Racism in Thailand?

[Darknight]

Correction!

leftcross was told, not chonabot.

Lumpini Park is a Public Swimming Pool. As leftcross was told "No farang." It would be intelligent to consider that to be racialism. If there was another explaination, ie. "No flip-flops allowed." or "No prostitues allowed" or "Sorry we are full." it would be a different story.

At least, that is Moron #2's opinion Mr. Mouth Organ.   

Just Love that Mouth Organ. 

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Ravisher, get thyself out from under Chonabot's skirt and fire your own shot -- parasite! You just can't get over the fact that I put you on the spot in the financial thread -- despite my saying there were no hard feelings and that it was not personal -- you're coming from behind pal and will never catch up -- let it go -- if you're still not convinced, take another look at your face, both here and in your blog -- my utmost condolences!

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Try to cool it , Harmonica

[leftcross]

Good post Kat. My first encounter as the subject of racism in the place I love. W#nkers!

You can rationalise by thinking 'I earn more than that fker, have a better standard of living etc etc and he's lived here all his life ha ha ha' but I pay my taxes the same as everyone else for that pool so why shouldn't I use it?

[Phil Conners]

My advice would be to go back, asking to register. Ask to see the proceedures to register and get them to take you through it. If the rules are only in Thai, then bring the GF. If guy once again says no foriengers are allowed, them ask to speak to the manager and ask to see the rules. The manager will most likely want to overule the old bloke, in which case he will not really care.

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I guess, based on experience, that any request to see the manager will be met with a "manager not here" or a variation of that.

[samran]

My advice would be to go back, asking to register. Ask to see the proceedures to register and get them to take you through it. If the rules are only in Thai, then bring the GF. If guy once again says no foriengers are allowed, them ask to speak to the manager and ask to see the rules. The manager will most likely want to overule the old bloke, in which case he will not really care.

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I guess, based on experience, that any request to see the manager will be met with a "manager not here" or a variation of that.

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I'd continue insisting (with a smile), and then just I'd ignore him and go looking myself. Been there, done that. Ususally works.

[chonabot]

I have recently been to a beautiful public thai swimming pool in Bangkok. I have been looking for a pool for quite a while. I live and work in BKK.

I tried to join and the old man said ''Farang cannot, only for Thai''.

I was taken aback. After asking him why ... and getting the usual blank look ... I got 

Has anyone else come across this racism? And does anyone know a public pool where membership isn't dependent on the colour of your skin.

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Yes you are black Lefty -- your heart, that is -- for coming to such a stupid conclusion based on just one incident, which more likely than not, is some sort of misunderstanding -- and for getting angry about such a silly thing!

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What other explanation could be supposed?

Quite a simple conclusion to draw.

Farang not allowed , only Thai.

Please let us have a glimpse of your , no doubt, superior and totally correct supposition dear Mouth Organ.

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Pray tell me "Our Monica" where in the above post have I fired any arrows accross your bows , no insults , just a mild sarcy comment. In return I am " Chona-butt" and " Moron2 " or was it " Moron1"

Let me put it another , more basic, way. If I addressed you with my original post and received your reply , I would knock you to the ground.

And there you would remain until I decided you had learnt your lesson.

Not a threat , a state of fact.

Let's hope , if we meet , you choose your words more carefully.

[Jockstar]

Am I Black Or Something?,

No! You just need a shower!

[kat]

Am I Black Or Something?,

No! You just need a shower!

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Jockstar:

I know you were on another thread that was making light of racism, and made a good joke to that affect ("lemon aid"), but I hope you realize that this joke is not in the slightest bit funny or appropriate.

In fact, this joke really is racist. You may not have meant it as such.

[Ajarn]

Blimey Ajarn! Do you have your own private news archive..............?

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This was before the internet and UBC.. Just the newspapers, and so many weird stories and pictures..

I've kept files of such stories and pics under 'corruption', 'society' 'politics' ever since I first came here. Quite a collection now, and maybe I'll do something with it all someday. I find it interesting to 'connect the dots' among the various players in the news media during the last 3 decades... Just a bit of a hobby to amuse myself

I really miss the Police photos in the Post from the airport customs office of drug smugglers with their pants down- literally!

[HarryHacker]

Am I Black Or Something?,

typical Jok!

Anyway why does the OP want to swim there?

Right now listening to Ian Dury......so I dont give a &lt;deleted&gt;!

No! You just need a shower!

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[Jockstar]

Am I Black Or Something?,

No! You just need a shower!

Jockstar:

I know you were on another thread that was making light of racism, and made a good joke to that affect ("lemon aid"), but I hope you realize that this joke is not in the slightest bit funny or appropriate.

