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White racist called on camera

JoeZhang

Vice Admiral
Admiral
Prince Harry has apologised for using offensive language to describe a member of his army platoon.

The News of the World said it had a video of the army lieutenant calling a colleague a "Paki" while pretending to make a phonecall to the Queen.



In a separate incident, Prince Harry is heard calling another officer cadet a "raghead", the News of the World said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7822574.stm
 
In a statement he said he used that term as a nickname since they are friends. However I still think it's a word that shouldn't be used. Even between friends. It just doesn't belong in this decade as a friendly term that people can get away with.
 
I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, of course using racial epithets is wrong. But on the other, in combat a certain amount of dehumanization of the enemy is to be expected and is perhaps even a necessary survival mechanism for some. Like it or not, your goal is to kill other human beings for some purpose, whether rational or irrational. To do so day in and day out requires you to think of your enemy in abstract or insulting terms, lest you start to sympathize with them to the point that you are consumed with guilt over killing them. This is not to say that you don't have to recognize points where dehumanizing the enemy crosses the line - such as torturing or killing the enemy when capture is a viable option.

It's a sad testimony to the harsh reality of war, and certainly not an ideal situation by any means, but I don't know if I would go so far as to equate it to racism as you would encounter in normal peacetime society. At least I wouldn't put it on the same level of "badness." I don't think everyone who used Kraut or Jap or Gook during time of war is necessarily a bigot. If they continue to do so well into peacetime and against people who are not their enemies, then yes, they are. But if you labeled every soldier who ever used racial epithets or insulting names aagainst the enemy a racist or bigot, the almost all of them would probably be racists or bogots. The same for using those names against your friends as a joke.

Plus, if the press started scrutinizing other members of the military to the same degree as they do Harry, I think they would be fairly shocked if this is considered a terrible example. Granted, as a member of the royal family he should be a little more used to it at this point and be more conscious of what he's saying, but I do still feel a twinge of pity for him. He's just trying to fit in and be one of the guys, and no matter what he can't.
 
In a statement he said he used that term as a nickname since they are friends. However I still think it's a word that shouldn't be used. Even between friends. It just doesn't belong in this decade as a friendly term that people can get away with.

If they are friends and his friend doesn't mind... who cares?
 
damn - can someone fix that typo in the title? That's what I get for posting off a phone at 3am in the morning...
 
Oh, it was three years ago and before he even deployed to Afghanistan? Forget what I said earlier then. That'll teach me not to click on the link. I thought this happened recently.
 
In a statement he said he used that term as a nickname since they are friends. However I still think it's a word that shouldn't be used. Even between friends. It just doesn't belong in this decade as a friendly term that people can get away with.

If they are friends and his friend doesn't mind... who cares?

Who's to say that he does or doesn't mind? People often are giving nicknames they dislike but must stick with, he may feel certain pressure to not go against someone who is Third in line to the Throne. Also just because one person doesn't mind doesn't mean it's ok. A lot of other people including the young man's uncle where quite unhappy about it.

I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, of course using racial epithets is wrong. But on the other, in combat a certain amount of dehumanization of the enemy is to be expected and is perhaps even a necessary survival mechanism for some. Like it or not, your goal is to kill other human beings for some purpose, whether rational or irrational. To do so day in and day out requires you to think of your enemy in abstract or insulting terms, lest you start to sympathize with them to the point that you are consumed with guilt over killing them. This is not to say that you don't have to recognize points where dehumanizing the enemy crosses the line - such as torturing or killing the enemy when capture is a viable option.
Against the enemy maybe one could understand however against someone in your own unit? I don't think it's a term to be used.
 
He's an idiot. Has anyone seen the full vid on YouTube where he tells us his pubes are indeed ginger too... what a dickhead.
 
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