There are currently acrimonious negotiations taking place in Ireland on this matter. The principal players of both orange & green traditions, along with the Irish and British Governments, will never allow a genuine Truth & Reconciliation forum that is transparent, to happen, because it would seriously undermine the legitimacy of both Governments.
For these reasons principally, the only serious alternative for those pro-active parties in Ireland, genuinely desiring to be in the solution, rather than the problem, only a totally transparent Federal solution for the island of Ireland, devoid of sick secret manipulation, is the next obvious, progressive, step forward rather than fall back into the abyss of violence.
So business was a little slow in downtown Nazareth one day. JC and his friends were sitting around wondering what to do. "Flip me, I could murder something sweet to eat, y'know?", said Peter. "If only there was a cake shop nearby, I could go and buy what I like."
"I'm going to open a cake shop!" he declared.
And so, "Heavenly Buns" was born.
One day, a young guy came in and requested a special cake be made. He wanted it in the shape of a skateboard with the words, "Support A Skate Park for Nazareth" iced on the top.
Thomas was working the counter that day and Thomas wasn't sure. Thomas was never sure about anything. He called to JC to come and speak with the young guy.
JC came out from the kitchen in his apron with the legend "Made In Heaven" on it. He took it off and handed it to Mary, who was arguing with her sister Martha about "doing all the work round here".
JC said, "A skate park, hmm? What's the intention behind it young man?"
The young guy said, "Well, it's a space for us to go and skate and have fun and do something creative with our time and we'll be getting exercise, too, and not getting into anti-social trouble."
JC stroked his beard for a moment as he stared off into the middle distance. "Yes!" he declared, "Let them have this cake! It promotes the three cardinal virtues, love, respect and tolerance.
"It's not my cup of tea, but I can see that the intention behind it comes from love, and love is what it's all about, eh?"
The next day, a young woman came in and requested a special cake to be made. She wanted it shaped like a cake with a photo on top of her with a man dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.
Thomas was on the counter. He wasn't sure. He called JC, who came out and handed his apron to Mary. She didn't argue with her sister because this was Mary Magdalene, a different Mary altogether.
JC said to the young woman, "The KKK? What's the intention?"
The young woman said, "Och, it's just a bit of fun really. Just a wee laugh. And we sort of believe that we're better than other people, but I didn't realise it would get all this attention."
JC frowned. He didn't look off into the middle distance and his beard remained unstroked. He turned his loving gaze to the young woman and said, "We will not make this cake.
"The intention behind it does not come from love, respect and tolerance. We are purveyors of creations of love here.
"Please, taste our cakes and you'll see, we are all the same."
The next day, well, you've probably guessed by now, a young man entered requesting a cake saying, "Support Gay Marriage".
Thomas had picked up a fair bit from watching his boss by now. "Certainly," he said.
"And what colour would you like the icing?"
John Lewis just a Christmas dream
Have you seen the new Christmas ad for John Lewis?
The wee lad and his penguin and the soundtrack saying it's all about love and then it's not a real penguin, it's his toy and all he wants for it is to get it a penguin girlfriend/boyfriend for Christmas. Awww.
Whereas, the Northern Ireland version of the John Lewis ad would be footage of a wee Jeffrey Donaldson dreaming of a big John Lewis shop in Lisburn and all the Belfast politicians dreaming of it in Belfast and all waking up on Christmas morning and nothing has changed.
Still no John Lewis anywhere.
Awww.
Thanks for the recipe tip, Gregory
Whatever you think of Gregory Campbell's "Curry my yoghurt" zinger up at Stormont, his remarks did have one inadvertent positive effect.
I had made some curry and it was extremely hot, due to my thinking cayenne was less burny than paprika and putting in loads. So imagine my delight when I heard his dulcet, tolerant, educated, positive, uplifting, life-affirming tones mentioning yoghurt. Of course! A big pot of the natural variety into the saucepan and my dinner was cooled and edible.
So, "Go raibh maith agat", Gregory, for helping me find a use for your extremism.
(Child of a war baby - we waste nothin'!)
History of Banned, Racist and Censored Cartoons
Between 1930 and 1950, animators at Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, MGM, Merrie Melodies, Looney Tunes, R.K.O., and many other independent studios, produced thousands of cartoons containing racial stereotypes and references to alcohol, adultery, female anatomy, cross-dressing, gambling, marijuana, pornography, sexual situations, smoking, and suicides (i.e. a frustrated Bugs Bunny blows himself up).