In fact, this joke really is racist. You may not have meant it as such.

Sorry kat. But no racism intended. Just a joke. I fail to realise why you thought this was racist though. It was a joke and nothing else!

[kat]

No problem JS. I didn't think you meant it as it could be read. No apologies necessary.

The joke potentially could offend because it dangerously mixes a persistent stereotype here in Thailand that black people are dirty.

Edited February 9, 2005 by kat

[taxexile]

you will never curb racism by either legislation , chiding those who make innapropriate jokes (that might only be taken as racist by the thought police who are continually on the lookout for the minutest nuance of thought or speech that might, just, with the right audience be considered racist.)

racist attitudes , and i mean hatred of others because of colour or ethnicity, and i dont consider talking or even joking about the obvious differences between people of different backgrounds and beliefs to be racist , will only be stopped when kids are not brainwashed by their parents into having negative feelings for others. its natural human behaviour to notice difference. its not natural to have hatred.

i would rather know outright if someone hated me because of my ethnicity , let people speak their minds , dont curb them into bottling it all up. have them speak out and maybe someone can educate them to slowly change their ways.

as for the swimming pool attendant , the tourist police would do nothing , they are not going to arrest him as they would in england , arresting him isnt going to suddenly turn him into a falang lover. its your word against his and the police would go for a compromise of some sort. nobody would be seen to win or lose.

you were denied entry because he wanted to deny you entry , and you chose to give off some slight confrontational response , either in the look on your face or in your eyes or in your tone of voice. you should have negotiated and softened him.

then you would have probably got in and he would have seen that this falang was an ok guy really , your reaction , which to you was probably nothing , was confrontational to him and just went to confirming all his prejudices about those f*cking falangs.

you were probably subjected to racist treatment by the western definition of that damnn word , not everybody likes everybody else on this planet , its always been like that and it always will , doesnt matter how many thought police are on duty , you cant stop people feeling what they feel , however irrational and nasty those feelings may be.

but you will get over it and dont take it so seriously , there a racist on the door at the swimming pool , right , i'll go somewhere else. that way he loses and you win the situation.

would you rather he smiled and falsely welcomed you whilst muttering racist epithets about you behind your back and under his breath about you.

we falangs can wrap the thais around our little fingers if we could only stop acting like the self righteous blo0dy falangs we are.

[kat]

Are you alluding to me as the "thought police" because I commented on the racist tone of associating "dirty" with "black"?

[chuchok]

No problem JS.  I didn't think you meant it as it could be read.  No apologies necessary.

The joke potentially could offend because it dangerously mixes a persistent stereotype here in Thailand that black people are dirty.

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I'm dirty!

[taxexile]

Are you alluding to me as the "thought police" because I commented on the racist tone of associating "dirty" with "black"?

what is racist about associating the word dirty with the word black.

the thought police have invented associations between words and thoughts that were never there before.

the thought police are horribly patronising to those they think they are helping.

thought police (all of them in very well paid cushy jobs) are continually on the lookout for anything that can be construed as racist , as soon as they run out of things to find then they are out of a job.

their findings make it too easy for those wishing to take advantage of a situation to perceive racism where it often does not and never has existed. most cases of racism cannot easily be proved but courts are fearful themselves of being deemed racist by throwing out cases and the whole thing just spirals out of control with an ever more cynical watching public just becoming more racist.

let people be racist , at least you know where you stand with them and accusations will be easier to prove and will do away with some of the more farcical cases that come to light.

only the lawyers benefit. the worthy cause of reducing racism suffers i'm afraid by the increasingly bizzare proclamations of the politically correct thought police.

now you tell me ... are you a member of the dreaded thought police ????

Edited February 9, 2005 by taxexile

[kat]

Taxexile, I have better things to do than to get into a protracted, rhetorical argument. Especially not with someone who needs to be told what is racist about the association between "dirty" and "black" in Thailand.

Look, I wasn't policing anyone, and made that clear on my response post. I am merely a poster in a forum of other posters, who specifically post to dialogue with each other. I posted my response in this regard. And I don't have to agree with your approach to dealing with racism.

I certainly don't prefer non-thinking, politcally correct dogma over any other dogma. I agree that the thought police can be quite irritating. But not everyone who thinks or interprets potential statements differently than you are the thought police.

Maybe they are people who have thought about it a lot longer, differently, and more directly than many others here in Thailand and elsewhere.

[tuky]

A call to all Thaivisa farangs, march on the swimming pool attendant enmass. Stand up for our rights. Down with racists.

btw, only farang allowed to attend the rally, if your not white stay home.

sincerely, thaivisa thought police.

