any religion is bigotry in my eyes, and I am an agnostic

What's wrong Golach - not believe in the Messiah Collins anymore:) Aberdeen well and truly thumped yer mob today!

[horseman]

I agree a sense of humour is a basic human necessity....and the .Org has a good many posters with a generous gift for it:)!

I have no problem with religious jokes, but found the images of whipping and lashing in the first two posts upsetting, especially as the poor woman's predicament hasn't been resolved yet:eek:.

Aye an all

[scorrie]

Changi if the first two posts were humour, then why were they not moved to the Jokes Forum?
Mocking any religion is bigotry in my eyes, and I am an agnostic

I can only speak for my own post but I expect that Moi posted in the same spirit. My post was intended as a piece of satire. No religion is mentioned, Mrs Gibbons is not mentioned. A place is mentioned and an incident is referenced. Here is one definition of the word satire:-

"Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity"

Can anyone argue that the current situation, which has arisen over the naming of a Teddy Bear, does not fall into that category?

There are many types of humour and sometimes it can be very black. My post was not meant to be funny, it is a deadly serious attack on those who have hijacked Mrs Gibbons error and turned it into fodder to feed to uneducated, sword waving fanatics.

If nothing else, my post has served to demonstrate how different people will take different meanings from reading something. Sometimes this will occur through interpreting something in a different way. Other times it will simply occur because of WHO posted the article.

I did not expect anyone to be upset about the idea of a Teddy Bear being whipped. I cannot possibly legislate for everyone in the world. I tend to think that the more we go down the line of trying not to offend every single person in the world, the more we become less tolerant ourselves and are little different from those who wave their weapons.

[fred]

There are many types of humour and sometimes it can be very black. My post was not meant to be funny, it is a deadly serious attack on those who have hijacked Mrs Gibbons error and turned it into fodder to feed to uneducated, sword waving fanatics.


Hang on, this is where all the hype about whipping came from:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article511199.ece

I never thought for one minute that Mrs Gibbons would be whipped and I've no doubt the editors of the British newspapers which made it their headlines didn't either but they saw an opportunity to stir up the masses.

[Moi x]

I can only speak for my own post but I expect that Moi posted in the same spirit. My post was intended as a piece of satire.As was mine.

I can't add anything to scorrie's post other than to say I somewhat provocatively used the word 'ladies' rather than 'sows' to denote female teddy bears.

[Anne x]

I'm quite shocked at the above posts (1st and 2nd). Isn't that the sort of thing that makes any divide between religions/nations worse? There is a woman in jeopardy because of extremists and you can laugh at it?

I agree Torvaig its awful

[scorrie]

I agree Torvaig its awful

So, are you saying that I am not allowed to criticise the Sudanese Government then?

That was the intention of my post.

There seems to be a trend on the org where people come into a post with nothing to say, other than to criticise what others have said. I am all for different opinions but it starts to become wearying when people jump to conclusions and you end up labelled a bigot, when there has been not a jot about Religion mentioned!!

[scotsboy]

I wonder how many of those "shocked" by the wee bit of satire, have checked out the origins of many of the Nursery Rhymes they were told as children, and may have read totheir own kids;)

[Mister Squiggle]

Funny you should mention that Scotsboy, as I heard just last week someone talking on the tellie about how "Baa Baa Black Sheep" was a rhyme developed originally as a protest against taxes during the reign of Charles Stuart (??), so in fact it was a little protest song, albeit not quite one you'd expect Bob Dylan or Bono to launch into. :D