Big Ron does a Kilroy...

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (238 of them)

well, being from the north of england i know people of atkinson's generation, many of them lifelong socialists and extremely political who still use words like p/-\k1 and n1gger routinely. it's frustrating and ludicrous that they can't see how wrong it is. interestingly atkinson was on a repeat of room 101 last night talking about housework and how it was "one of the reasons - oh no, one of the many reasons women are put on this earth". this is pretty indicative of what a belligerent old dinosaur he is. i don't necessarily think he's right up there with the aryan nation or anything, and he's always seemed quite affable and funny, but there's no excuse for this at all. sometimes people need to say this stuff, though, just to show that no matter how much we like to think we live in a happy racially integrated world and all the big battles have been won, we don't and they haven't. this stuff is still pretty entrenched in some minds. also it shows silly old sods like atkinson that it's not acceptable.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:48 (twenty years ago) link

see back of my mind i still wish that ron may have been just trying to be hip with the kids and he was in fact just doing ghetto-speak. (yo don't be a lazy nigger y'all etc)

but somehow i doubt it :(

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:48 (twenty years ago) link

Stelfox OTM regarding northern men of a certain age.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:51 (twenty years ago) link

Yo, whassup, we're gonna go get crunk with Big Ron - holla back at me!

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:52 (twenty years ago) link

Fuck's sake, you get all that shit down South too, you know. Maybe not in London, so much, but elsewhere.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:54 (twenty years ago) link

stelfox otm. it's sad that with a lot of (esp older) folks it's hard to change the old ways of thinking when it's basically what you've grown up learning all those years. but i'm happy that at least as a society i think most people are now conscious (at least) that this kind of things just ain't fair game.

(also ron was a pretty shit commentator really.. ronnisms excepted)

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:54 (twenty years ago) link

I seem to remember Corentin Martins being brought on for Inter in the Champions League last year and Ron was utterly enthused, like "THEY'RE GONNA THROW HIGH BALLS AT THE TWO BIG LADS ETC ETC, THIS IS GONNA BE SOMETHING". It was slightly odd, I forget if the other striker was black, that's just what sprung to mind when N said he remembered Ron making iffy comments.

He was full of vaguely unsavoury stuff on that Room 101, his comments about physios were particularly wrongheaded, but they were amusing when I saw it. I can't help but feel this incident will change all his quirks from "quaint and funny" to "prehistoric and useless", as his popularity bombs.

X-post, "ATLANTA GEORGIA, BIG RON, LITTLE JON, ELEPHANT MAN, 2004," god that would be amazing.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:55 (twenty years ago) link

N. OTM too - you get it in Devon for sure, however down here, because of the lack of racial and ethnic groups, it's a very different thing. I can only really comment on Yorkshire and Devon.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:56 (twenty years ago) link

i only know about my family and where i'm from nick it's more prevalent than anywhere else i know - i guess that's because of class mobility etc. in the north most of my family and older family friends are working-class, whereas in the south most of the people of ron's generation that i know are fairly middle-class parents of friends etc. that's not to say that it doesn't exist across classes, it's just that in some circles it's vocalized in others it's not.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 08:58 (twenty years ago) link

oh i thought his stuff about physios and moaning footballers was great. fuck's sake, if i could earn £100,000 for just one week i'd be positively thankful for any arthritis i may get.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:01 (twenty years ago) link

Well that's it exactly - you move in different kinds of circles to your old family life. Sorry - I know you're the Northerner and I shouldn't be getting on a high horse, but I don't like propagating the notion that the North is substantially worse on this score than anywhere else.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:03 (twenty years ago) link

"the ideal physio, FOR ME, leans out the door of the treatment room with a fag on, so noone can get in"

with a FAG ON. I had too many spliffs ON the other night and my lungs are killing me.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:05 (twenty years ago) link

yeah, there are a lot of factors at play, but i do generally think that the vocalization aspect is a bit worse in the north than the south. just a culture thing, not to say the attitudes are much different, just that i don't *hear* them as much.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:09 (twenty years ago) link

On a related note, my Turkish taxi driver last night said to me 'I'm not racist, but Jews and blacks can't drive.'

How can he tell they're Jewish?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:13 (twenty years ago) link

Honk if you're Jewish.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:14 (twenty years ago) link

they're driving badly??

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:14 (twenty years ago) link

They're driving Volvos, obviously.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:17 (twenty years ago) link

He never sees them driving Friday night perhaps.

― Dave B (daveb), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:19 (twenty years ago) link

I am of the considered opinion that no matter what race you are, getting behind the wheel of a cab immediately turns you into a bigot. Eastern European drivers are, especially amongst themselves, among the most racist people I've ever come across. After one particular journey with Slavic cabbie in New York my head was spinning with sheer hate overload. It's happened a few times in East London, too. The worst I ever heard, though, was an East African driver referring Nigerians as "fucking monkeys". That narrowly beat the white black-cab driver who picked me up in Dalston and opened up with talk of the local council elections. He said: "Well, guess who I'm voting for?" I put my head in my hands and told him I didn't want to talk poltics but before I put my headphones on he'd piped up and said "BNP, mate." I couldn't let this go and said: "Well that makes you a fucking ignorant cunt, then." He threw me out of the cab and i was late.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:28 (twenty years ago) link

Dave Stelfox otm but I happened to hear a Glasgow cabbie on the radio today - a White Muslim convert married to a black woman, I kid you not!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:31 (twenty years ago) link