Just Kidding!!!

[kat]

No problem JS.   I didn't think you meant it as it could be read.  No apologies necessary.

The joke potentially could offend because it dangerously mixes a persistent stereotype here in Thailand that black people are dirty.

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I'm dirty!

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And no one even bothered to notice you over there all by yourself with your cute little joke

A call to all Thaivisa farangs, march on the swimming pool attendant enmass. Stand up for our rights. Down with racists.

btw, only farang allowed to attend the rally, if your not white stay home.

sincerely, thaivisa thought police.

 

  Just Kidding!!!

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lol. I'm going to thought police bed.

[Shola]

Are you alluding to me as the "thought police" because I commented on the racist tone of associating "dirty" with "black"?

what is racist about associating the word dirty with the word black.

the thought police have invented associations between words and thoughts that were never there before.

the thought police are horribly patronising to those they think they are helping.

thought police (all of them in very well paid cushy jobs) are continually on the lookout for anything that can be construed as racist , as soon as they run out of things to find then they are out of a job.

their findings make it too easy for those wishing to take advantage of a situation to perceive racism where it often does not and never has existed. most cases of racism cannot easily be proved but courts are fearful themselves of being deemed racist by throwing out cases and the whole thing just spirals out of control with an ever more cynical watching public just becoming more racist.

let people be racist , at least you know where you stand with them and accusations will be easier to prove and will do away with some of the more farcical cases that come to light.

only the lawyers benefit. the worthy cause of reducing racism suffers i'm afraid by the increasingly bizzare proclamations of the politically correct thought police.

now you tell me ... are you a member of the dreaded thought police ????

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Remember when we had to take the 'Gollywog' off the Jam Jars??? How ridiculous was that!!! Who on this earth did not LOVE the Gollywog logo. It was never a thing for hatred or racialism... in fact quite the oposite.

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I don't quite remember that, but I know about it from my mum. Even the WORD gollywog it's self is now totally un P.C.

My understanding of it is, that it's not that anybody was particualy offended by it, just that people knew with the legal system as it is, somebody would jump on the 'I'm a victim of racism/slander' bandwagon just for the sake of all the cash there is to be made in winning a legal suit against a large company. I believe all these latest racist connections of words, like dirty/black have come about from the legal system itself, just for exploitive purposes. (And are now taken as racist when they wern't before)

Theres a h*ll of a lot of $$ to be made playing the 'victim/racism' card in court.

(Although there are legitimate cases, I'm just saying who wouldn't use that card to make a bit of extra $$?)

[kat]

" ... I believe all these latest racist connections of words, like dirty/black have come about from the legal system itself, just for exploitive purposes. (And are now taken as racist when they wern't before)

Theres a h*ll of a lot of $$ to be made playing the 'victim/racism' card in court.

(Although there are legitimate cases, I'm just saying who wouldn't use that card to make a bit of extra $$?)

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The "latest" racist connection of words stems from the history and occurrence of racism itself. No one is taking anyone to court on this thread. Most racist behavior occurs as a "social" interaction and cannot be litigated anyway. There is no "legal" system in Thailand that has ever or would ever challenge the connection of those words, and yet it occurs, with astounding regularity. Perhaps you are unaware of the current connection because you are white and have not really explored the other side of the issue in Thailand or elsewhere.

Here is an article on the history of Golliwogs:

http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/golliwog/

The Golliwog (originally spelled Golliwogg) is the least known of the major anti-Black caricatures in the United States. Golliwogs are grotesque creatures,1 with very dark, often jet black skin, large white-rimmed eyes, red or white clown lips, and wild, frizzy hair.2 Typically, it's a male dressed in a jacket, trousers, bow tie, and stand-up collar in a combination of red, white, blue, and occasionally yellow colors. The golliwog image, popular in England and other European countries, is found on a variety of items, including postcards, jam jars, paperweights, brooches, wallets, perfume bottles, wooden puzzles, sheet music, wall paper, pottery, jewelry, greeting cards, clocks, and dolls. For the past four decades Europeans have debated whether the Golliwog is a lovable icon or a racist symbol.

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. For several years she honed her skills as an artist. Unable to afford art school, Upton illustrated her own children's book in the hope of raising tuition money.

In 1895, her book, entitled The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls, was published in London. Upton drew the illustrations, and her mother, Bertha Upton, wrote the accompanying verse. The book's main characters were two Dutch dolls, Peg and Sarah Jane, and the Golliwogg. The story begins with Peg and Sara Jane, on the loose in a toy shop, encountering "a horrid sight, the blackest gnome." The little black "gnome" wore bright red trousers, a red bow tie on a high collared white shirt, and a blue swallow-tailed coat. He was a caricature of American black faced minstrels -- in effect, the caricature of a caricature. She named him Golliwogg.

