Prince Harry Current Events 23: July 2008-May 2009

[Skydragon]

Is it just me who finds that fact that Harry allowed himself, indeed filmed HIMSELF, making such comments immensely stupid. As many people have pointed out - these comments were made in "private",

I think it is wrong to say 'it was in private', it wasn't, it was in a departure area at Brize.

Until Harry's tape, I never heard anybody but Pakis use the term Paki and I'm sure they didn't mean it offensively.

So I was a bit confused about this incident. Perhaps the term has different connotations in Britain but here we don't hear it that much except from the people themselves.

This is the word used by the skinheads not 15 - 20 years ago. Paki bashing was constantly in the news. It is a horrible derogatory word.

 

[crisscross1]

Iain Martin's blog in the Telegraph dated 11 January 2009 says it all "Harry Circus Shames Journalism"l.

Sorry I still haven't mastered the art of puting in a link.

Absolutely, this is just another example of gutter journalism. Harry's private tapes are just that 'Private'.
I said it before and I say it again, I thought it was fun.
All of this nit picking is political correctness gone mad. 10 years ago you could call a mate anything you liked and no one, (especially not the mate) cared. It's sad that we have lost that freedom.

 

[Skydragon]

I thought it was fun.--- All of this nit picking is political correctness gone mad. 10 years ago you could call a mate anything you liked and no one, (especially not the mate) cared. It's sad that we have lost that freedom.

We will have to put that down to vastly different opinions, it is not fun to hear the third in line talk about other recruits in that manner. The boy was not a 'mate', he was a young man from Pakistan who happened to be in the same training platoon as Harry. It is right that it is not acceptable in this day and age.

He is not one of the boys/ranks, he is a commissioned officer.

It was wrong, he has apologised.

 

[Skydragon]

Iain Martin's blog in the Telegraph dated 11 January 2009 says it all "Harry Circus Shames Journalism".

Your missing link MARG, although one should remember this is just a blog and there are many of them out there, sitting/ranting on both sides of the fence.

Blog
--------------------------
Quite rightly, Prince Harry has apologised for describing a fellow officer cadet at Sandhurst as "a Paki". I know the Prince and know that he is not a racist. He is someone who gets on very well with people from all backgrounds.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/...Harrys-gaffe-highlights-a-deeper-malaise.html

The Prime Minister said that such racially-laden terms should have "no place in our life" but added that the public would give the Prince "the benefit of the doubt" because he had now apologised

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...i-comment-unacceptable-says-Gordon-Brown.html
-----------------
Bandwagon is the word that springs to mind.

 

[Menarue]

He is not one of the boys/ranks, he is a commissioned officer.

It was wrong, he has apologised.

You know I thought it was just a storm in a teacup but when you put it this way it is perfectly understandable that it caused such discomfort.
You are right Sky and I am wrong to think it was just nothing. It was not worthy of an officer and third in line for the throne.

 

[Skydragon]

You know I thought it was just a storm in a teacup but when you put it this way it is perfectly understandable that it caused such discomfort.
You are right Sky and I am wrong to think it was just nothing. It was not worthy of an officer and third in line for the throne.

I hoped it would blow over once he had apologised but it seems to be getting worse...

Only days after the Queen agreed that Prince Harry was sufficiently mature to have his own private office at St James's Palace, he has repaid her trust by plunging the Royal Family into another controversy with his 'Paki' comment.

Prince Harry 'Paki' row: 'He has to learn a painful lesson' - Telegraph

 

[tommy1716]

I think that the new Private Office if William and Harry must be taking this very seriously, the official website of the Prince of Wales (and his sons) contains.................... absolutely nothing about this, so they are so concerned to get Harry's apology out there they can't be bothered to put it on a website. I feel that the way this has been handled by the Prince's advisors is dreadful.

 

[crisscross1]

We will have to put that down to vastly different opinions, it is not fun to hear the third in line talk about other recruits in that manner. The boy was not a 'mate', he was a young man from Pakistan who happened to be in the same training platoon as Harry. It is right that it is not acceptable in this day and age.

He is not one of the boys/ranks, he is a commissioned officer.

It was wrong, he has apologised.

But, the third in line in this situation is just another soldier. The person who he called (that word) was unaware at the time, how do we know that in the barracks, mess, ablutions block he isn't called that as a nick name and doesn't care. I thought the rag head receiver was smiling when Harry pointed the camera, so he obviously didn't care.
He did apologise but under how much pressure?
I served in the forces for many years as a driver and the commissioned officers behaved just like the non- commissioned when with their own.
This day and age has a lot to answer for.

 

[Warren]

Ahmed Raza Khan's father has got caught up in the over-wrought hyperbole...
quote Mail Online:

Captain Khan's father made clear he believed the prince's contrition did not go far enough.
'Prince Harry should apologise to the Pakistani Army and to the Pakistani government for this. I cannot accept his apology unless they first accept his apology.'
. . .