This period is now known as the golden age of animation, and until the mid 1960s, cartoons were screened before all feature films. Later, these same cartoons would cycle endlessly for decades on broadcast TV or cable syndication. To modern audiences, many of these cartoons are quite shocking and graphically illustrate how pervasive and institutionalized racism was in our culture just a short time ago.
Ownership of Warner Bros. cartoons passed to United Artists in 1968 and they created a "Censored 11" list of cartoons they refused to air or make available for purchase on any media. Since then, because of objections by parents, sensitive sponsors, timid corporate policy, and changing cultural mores, many more classic cartoons were heavily edited or pulled from syndication. Many have already been lost forever.
Studios are so protective of their classic characters like Bugs Bunny that in 2000, when Spike Lee made Bamboozled (a film dealing extensively with black stereotypes in Hollywood), Warner Bros/United Artists denied his request to include images of Bugs in blackface from the classic wartime cartoon Any Bonds Today. In 2001, the people at Cartoon Network announced a "June Bugs" marathon, where they promoted their intention to show every single Bugs Bunny short. Warner Bros/United Artists quickly stepped in and dictated to Cartoon Network which shorts could not be shown.
These cartoons, like the cliché goes, were a product of their times and represent a period of American history where views were very different than they are now. While they are certainly not suitable for viewing by children without adult supervision and guidance, they are important historical documents that should be available to all. They are necessary for the development of anyone's cultural and historical literacy.
It is also important to remember that they were intended to be funny, not hurtful. One does not have to look far to find many other examples of racial stereotyping in popular media in the first half of the 20th century. Radio shows, movies, and comic strips were filled with caricatures of Blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, and many other ethnic groups. It is to our great credit that we have evolved as far as we have since then, but we should preserve our history and not try to rewrite it in some Orwellian attempt to excise those parts of it that we now find abhorrent.
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History of Banned, Racist and Censored Cartoons
Between 1930 and 1950, animators at Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, MGM, Merrie Melodies, Looney Tunes, R.K.O., and many other independent studios, produced thousands of cartoons containing racial stereotypes and references to alcohol, adultery, female anatomy, cross-dressing, gambling, marijuana, pornography, sexual situations, smoking, and suicides (i.e. a frustrated Bugs Bunny blows himself up).
This period is now known as the golden age of animation, and until the mid 1960s, cartoons were screened before all feature films. Later, these same cartoons would cycle endlessly for decades on broadcast TV or cable syndication. To modern audiences, many of these cartoons are quite shocking and graphically illustrate how pervasive and institutionalized racism was in our culture just a short time ago.
Ownership of Warner Bros. cartoons passed to United Artists in 1968 and they created a "Censored 11" list of cartoons they refused to air or make available for purchase on any media. Since then, because of objections by parents, sensitive sponsors, timid corporate policy, and changing cultural mores, many more classic cartoons were heavily edited or pulled from syndication. Many have already been lost forever.
Studios are so protective of their classic characters like Bugs Bunny that in 2000, when Spike Lee made Bamboozled (a film dealing extensively with black stereotypes in Hollywood), Warner Bros/United Artists denied his request to include images of Bugs in blackface from the classic wartime cartoon Any Bonds Today. In 2001, the people at Cartoon Network announced a "June Bugs" marathon, where they promoted their intention to show every single Bugs Bunny short. Warner Bros/United Artists quickly stepped in and dictated to Cartoon Network which shorts could not be shown.
These cartoons, like the cliché goes, were a product of their times and represent a period of American history where views were very different than they are now. While they are certainly not suitable for viewing by children without adult supervision and guidance, they are important historical documents that should be available to all. They are necessary for the development of anyone's cultural and historical literacy.
It is also important to remember that they were intended to be funny, not hurtful. One does not have to look far to find many other examples of racial stereotyping in popular media in the first half of the 20th century. Radio shows, movies, and comic strips were filled with caricatures of Blacks, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, and many other ethnic groups. It is to our great credit that we have evolved as far as we have since then, but we should preserve our history and not try to rewrite it in some Orwellian attempt to excise those parts of it that we now find abhorrent.
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Some examples of Banned, Racist and Censored cartoons:
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