I heard him too - he was great. My most racist cab driver incident was in my parents' local village in Oxfordshire. A propos of nothing he said "So, bet you get a real problem with blacks in London". I'm afraid I needed to catch my train and so murmured disapproval rather than calling him a cunt. He was apparently very good to my grandfather too, blah blah.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:32 (twenty years ago) link

but the thing is, you're only going to notice the cabbies who are saying these things. There are probably thousands of normal, not bigoted Eastern European/east african/whereever cabbies who have taken you home but you hadn't noticed because they didn't say anything controversal.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:33 (twenty years ago) link

Ghanaian cab drivers are my fave - they're ace, especially late at night when you're a bit drunk. They're usually dead friendly and tuned into wicked highlife pirate stations that I can never, ever find on my tuner at home.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:34 (twenty years ago) link

This thread actually reminded me of the last time I heard such a thing said, in a cab on the way to the airport last time I was in London. I was small-talking football with the guy and then out of the blue he goes "ah but of course Heskey isn't delivering the goods, black players can't get the idea of being in a team or following a gameplan"

I can't understand how anyone could even think such nonsense! I mean it's not as if there's a shortage of brilliant footballers who are black.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:34 (twenty years ago) link

what was they glasgow guy on the radio for?

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:46 (twenty years ago) link

Talking about Big(ot) Ron of course

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:48 (twenty years ago) link

oh right, do you reckon they chose him specifically because he was such an anomaly to the usual cab-driver rule!?

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:51 (twenty years ago) link

He phoned in - probably because he was such an anomaly to the usual cab-driver rule

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:53 (twenty years ago) link

anyway, i'd like to make it clear i "give cab drivers a chance" on an almost daily basis.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:54 (twenty years ago) link

but they're lazy fuckers

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 22 April 2004 09:59 (twenty years ago) link

... who pretend they don't know where they're going

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:00 (twenty years ago) link

well, being from the north of england i know people of atkinson's generation
that's exactly where i'm drawing my thoughts from, being a yorkshireman. my dad's made racist jokes but, he makes curries and things and takes bits of them to the pakistani ownned shop round the other end of town to see whether he's getting it right. which doesn't mean i like some of the stuff he's said, but it means i do know that he does not have any bad feeling at all toward pakistani people because i've seen how he's interacted with them.

there's another article at the guardian now - http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1200646,00.html - where he does sound like the confused old guy i'm thinking of. but i still quite square it with the full harshness of the phrase.

the cab drivers are astonishing. ocne i'd had to cal the train comany for fucking up on connections and making me miss the last train, so they put on a cab from guildford to waterloo. there's was meant to be a guy with my name on a bit of paper but i didn't spot him, i go outside and find the cab, but the cabbie needed the bit of paper, so he calls and asks. a minute or two later turns up a black guy in uniform and one of those huge flourescent safety jackets and it's all squared up. as we set off i say, sorry mate, i didn't spot him. cabbie says "nah mate, you wouldn't unless he's smiling. and that's not being mean, that's not being mean.."

― matthew james (matthew james), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:20 (twenty years ago) link

...I had that Big Ron in the back of me cab once.

I got a dodgy cab back home the other night. I live right by the River Lea in London and he was amazed. He got out and went and stood on the towpath. "A river? Here?"

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:22 (twenty years ago) link

"A river of blood? Here?"

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:37 (twenty years ago) link

but, he makes curries and things and takes bits of them to the pakistani ownned shop round the other end of town to see whether he's getting it right

i love that.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:43 (twenty years ago) link

That is great, aye.

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:43 (twenty years ago) link

and he does this in a part of town where it's not usually clever for white people to go, too.

― matthew james (matthew james), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:45 (twenty years ago) link

Ron's defence was naive

― Dave B (daveb), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:52 (twenty years ago) link

I think you can put that down to cynicism.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:53 (twenty years ago) link

Can we also mention that Makelele dived to get that bloke sent off, hit the bloke as much as the bloke hit him, and that Desailly did properly elbow that other chap in the face?

― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:55 (twenty years ago) link

The big lad Atko has let ITV down, he's let ITV viewers down but most of all he's let himslef down.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:55 (twenty years ago) link

We used to have a National Front ambulanceman in our village. I once saw his National Front newspaper. On the front page was a scathing exposé of limbo dancing. I suppose if we'd had taxis he'd have been a taxi driver, but there's not much call for them except to transport the cows from one trough to another.

When I started reading this thread I was surprised how much I like Big Ron, but it's starting to wear off a bit.

Who will replace him? I vote for Tommy Docherty.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:58 (twenty years ago) link

Oh no, not Docherty, that lying toerag

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 10:59 (twenty years ago) link

Mary! Come back to me!

― Laurie Brown (daveb), Thursday, 22 April 2004 11:04 (twenty years ago) link

What does this whole thing say about Clive Tyldesley? Do he and the rest of ITV "lads" just sit around sniggering when Big Ron starts up his lovable racist banter?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 11:05 (twenty years ago) link

Andy Townsend!

"So Andy, 3-1 down against ten men - did Ranieri get his tactics wrong?"
"No Clive, not at all"

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 April 2004 11:06 (twenty years ago) link

That's what I was saying, Dadaismus. You do start to wonder.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 22 April 2004 11:11 (twenty years ago) link

You'd assume the loveable racist banter wasn't a regular occurrance, unless someone leaked this particular instance to the media to force Atkinson's resignation.

Will the Guardian sack him as well? He does Big Ron's Chalkboard for the sports section.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 April 2004 11:17 (twenty years ago) link

It wasn't leaked, it was actually broadcast to some viewers in the Middle East - apparently

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 22 April 2004 11:18 (twenty years ago) link

he can go write for the daily mail instead

xpost

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 22 April 2004 11:19 (twenty years ago) link

Skipping 138 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.