The Golliwogg was based on a Black minstrel doll that Upton had played with as a small child in New York. The then-nameless "Negro minstrel doll" was treated roughly by the Upton children. Upton reminiscenced: "Seated upon a flowerpot in the garden, his kindly face was a target for rubber balls..., the game being to knock him over backwards. It pains me now to think of those little rag legs flying ignominiously over his head, yet that was a long time ago, and before he had become a personality.... We knew he was ugly!"3

Upton's Golliwogg character, like the rag doll which inspired it, was ugly. He was often drawn with paws instead of hands and feet. He had a coal black face, thick lips, wide eyes, and a mass of long unruly hair.4 He was a cross between a dwarf-sized Black minstrel and an animal. The appearance was distorted and frightening.5

Florence Upton's ugly little creation was embraced by the English public. The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls was immensely popular in England, and Golliwogg became a national star. The second printing of the book was retitled The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg. For the next fourteen years, Bertha and Florence Upton created twelve more books featuring the Golliwogg and his adventures, traveling to such "exotic" places as Africa and the North Pole, accompanied by his friends, the Dutch Dolls.6 In those books the Uptons put the Golliwogg first in every title.

The Uptons did not copyright the Golliwogg, and the image entered into public domain. The Golliwogg name was changed to Golliwog, and he became a common toyland character in children's books. The Upton Golliwogg was adventurous and sometimes silly, but, in the main, gallant and "lovable," albeit, unsightly. Later Golliwogs were often unkind, mean-spirited, and even more visually hideous.

The earliest Golliwog dolls were rag dolls made by parents for their children. Many thousands were made. During the early twentieth century, many prominent doll manufacturers began producing Golliwog dolls. The major Golliwog producers were Steiff, Schuco, and Levin, all three Germany companies, and Merrythought and Deans, both from Great Britain. The Steiff Company is the most notable maker of Golliwog dolls. In 1908 Steiff became the first company to mass produce and distribute Golliwog dolls. Today, these early Steiff dolls sell for $10,000 to $15,000 each, making them the most expensive Golliwog collectibles. Some Steiff Golliwogs have been especially offensive, for example, in the 1970s they produced a Golliwog who looked like a wooly haired gorilla. In 1995, on the 100th anniversary of the Golliwog creation, Steiff produced two Golliwog dolls, including the company's first girl Golliwog.

James Robertson & Sons, a British manufacturer of jams and preserves, began using the Golliwog as its trademark in the early 1900s. According to the company's promotional literature, it was in the United States, just before World War I, that John Robertson (the owner's son) first encountered the Golly doll. He saw rural children playing with little black rag dolls with white eyes. The children's mothers made the dolls from discarded black skirts and blouses. John Robertson claimed that the children called the dolls "Golly" as a mispronunciation of "Dolly." He returned to England with the Golly name and image.

By 1910 the Golly appeared on Robertson's product labels, price lists, and advertising material. Its appeal led to an enormously popular mail-away campaign: in return for coupons from their marmalade, Robertson's sent brooches (also called pins or badges) of Gollies playing various sports. The first brooch was the Golly Golfer in 1928.7 In 1932 a series of fruit badges (with Golly heads superimposed onto the berries) were distributed. In 1939 the popular brooch series was discontinued because the metal was needed for the war effort,8 but by 1946 the Golly returned. In 1999 a Robertson spokesperson said, "He's still very popular. Each year we get more than 340,000 requests for Golly badges. Since 1910 we have sent out more than 20 million."9 The Robertson Golly has also appeared on pencils, knitting patterns, playing cards, aprons, and children's silverware sets.

Robertson pendant chains were introduced in 1956, and, soon after, the design of all Robertson Gollies changed from the Old Golly with pop eyes to the present Golly with eyes looking to the left. The words "Golden Shred" were removed from his waistcoat, his eyes were straightened, and his smile was broadened.10

During the first half of the twentieth century, the Golliwog doll was a favorite children's soft toy in Europe. Only the Teddy Bear exceeded the Golliwog in popularity. Small children slept with their black dolls. Many White Europeans still speak with nostalgic sentiment about their childhood gollies. Sir Kenneth Clark, the noted art historian, claimed that the Golliwogs of his childhood were, "examples of chivalry, far more persuasive than the unconvincing Knights of the Arthurian legend."11 The French composer Claude Debussy was so enthralled by the Golliwogs in his daughter's books that one movement of his Children's Corner Suite is entitled "The Golliwog's Cakewalk."12 The Golliwog was a mixture of bravery, adventurousness, and love -- for White children.

