Tin Tin books banned?

Question

Whats this all about. If the Government were to ban every book that offended people there would be none left to read.
When will it stop. The CRE is just making it up as they go along. Can I claim its a racist organisation because it does not employ white Anglo Saxon Protestants.
Lets ban Noddy - big ears. Lets ban Astrix and Oblesik - not for any reason than that it is written by 2 French men.
While we are at it we could burn all the banned books in a massive bonfire outside. (sound familar)?

Answer 1

The Commission For Racial Equality had
called on the Borders chain to pull Tintin In The Congo from its shelves.

It said the illustrated book - which has been the subject of controversy for years - had the potential to offend many people.

A spokeswoman said: "This book contains imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice, where the 'savage natives' look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles.

Answer 2

I don't see how moving the book to the adult section is in any way going to help reduce the level of offence that the CRE claim is being caused (unless ethnic minority groups are banned from the adult sections of public high street bookshops?).

I think the CRE are causing more of a problem here. Kids reading the books could grow up in a society which views the racial ideals and stereotypes that they contain as outdated, primitive and socially unacceptable. Without the books as a benchmark against which maturing children can judge the present-day views, there is a danger that those kids will see the present day views as unnecessary or over-reactive and begin to disregard them.

We don't hide the more barbaric side of human history (the enslavement and transportation of West Africans, for example) from kids in school because we have long accepted that our past is our most valuable teaching tool. We maintain the Remembrance Day celebration because we want world war to be locked into that part of our psyches that agrees with everyone else that it should "Never Again" happen. The Tin Tin books are part of history which demonstrate that society was not as enlightened when they were written and are, when measured by today's standards, excellent arguments against their own contents.

The CRE have - imho - shot themselves in the foot this time.

Answer 3

Whether in this particular instance the CRE is a force for good or ill is debatable.
But bear in mind the bigger picture. The CRE is an unelected quango - funded by your tax money - the members of which are appointed by the government - usually to placemen and failed politicians like Trevor Phillips.
The CRE can't actually influence racial equality one iota; so they've got to find a role for themselves and sometimes - it has to be said - they've got to manufacture one.
This is a good example: the Tin Tin book was hardly causing riots in Brixton, was it?
It was hardly a matter dividing black and white citizens of the UK.
I didn't hear much about it at PMQ's yesterday.
How many people had even heard of it before this happened? What the betting, a penny to a pound, sales of this book quadruple overnight?
The CRE is one of those bodies that no-one could quibble about their aim. But have they made the slightest difference to the aim they espouse? Not one jot.
Would the black and Asian populations of the UK miss then if they were abolished tomorrow? Not one bit.
Their principal achievement is to shift large quantities of public money from the Treasury, into their back pockets.

Answer 4

Racism is a very bad thing but abit of common sense is needed.
Cant some of these idiots in the CRE realise that we dont take these books seriously. The author of this TinTin book wasnt setting out to warp the minds of everyone that read it.

Answer 5

Hi there.You're quite right: they make it up as they go along!
They are just placemen and political rejects!
This could get interesting: I believe that there is an expurgated version of "Mein Kampf" available.
If these books are expurgated. How can one tell why they were banned? No one can explain why they were banned because the banned bits have been chucked into the incinerator( like in '1984')
If the banned bits never existed. How can anyone quote them as a reason for their banning?

Answer 6

the CRE are way of the mark, they do not have a clue about life and idea's that were relevant when Tin Tin was invented back then it was normal to call a spade a spade, his dogs name was Snowy is that racist? what about calling a Scotsman Jock,an Irishman Pat or a Welshman taffy,these people ought to thank there lucky stars that we have a bunch of fairy's, running this country into the ground, other wise they might not be employed in non needed made for cant get a proper job PC P-SSP-OTS,leave our heritage alone

Answer 7

My 9 year old daughter just started reading Tintin in the Congo and when I asked her if she sees anything offensive or racist she declined. She loves Tintin and an innocent child thinks nothing bad about the book. Again adults making trouble where there should be no trouble. Everybody have a peaceful day.

Answer 8

What these activists forget, is that this comic was written/drawn in an era where people thought that way.

In effect, it is a historical document which reveals some parts of the daily life and thoughts of the people then.

The fact things have changed now, for the better mostly, does not change history. Instead of banning this book, they should add a leaflet to it explaining that this book is a historical representation of thoughts and viewpoints of the people (in Europe) at that time.

Any attempts to remove them borders on censorship, and risks contamination of history.. or more contamination anyways.

Answer 9

It's not the Government who are demanding that the Tin Tin book is banned but those mischievous monkeys at the CRE which is just a taxpayer funded quango for those who can't get real jobs.

Answer 10

The CRE has every right to say that Tintin In The Congo should be banned.

And I have every right to say "Don't be silly - there's real racism out there to fight".

Can I go back to Herge's Adventures of Tintin, now?