Government sponsored agency instructs nurseries to report children who dislike spicy food as racists
So, when the British government isn’t busy playing ‘Spot the terrorist’ and awarding the winners a 42 days in a detention camp of its choosing (or seven bullets in the back of the head, of course, if they are Brazilian electricians), they are funding agencies who play ‘Spot the racist’ in Britain’s nurseries – although, somewhat disappointingly, the agency doesn’t instruct these nurseries to kill the offending infants:
Toddlers who turn their noses up at spicy food from overseas could be branded racists by a Government-sponsored agency. The National Children’s Bureau, which receives £12 million a year, mainly from Government funded organisations, has issued guidance to play leaders and nursery teachers advising them to be alert for racist incidents among youngsters in their care. It alerts playgroup leaders that even babies can not be ignored in the drive to root out prejudice as they can “recognise different people in their lives”.
The guide goes on to warn that children might also “react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying ‘yuk’”. Nurseries are encouraged to report as many incidents as possible to their local council. The guide added: “Some people think that if a large number of racist incidents are reported, this will reflect badly on the institution. In fact, the opposite is the case.”
I do love that last bit. Encouraging people and institutions to turn informer is so Noughties – or, if you want, in the Zeitgeist of the East-German Stasis, or Mao’s murderous Cultural Revolution.
You often wonder how all of these well-meaning people and institutions can get almost everything so desperately wrong all of the fucking time. Not that I’m sure that the National Children’s Bureau belongs in the category of people who do mean well. The bureau is probably stacked to the rafters with the kind of folks who could bore you to death during a sex orgy and whose passions are train-spotting, bird-watching & anorak-knitting, when they are not busy making life a living Hell for their fellow citizens, that is.
The only question clueless crusaders like these raise is whether they were beaten up too many or not nearly enough times when they were kids themselves.
Back to the serious matter of identifying racists through their reaction to certain types of food though. It’s an interesting way of going about things – although even old Joe McCarthy’s House Committee on Un-American Activities didn’t quite go as far as calling anyone who professed a love of red herrings a dirty commie rat.
Anyway, I have to declare an interest here and I’m ready to come out of the closet and declare it on this here blog. I loathe deep-fried food like, for instance, Kentucky Fried Chicken. So, does that make me the kind of bigot who
a) Hates the American military and all its mustached colonels
b) Hates all American states starting with a K
c) Hates all people who stereotypically eat fried chicken (or the PC crowd who frowns upon the mentioning of these stereotypes) or
d) Hates cross-eyed, cross-dressed and/or street-crossing chickens with a deep Southern drawl?
More to the point though, would I have learnt to love both deep-fried food and PC zealots more if my old nursery had reported my youthful ‘yuks’ to some early equivalent of the National Children’s Bureau? I suspect not. Though it might have installed a hungry wish to see all PC state informers in a thoroughly satisfying, deep-fried state.
(Picture lifted from the wonderful neatocoolville.blogspot.com)
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July 9th, 2008 at 14:13
Recent media coverage referring to the NCB publication, Young Children and Racial Justice: Taking action for racial equality in the early years, has misrepresented the content and purpose of this valuable tool designed to support early years professionals in their work.
A spokesperson from NCB said: ‘It is an excellent resource which has been specially designed to help teachers and nursery leaders recognise what is, and just as importantly, what is NOT potentially racist behaviour and attitudes in youngsters in their care.
References to use of the word ‘yuk’, ‘spicy foods’ and reporting young children to local authorities, in this 366-page book, have been misrepresented and misunderstood as a consequence of that.’ (Read the specific passage and response at http://www.ncb.org.uk)
‘This book is being funded by NCB from book sales alone – and not from government funding or from any grants, as has also been reported. The sales have been excellent so far which goes to show there is an acknowledged need for books like it. ’
Jane Lane, the author, who is not a member of NCB staff, but an advocate worker for racial equality in the early years sector, said: ‘Children are like sponges and the early years of their lives are critical for helping them understand and learn to respect the opinions, differences, similarities and needs of others.’
July 9th, 2008 at 14:28
Thanks for the comment - and the clarification. So, here’s the yuk quote as it appeared in the book:
‘Indications of racial prejudice may not always be perceived as such. Indeed it is important always to pursue such indications with a view to ascertaining the reasons for them. For example, a child may react negatively to a culinary tradition other than her own by saying ‘Yuk’. This may mean a lack of familiarity with any food not seen or eaten before or, more seriously, a reaction to food associated with people from a particular ethnic or cultural community. Care is always needed in following up such reactions to differentiate very clearly between a child’s natural apprehension and racial prejudice.’
This, to me, still sounds like ludicrous nonsense to me. By the way, the fact that the publication of the book wasn’t paid for with government money doesn’t change the fact that the bureau, which does receive goverenment money, endorses it and this kind of ‘racism profiling’, which I find idiotic in the extreme,
J.