In the 1960s relations between Blacks and Whites in England were often characterized by conflict. This racial antagonism resulted from many factors, including: the arrival of increasing numbers of colored immigrants; minorities' unwillingness to accommodate themselves to old patterns of racial and ethnic subordination; and, the fear among many Whites that England was losing its national character. British culture was also influenced by images -- often brutal -- of racial conflict occurring in the United States.

In this climate the Golliwog doll and other Golliwog emblems were seen as symbols of racial insensitivity. Many books containing Golliwogs were withdrawn from public libraries, and the manufacturing of Golliwog dolls dwindled as the demand for Golliwogs decreased. Many items with Golliwog images were destroyed. Despite much criticism, James Robertson & Sons did not discontinue its use of the Golliwog as a mascot. The Camden Committee for Community Relations led a petition drive for signatures to send to the Robertson Company. The National Committee on Racism in Children's Books also publicly criticized Robertson's use of the Golly in its advertising. Other organizations called for a boycott of Robertson's products; nevertheless, the company has continued to use the Golliwog as its trademark in many countries, including the United Kingdom, although it was removed from Robertson's packaging in the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong.

In many ways the campaign to ban Golliwogs was similar to the American campaign against Little Black Sambo. In both cases racial minorities and sympathetic Whites argued that these images demeaned Blacks and hurt the psyches of minority children. Civil rights organizations led both campaigns, and White civic and political leaders eventually joined the effort to ban the offensive caricatures. In the anti-Golliwog campaign, numerous British parliamentarians publicly lambasted the Golliwog image as racist, including, Tony Benn, Shirley Williams, and David Owen.13

The claim that Golliwogs are racist is supported by literary depictions by writers such as Enid Blyton. Unlike Florence Upton's, Blyton's Golliwogs were often rude, mischievous, elfin villains. In Blyton's book, Here Comes Noddy Again, a Golliwog asks the hero for help, then steals his car. Blyton, one of the most prolific European writers, included the Golliwogs in many stories, but she only wrote three books primarily about Golliwogs: The Three Golliwogs (1944), The Proud Golliwog (1951), and The Golliwog Grumbled (1953). Her depictions of Golliwogs are, by contemporary standards, racially insensitive. An excerpt from The Three Golliwogs is illustrative:

Once the three bold golliwogs, Golly, Woggie, and Nigger, decided to go for a walk to Bumble-Bee Common. Golly wasn't quite ready so Woggie and Nigger said they would start off without him, and Golly would catch them up as soon as he could. So off went Woogie and Nigger, arm-in-arm, singing merrily their favourite song -- which, as you may guess, was Ten Little Nigger Boys.14

Ten Little Niggers is the name of a children's poem, sometimes set to music, which celebrates the deaths of ten Black children, one-by-one. The Three Golliwogs was reprinted as recently as 1968, and it still contained the above passage. Ten Little Niggers15 was also the name of a 1939 Agatha Christie novel, whose cover showed a Golliwog lynched, hanging from a noose.

The Golliwog's reputation and popularity were also hurt by the association with the word &lt;deleted&gt;. Apparently derived from the word Golliwog,16 &lt;deleted&gt; is an English slur against dark-skinned people, especially Middle or Far East foreigners. During World War II the word &lt;deleted&gt; was used by the British Army in North Africa, mainly as a slur against dark-skinned Arabs. In the 1960s the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, one of the most noted regiments in the British Army, wore a Robertson's golly brooch for each Arab they had killed.17 After the war, &lt;deleted&gt; became a more general slur against brown-skinned people. As a racial epithet, it is comparable to nigger or spic, though its usage extends beyond any single ethnic group. Dark-skinned people in England, Germany, and Australia are derisively called &lt;deleted&gt;.18 In the year 2000, a British police officer was fired for referring to an Asian colleague as a &lt;deleted&gt;.19 The association of &lt;deleted&gt; with racial minorities is also seen with the word &lt;deleted&gt;-box, which is slang for a large portable music box, the European counterpart of the ghetto blaster. The &lt;deleted&gt;-box is also called a "Third World briefcase."20

Some Golliwog supporters tried to distance themselves from the &lt;deleted&gt; slur by dropping it from the word golliwog. James Robertson & Sons, for example, has always referred to its golliwog as "Golly." In the late 1980s, when the anti-Golliwog campaign reached its height, many small manufacturers of the golliwogs began using the names Golly or Golli, instead of Golliwog. Not surprisingly, the words Golliwog, Golly, and Golli are now all used as racially descriptive terms, although they are not as demeaning as &lt;deleted&gt;.