As the prescient Mr Shakespeare wrote some centuries ago, "all the world's a stage..."

 

[lucien]

Ahmed Raza Khan's father has got caught up in the over-wrought hyperbole...
quote Mail Online:

Captain Khan's father made clear he believed the prince's contrition did not go far enough.
'Prince Harry should apologise to the Pakistani Army and to the Pakistani government for this. I cannot accept his apology unless they first accept his apology.'
. . .

As the prescient Mr Shakespeare wrote some centuries ago, "all the world's a stage..."

A hyperbole indeed.What bloody nonsense.

Oh I don´t believe for a sec he said all and meant all.
It´s just been a while since they,that pulp,found something on him,
and this lets the badly needed cash flow in.Why don´t you people just stop
buying that crap that calls itselve `british newspapers`.
Should be a law against this nonsense,
has nothing to do with free press and all that sort of nonsense.
I wouldn´t even use it for a cat litter.

 

[Idriel]

^quite right Lucien.
Using questionable language isn't OK but character assassination and defamation apparently are quite alright.

I feel that the way this has been handled by the Prince's advisors is dreadful.

Those who have been really offended by this are unlikely to be appeased by anything Harry or his office will do, as illustrated by Ahmed's father reaction.
In their mind nothing will wash the taint (or in this case, the slander, imo) of being called a racist. You can't apologise racism away. If people think that's what you are, that's it really.
At this point, I just hope Harry will just keep quiet. The 'scandal' is already dying a natural death and unless Ahmed makes a statement or Harry is demoted (unlikely), it will be buried by Wednesday at the latest.

Edited to add:

a sympathetic article from the Guardian (left-wing):
When Harry met sorry

and a damning one from The Independent (Liberal):
Harry, you can't just say what you like

 

[Little_star]

Why is Paki an unacceptable word, but not Brit? Because of Britain's bitter racial history

More than an ordinary four-letter word | Murad Ahmed - Times Online

"It's not just another nasty four-letter word. The outrage isn't another example of creeping political correctness. It's about the experience of immigrant communities in Britain and the struggles that they endured when they came here in the Sixties and Seventies.

For Asians, there was once a time when it was no surprise that an authority figure, speaking in the Queen's English, would call someone a Paki. Just get on with it, thought many, we're the outsiders here."

 

[Menarue]

Does anyone remember the old school yard taunt "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"....?
How strange to find that a word that is just really a normal word or a diminutive of a perfectly acceptable word can suddenly take on such an offensive meaning. I think it has a lot to do with the tone of voice with which it is said, I remember being very offended when someone made a play on my name and called me subtle....how strange I became quite annoyed - but then I must have been about 6 years old. Name calling seems such a childish thing but I believe that even in the schoolyard it should be eradicated, should be is what I said, but will it ever be? I doubt it.

 

[Marino01]

I find it incredibly disturbing that people are trying to justify this as just a joke or "highjinks" on his part. Moreover it's not the only racist term he uses on the video, opting for the rather awful "r*ghead" in another clip.

I agree. It's like saying you're able to say racist things as a joke which clearly you are not. And how can this be private if he was being filmed? What was a comarade going to go home and put it in his private collection?

Hopefully, Harry has learned from this too. I felt that he was doing a good job too.

 

[MarthaT]

It just shows his immaturity, he will grow out of that

 

[Menarue]

It just shows his immaturity, he will grow out of that

I wonder how long it is going to take?

 

[tommy1716]

Well still nothing on the Prince of WAles website so it seems to me that they are simply trying to prented its not happening.

Now Harry is attacked by his own charity over 'Paki' remark - as Gordon Brown rushes to defend him | Mail Online

Now one of Harry's own charities has "attacked him". In fairness i bet this has put some of Harry's charities in a real dilemma

 

[Al_bina]

As far as I have understood, Prince Henry's racial slur is three-years old. If it is, I wonder where the video came from and why the person, who had the video, decided to bring it to the public attention now.

 

[NotAPretender]

Well, I think this puts fully paid to the patently absurd idea that Harry is anything other than a Mountbatten-Windsor! Chip off the Duke of Edinburgh block, through and through!



And I do hope the Duke takes a hand in this, as he's the best qualified to understand the peculiar intricacies of being a relatively inadvertant yet somewhat unrepentant gaffer.

 

[Enigma]

Sorry is one of the hardest words to say, IMO.

Beyond the realms of fantasy, he cannot go back in time and unsay any of it. He has apparently apologised, he can do no more.

indeed Skydragon, what is done cannot be undone and sorry is one of the hardest words to say, but only for someone who knows what it really means...i really hope that prince harry is a fast learner, the last thing that the british royalty needs is to have a new generation of royals filling the tabloids with scandals and wrong doings...best of luck to britain, to all british royals and to you

 

[semisquare]

i have seen the video and all i have to say is thank goodness he is a royal cause he doesn't have enough sense to make a real living.remember people jmo
plus he is very silly

 

[lailaandrews]

What Harry said was racist and derogatory period. “P--i” was always used in a derogatory sense when I was growing up and calling someone a “P--i” was viewed in the same vein as calling an African-American person n--ger. I also can’t believe he allowed himself to be filmed saying this, there’s no such thing as a “private tape” when you’re in his position. He’s not some inexperienced neophyte; he was literally born into public life and should have known better, even three years ago.

