Jeremy Clarkson accused of 'racism' during Top Gear series finale in Thailand

[Patje]

Can I go back to sleep now ?

Tired of all the excitement !!!

[LennyW]

Having lived and worked in Asia for 13 years, I now realise I have led a sheltered life.

I have never heard the "slope" expression used before and if some sensationalists hadn't written this drivel, I would still have been happily ignorant of it's meaning.

+1, a shitstorm about buggerall by the PC brigade as usual!

No not really had a black guy been walking over the bridge with a racoon in the shot, he could of said oh there's a coon on the bridge.

That would be racist and would cause a shit storm here in the UK, but if someone from Asia with sloped eyes, as the term originally comes from (mainly speaking of the Chinese) it makes it alright?

"had a black guy been walking over the bridge with a racoon in the shot, he could of said oh there's a coon on the bridge."

And how pray tell would that have described the shoddy built angle of the bridge?

[mmh8]

my suspicion is this is a us slang term. never heard of it . it ain't English.

the bridge does indeed have a slope in it. I think you would find a number of other English slang words though that is not one of them. Despite Clarkson being a pompous t awat he is indeed more intelligent the average us citizen. perhaps those that consider it slang are those that hang around the fruit and veg isles taking amusement in talk about melons?

bloody yanks trying to make the entire language one big derogatory slur. Perhaps tis guilt for culling the native population of the colony?

I shall open up a new post on it

Edited March 18, 2014 by mmh8

[wilcopops]

What a load of old Bol..ks the people who complained about this need to get a life, my mrs is Thai and had never heard it said or knew what it meant IMHO JC was just refering to the angle only, slope is an English word used by English people , what will be next ?????

Again you miss the point.

the term is a derogatory racist ten used by mostly Americans referring to the "enemy" and other S.E. Asians during the wars they fought there.

saying your wife has nervier heard this term is completely irrelevant.

It appears that Clarkson & Co were using the term with reference to this and inferring that ALL S.E. Asian peoples must be the same.

The British used the ten <deleted> originally to refer mostly to Araic people it then sifted to refer to those from the Indian subcontinent. By the time Italians and Greeks were immigrating to Australia, they found themselves of the receiving end of this word.

it's not who it;s applied to that matters it is the generalisation and thinking behind it that is so appalling.

Edited March 18, 2014 by wilcopops

[wilcopops]

In the end what this thread will show is how poorly informed and unaware many TV members are about issues surrounding racism.

Edited March 18, 2014 by wilcopops

[Bluespunk]

According to Top Gear, the program was filmed in Burma, not Thailand. At least that's what their promos for the show are saying.

[Bluespunk]

my suspicion is this is a us slang term. never heard of it . it ain't English.

the bridge does indeed have a slope in it. I think you would find a number of other English slang words though that is not one of them. Despite Clarkson being a pompous t awat he is indeed more intelligent the average us citizen. perhaps those that consider it slang are those that hang around the fruit and veg isles taking amusement in talk about melons?

bloody yanks trying to make the entire language one big derogatory slur. Perhaps tis guilt for culling the native population of the colony?

I shall open up a new post on it

Heard this word used as racist abuse on many occasions in the UK.

JC knew what he was doing, it was a deliberate attempt to use racist jargon for humourous effect. As usual with this idiot, it just was more offensive than funny.

[simon43]

Must be a British thing

That's the point. It is not a British racist term. A slope is simply something that is not level. It's as innocent as saying 'I'm dying for a fag' or 'I hate faggots' or 'I love the golliwog jam'. The first refers to cigarettes, the second to meat balls and the last to a famous brand of jam.

I don't think Jeremy had any intention to be racist. Some people are just too sensitive and PC.

Simon

[brit1984]

it's a queer bridge

[monkey4u]

To all the politically correct out there.

Don't forget Farang is also derogatory

So lets just live with the slopes , gooks, round eyes, farangs, and all the other names that come to mind.

Im sure all the poms have a few for the mid east Asians and Africans

[speedtripler]

In the end what this thread will show is how poorly informed and unaware many TV members are about issues surrounding racism.

it doesnt ,it just means sad people are just looking an excuse to whine and b1tch about something else

topgear is a comedy show for auto enthusiasts ..........if there was a spade on the bridge and a black person

in the background that would have been even funnier ........

if you dont like topgear or clarkson dont watch it but plenty of comics make jokes about stereotyes and race and clarkson

should be alllowed the same freedom .........if he wasnt actually talkling about the incline which he may have been ........?

[binjalin]

Jeeze didn't we come here to get away from PC crap?

PS

waiting for resident yellow fellows to say this is Thaksins fault lol

Edited March 18, 2014 by binjalin

[Johnnie99]

"Slope" is an insult? Biggest load of <deleted> I have read here for years.

So when teachers described an inclined plane, they are not allowed to call it a 'slope'?

Seriously, some people need to get over it.

[RBOP]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Jeremy Who??? Never heard of the guy. So the bridge was sloping what is all the fuss?