Golliwog is a racial slur in Germany, England, Ireland, Greece, and Australia. Interestingly, it is sometimes applied to dark-skinned Whites, as well as brown-skinned persons. Golliwog is also a common name for black pets, especially dogs, in European countries -- much as nigger was once popular as a pet name. Golliwog was also the original name of the rock band Credence Clearwater Revival. They sometimes performed the song "Brown-Eyed Girl" (not the Van Morrison tune), dressed in white afros. This is not to suggest that they were racists, only to show that golliwogs were a part -- albeit, a small one -- in American culture.21

The Golliwog celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 1995. Golliwog collectibles, which always had a loyal following, again boomed on the secondary market. This popularity continues today and is evidenced by numerous eBay and Yahoo internet auctions and the presence of several international Golliwog organizations. A pro-Golliwog viewpoint can be found at the International Golliwog Collectors Club's website: www.teddybears.com/golliwog/direct.html. Many collectors, primarily though not exclusively Whites, contend that the anti-Golliwog movement represents political correctness at its worst. They argue that the Golliwog is just a doll, and that the original Florence Upton creation was not racist, intentionally or unintentionally -- this is reminiscent of the claims about Helen Bannerman's Little Black Sambo (Read the Picaninny Caricature essay on this website for a more in-depth discussion of Little Black Sambo).

Critics of the Golliwog have launched a new attack. They are trying to get the image removed from all newly published children's books, and they are trying to force businesses to not use the Golliwog as a trademark. The Black Trinidadian writer, Darcus Howe, said, "English [White] people never give up. Golliwogs have gone and should stay gone. They appeal to White English sentiment and will do so until the end of time." Gerry German, of the Working Group Against Racism in Children's Resources, was quoted in The Voice, a Black newspaper, as saying: "I find it appalling that any organization in this day and age can produce anything which would commemorate the golliwog. It is an offensive caricature of Black people."22

The Golliwog was created during a racist era. He was drawn as a caricature of a minstrel -- which itself represented a demeaning image of Blacks. There is racial stereotyping of Black people in Florence Upton's books, including The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls -- such as the Black minstrel playing a banjo on page 45. It appears that the Golliwog was another expression of Upton's racial insensitivity. Certainly later Golliwogs often reflected negative beliefs about Blacks -- thieves, miscreants, incompetents. There is little doubt that the words associated with Golliwog -- Golly, Golli, &lt;deleted&gt;, and Golliwog, itself -- are often used as racial slurs. Finally, the resurgence of interest in the Golliwog is not found primarily among children, but instead is found among adults, some nostalgic, others with financial interests.

© Dr. David Pilgrim, Professor of Sociology

Ferris State University

Nov., 2000

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1 The adjective grotesque reflects, of course, a subjective judgement; however, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), defines Golliwog as a "doll fashioned in a grotesque caricature of a Black male." Found at www.bartleby.com/61/66/G0186600.html.

2 Langenscheidt's New College German Dictionary (Germany, 1993, p.283), has this citation for golliwog: gol-li-&lt;deleted&gt; (g) 1. gro'teske schwarze Puppe; 2. fig. Vogelscheuche' f (Person). The English translation is: 1. grotesque black doll; 2. fig. scarecrow' (person). Thanks to Maryanne Heidemann for translating the definition.

3 D. Barton Johnson, "Nabokov's Golliwogs: Lodi Reads English 1899-1909." Found at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/iasweb/nabokov/dbjgo3.htm.

4 This description is taken from Robert M. MacGregor, "The Golliwog: Innocent Doll to Symbol of Racism." In, Advertising and Popular Culture: Studies in Variety and Versatility. Sammy R. Danna, editor, (Bowling Green State University Press, 1992), p.124. MacGregor is one of the few scholars to offer a thorough examination of Golliwogs.

5 Ibid, p. 125.

6 See, "golliwogs.com: A Brief Golliwog History." Found at http://golliwogs.com/history/index.html.

7 See, "Gollies Through History -- well, since 1928 anyway." Found at http://www.sheepz.freeserve.co.uk/gthhist.html.

8 Florence Upton donated her original Golliwoggs drawings for public auction to support the WW II British war effort.

9 James Clark, "A sticky end at last for Golly?" Daily Mail, June 22, 1999.

10 "And There's Even More: The history of Golly." Golly Corner Website. Found at http://www.my-home.demon.co.uk/gollymore.htm.