That's what I thought too, the bridge was sloping.

[RBOP]

_{Is it racism when someone says "Hey you Farang!"}

[jcicero]

They are insulted at the casual use of the word "slope?......................but what about their dialy use of the word "farang"...........?

[bushman1666]

Jeremy Who??? Never heard of the guy. So the bridge was sloping what is all the fuss?

Not heard of Jeremy Clarkson! Have you been living under a rock for the last 20 years?

[jcicero]

Please excuse the mispelling of "daily"

[NanLaew]

Funny how some profess years in Asia and yet never heard the term. I reckon it depends how immersed in the local culture (or otherwise) that ones work permitted. I am very familiar with the term. I worked in China from 1981 to 1988 and was constantly surrounded by slopes... as we toiled in the Himalayan foothills of Qinghai Province.

I see this has got the farangphobes yammering away already.

Edited March 18, 2014 by NanLaew

[seajae]

in Australia aboriginals tried to have Coon cheese classed as racism and make them change the name, looking at the pic the bridge does have a slope and he is indicating it with his hand, people see what they want and any chance to denigrate others for bullsh*t reasons are grabbed at. Like the cheese episode, if someone thinks they can get something for nothing they will try. On a side note, slope was the term used for vietcongs during the vietnam war(used widely in the forces), never heard it ever referring to thais so it would seem someone definitely has their wires crossed but then I am a farang........

Edited March 18, 2014 by seajae

[wilcopops]

According to Top Gear, the program was filmed in Burma, not Thailand. At least that's what their promos for the show are saying.

In the blurb for the show you will see that the aim was to drive through Burma INTO THAILAND where they built a bridge .

It turns out they didn't even build a bridge over the "Kwai Noi" as it would probably have caused eve more offence and the river is far too big.

i was watching to see which border they crossed at, it seems to have been way north of the Burma railway itself.

it seems to have take place near Chiang Rai.

Edited March 18, 2014 by wilcopops

[tizneil]

jeremy it's not funny anymore. Grow up and act your age not your shoe size.

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Yunla]

I know the word slope from countless war movies. It is racist because it targets the racial characteristic of Asian eyes.

"Slope on a bridge" reminds me of the similar ugly joke about the Japanese Salariman rooftop-suicide phenomenon "there's a nip in the air tonight" which was a popular joke among some famous UK racist comedians, back when it was still seen as OK to be xenophobic and covertly racist in the guise of comedy. Some of my best friends are Japanese, and I always shudder when somebody made that joke on TV.

Nip and slope are both offensive terms, for different reasons. And Clarkson is a moron - another offensive term, although I feel one that is thoroughly appropriate.

[Doznotdiz]

Of course Clarkson was making a joke about the person on the bridge. That's his type of humour and I don't think that people should be calling him racist. Many of these types of terms are meant in jest and not meant to be derogatory. If he wasn't making a joke he would have said "the bridge is on a slant" because "slope" is usually used when talking about the ground. This stuff is getting out of hand and the only winners would be lawyers as usual. "Top Gear" without Clarkson's style of humour wouldn't be "Top Gear".

[wilcopops]

Must be a British thing

That's the point. It is not a British racist term. A slope is simply something that is not level. It's as innocent as saying 'I'm dying for a fag' or 'I hate faggots' or 'I love the golliwog jam'. The first refers to cigarettes, the second to meat balls and the last to a famous brand of jam.

I don't think Jeremy had any intention to be racist. Some people are just too sensitive and PC.

Simon

Don't be ridiculous,Brits are PERFECTLY aware of this term in its racist form. to suggest that Clarkson, a writer and TV presenter wouldn't be aware of the word is just nonsense.

[chooka]

What a load of old Bol..ks the people who complained about this need to get a life, my mrs is Thai and had never heard it said or knew what it meant IMHO JC was just refering to the angle only, slope is an English word used by English people , what will be next ?????

Just tried it on my wife, called her a slope and she had no idea what I was talking about.

[Arbitrary]

This is certainly one of the more idiotic things the PC brigade have become enraged about lately. At this rate I'm going to have to start keeping a list of perfectly innocent words that I can't use because people need to be offended by something...

[wilcopops]

Of course Clarkson was making a joke about the person on the bridge. That's his type of humour and I don't think that people should be calling him racist. Many of these types of terms are meant in jest and not meant to be derogatory. If he wasn't making a joke he would have said "the bridge is on a slant" because "slope" is usually used when talking about the ground. This stuff is getting out of hand and the only winners would be lawyers as usual. "Top Gear" without Clarkson's style of humour wouldn't be "Top Gear".

I don't see a single point here that in anyway justifies the use of the word.

in fact I'd say the surreptitious way it was included in the script would suggest they knew full well what they were doing.

Edited March 18, 2014 by wilcopops

[Bluespunk]

_{Is it racism when someone says "Hey you Farang!"}

Yes.

[wilcopops]

_{Is it racism when someone says "Hey you Farang!"}

...and the second facile award goes to...........