11 D. Barton Johnson, op.cit., p. 3 of 6.

12 Ibid.

13 Robert M. MacGregor, "The Golliwog: Innocent Doll to Symbol of Racism," p.129.

14 Enid Blyton, The Three Golliwogs. (London: Dean & Son, LTD, 1968 edition), p. 51.

15 The name was later changed to Ten Little Indians, then later to Then There Were None. All of the books are still readily available on the secondary market.

16 There is some speculation that &lt;deleted&gt; is an acronym for one of the following: Western Oriental Gentleman, Worthy Oriental Gentleman, Wily Oriental Gentleman, Wonderful Oriental Gentleman, or Working On Government Serive. The numerous variations and a lack of supporting evidence suggest that &lt;deleted&gt; was not an acronym. See, "Dave Wilton's Etymology Page: Letter W." Found at http://www.wilton.net/ordorw.htm.

17 "And There's Even More: Golly is not politically correct." Golly Corner Website. Found at http://www.my-home.demon.co.uk/gollymore.htm.

18 &lt;deleted&gt; is also slang for non-Brits, and is used against the French and even the Danish. It is sometimes employed with a smug, patronizing tone of voice, rather than the snarl which usually accompanies the use of nigger, spic, and other racial ethnophaulisms. &lt;deleted&gt; is both an ethnic slur and a racial epithet.

19 "British policeman fired for racist remark in landmark case." The Times of India. July 4, 2000. Found at http://www.timesofindia.com/today/04wor121.htm.

20 Jonathan Green, The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang. (New York: Stein and Day, 1984), p.309.

21 "A Brief History of CCR." Found at http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-17068/sida4.htm.

22 James Clark, op. cit.

[Spee]

Racism is alive and well here. You must realise that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only way to get rid of racism is to treat people as you would like to be treated. Sometimes even that isn't enough because people are receptive to being treated decently.

If you run in to someone who doesn't feel the same way, then just smile, grin and bear it, and move on.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree.BTW,what colour am I?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't know. Why does that matter?

[chuchok]

Racism is alive and well here. You must realise that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only way to get rid of racism is to treat people as you would like to be treated. Sometimes even that isn't enough because people are receptive to being treated decently.

If you run in to someone who doesn't feel the same way, then just smile, grin and bear it, and move on.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree.BTW,what colour am I?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't know. Why does that matter?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It doesn't matter, but it would if somebody told me that due to my skin colour I couldn't go somewhere.

[alohasiam]

The Thai are so racist among themselves. In Thailand it's so obvious that almost all rich and powerful people are white skin. And when you see the dirt poor are almost black skin. When you go to executive sport clubs or high soc gatherings, you do not see any black skin person except the maids and cooks. And more obvious racism is when you go to a massage fishbowl, the dark skin girls are cheaper then the white skin girls. Sometimes the stores divide them into 2 sections by girls' skin color and have different pricing. In Thailand if you are born dark skin and dirt poor, your whole life is doomed. This country has so obvious rasism of skin color in all aspects.

[chuchok]

No problem JS.   I didn't think you meant it as it could be read.  No apologies necessary.

The joke potentially could offend because it dangerously mixes a persistent stereotype here in Thailand that black people are dirty.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm dirty!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And no one even bothered to notice you over there all by yourself with your cute little joke

No kat, I really am dirty. The old H2O pump broke down, so I had to have a pommie shower today.

[udon]

I knew a guy from Darwin, (hot and very humid) and he would stink worse than my feet on a bad day.

It never ocurred to him not to wear $3 polyester shirts in Thailand.

He would sweat and stink in an airconditioned bar.

In the end, no hints would get thru to him and in the end we all avoiided him like the plague, so I can understand 'some' Thais ref to us as smelly etc.

PS. I still have a Golliwog money bank from the 40's, but no pennies to put in it's hand

[snoophound]

For sure dark skin means lower class in thailand.

Same anywhere in asia....china esp.

If you have dark skin you are out in the sun too much.....meaning you work in the fields etc...therefore peasant etc.

They are quite amazed at why us stupid falangs want to lie in the sun a few years back I had a shanghainese gal who lived in NZ.

We went back to china and her mother and grandmother ,said whats the matter with you being in the sun and going black,you will never get a good husband looking like that!

I knew a guy from Darwin, (hot and very humid) and he would stink worse than my feet on a bad day.

It never ocurred to him not to wear $3 polyester shirts in Thailand.

He would sweat and stink in an airconditioned bar.

In the end, no hints would get thru to him and in the end we all avoiided him like the plague, so I can understand 'some' Thais ref to us as smelly etc.

PS. I still have a Golliwog money bank from the 40's, but no pennies to put in it's hand

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Spee]

The Thai are so racist among themselves.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This statement has some merit, but this is true all over the world I think. Look in Iraq with the Shiites v. the Kurds and vice versa. Or in Japan, with the "pure" Japanese v. those who have Korean, Chinese or other Asian bloodlines. Or America, with "old money" families who often only marry within other "old money" families, and look down upon and/or discriminate against most others. These are but a few of many other examples.

In Thailand if you are born dark skin and dirt poor, your whole life is doomed. This country has so obvious rasism of skin color in all aspects.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Again, your statements have some merit but aren't necessarily true across the country.

In my case, especially early on, my fiancee' used to ask me all the time if it mattered to me that she and her daughter have dark skin. She would say stuff like "You okay I black" and things to that effect all the time in the early parts of our relationship.

Though she and her daughter are still obsessed with some of my american nieces and nephews because of their milky white skin, she has long gotten over the fact that her and her daughter's darker skin doesn't matter to me and I love them regardless of what they look like.

As for being doomed, I wouldn't say that. My fiancee' made out pretty good with me (and me with her just as equally for that matter). Sure I know we are the exception to the rule.

My Thai teacher has told me many times that the Thai people are a very caste-oriented society, and skin color is one criterion that one group of people may use to look down upon another group. I think that is a shame, but it is one of those evolution v. revolution things. If people are going to evolve, then they have to want to change.

If some Thai people do not want to change, and you still want to live in their part of the Thai society, then you have to live with it and adapt.

[jerry921]

During my one trip to Thailand, in 1990, I saw a brand of toothpaste on sale in Central. It was named "Darkie" and had a golliwog logo. I pointed it out to my Thai friend and he said that they were having to eliminate that brand even though it was a very old, well known and popular (i.e. valueable) brand.

I bought two little 4.5 baht tubes of it, one of which I tried (basically the same as Pepsodent) and one of which I have kept until now as a souveneer of the unenlighted past (not being sarcastic). If I returned to Thailand and found the brand still on sale I might feel disappointed in the lack of progress.

It is my understanding that there is in fact one very very famous family in Thailand which, being very old and very Thai, and not mixed with Chinese blood at all, has fairly dark skin. However, I think taking this particular point further might be dangerous. I mention it just to note from the safety of America that some attitudes override others.

[sriracha john]

Are you alluding to me as the "thought police" because I commented on the racist tone of associating "dirty" with "black"?

what is racist about associating the word dirty with the word black.

the thought police have invented associations between words and thoughts that were never there before.

the thought police are horribly patronising to those they think they are helping.

thought police (all of them in very well paid cushy jobs) are continually on the lookout for anything that can be construed as racist , as soon as they run out of things to find then they are out of a job.

their findings make it too easy for those wishing to take advantage of a situation to perceive racism where it often does not and never has existed. most cases of racism cannot easily be proved but courts are fearful themselves of being deemed racist by throwing out cases and the whole thing just spirals out of control with an ever more cynical watching public just becoming more racist.

let people be racist , at least you know where you stand with them and accusations will be easier to prove and will do away with some of the more farcical cases that come to light.

only the lawyers benefit. the worthy cause of reducing racism suffers i'm afraid by the increasingly bizzare proclamations of the politically correct thought police.

now you tell me ... are you a member of the dreaded thought police ????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Remember when we had to take the 'Gollywog' off the Jam Jars??? How ridiculous was that!!! Who on this earth did not LOVE the Gollywog logo. It was never a thing for hatred or racialism... in fact quite the oposite.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and speaking of flip-flops....

that's another no-no

as the Filipinos became incensed by that term, the Navy changed their nomenclature to "shower shoes".

[thaihome]

During my one trip to Thailand, in 1990, I saw a brand of toothpaste on sale in Central.  It was named "Darkie" and had a golliwog logo.  I pointed it out to my Thai friend and he said that they were having to eliminate that brand even though it was a very old, well known and popular (i.e. valueable) brand.

I bought two little 4.5 baht tubes of it, one of which I tried (basically the same as Pepsodent) and one of which I have kept until now as a souveneer of the unenlighted past (not being sarcastic).  If I returned to Thailand and found the brand still on sale I might feel disappointed in the lack of progress.

It is my understanding that there is in fact one very very famous family in Thailand which, being very old and very Thai, and not mixed with Chinese blood at all, has fairly dark skin.  However, I think taking this particular point further might be dangerous.  I mention it just to note from the safety of America that some attitudes override others.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The name was slightly changed, but the logo is still there. The brand pretty much dominates the toothpaste market.

TH