Prince Harry just needs to bite the bullet and come out and apologize and I don’t mean terse written statements from some faceless palace rep, but come right out and say “I meant no harm, it was said in jest but I now realize that to many the term I used was offensive…” The media is running with the story and sensationalizing it, but they’re able to do that in part because Harry hasn’t addressed the issue in any meaningful way; he continues to hide behind the palace skirts, hoping it will all die down.

 

[Skydragon]

There has been enormous coverage across the media of Prince Harry's use of a racist slur term in a video he produced three years ago -- and appropriately so --

BBC Will and Testament | William Crawley's broadcasting diary

 

[misselle]

^In terms of looks, career path and taste in women, Harry eerily mirrors Prince Andrew who also held a similar position than him in the succession (the spare). I hope the similarity ends here and he will be able to be more successful in love and life than his uncle.

I agree,Idriel.Andrew never remarried after his divorce,which is a bit sad.I hope Harry makes a wise choice and marries well.Harry seems like a decent-enough young man who gets along with his army colleagues and I hope his army career is a successful one. Andrew had to leave his position when it became clear that he wasn't going to be promoted any further(Palace Courtires thought it embarrassing,I suppose and told Andrew to retire,which was a bit sad,to,since Andrew liked being a Navy man).I hope Harry will be able to leave his post on his own terms,after serving his country well.

And as to the video:Harry should be aware that some nicknames that can be considered derogatory should no be used.He should know that as a royal his manners and behaviour are expected to be the very best.And he should know that everything he does is scrutinized.Really,everyone shouldn't use derogatory terms to describe people,even in jest!

 

[sthreats]

I am glad he apologized. That's enough. IMO he doesn't owe an apology to the Pakinstan Army and government. That is over the top and inappropriate. But he is royal and I suppose everyone who is able to will use this to score political points.

 

[ghost_night554]

^I agree, he's apologized there's nothing more he can do what's happened has happened. I guess everyone is going to take this differently but at the end of the day there's nothing we can do to change what has happened.

Here's a quote from the Prime Minister I found, I think it was nice of him to defend Harry.

Gordon Brown says Harry's still a "role model" despite getting caught using the terms "Paki," "raghead," and "queer" on video, referring to fellow soldiers in the British army. The family of the cadet who had to endure the "Paki" comment, however, calls him a "coward."

PM Brown says Harry's apology was "genuine" and "cannot be doubted."

 

[Lilla]

I thought it was hilarious, good on him for being just one of the boys and joining in. Harry didn't take offense when asked the very last question and I don't suppose any of the other people in his platoon (if that is what they are)
took offense at his banter.
Being a video that was taken three years ago I think the media needs to find something more important to report on.

I absolutly agree Crisscross1.

I don't usually follow what Harry or William are doing. I only know about the video because it was shown in the Danish news. IMO Harry was simply being one of the boys. He made some innocent remarks, which can be interpreted as racist by "hypersensitive" people and the press in particular.

If indeed he was a racist - I am sure the tone of his voice would have been in accordance with such an attitude. It wasn't. His tone was friendly and humorous.

Actually my impression by watching the video was, that he is a charming young guy with the great skill of being capable of making his comrades laugh. IMO there is nothing wrong in that.

 

[Nitefeatherz]

I thought he would have learned his lesson from the episode with the nazi uniform....I guess not. Even if he didn't mean it in an insulting way he really should have been more careful IMO about something that could be taken out of context. In this day and age of the Internet anything can wind up where millions of people can see it. That goes for anyone not just royalty.

 

[Ella Kay]

I agree, he's apologized there's nothing more he can do what's happened has happened.

I'm not sure what he can do at this point besides sincerely apologize and then never, never do it again. We'll see, I suppose.

 

[Naggi]

I absolutly agree Crisscross1.

I don't usually follow what Harry or William are doing. I only know about the video because it was shown in the Danish news. IMO Harry was simply being one of the boys. He made some innocent remarks, which can be interpreted as racist by "hypersensitive" people and the press in particular.

If indeed he was a racist - I am sure the tone of his voice would have been in accordance with such an attitude. It wasn't. His tone was friendly and humorous.

Actually my impression by watching the video was, that he is a charming young guy with the great skill of being capable of making his comrades laugh. IMO there is nothing wrong in that.

I think you have to differenciate here: Of course you can't simply label someone as a racist only because he made a racist comment. BUT still, you can and should condemn his racist comment! And that is what - I think - the majority here does. I find it simply unacceptable of some people to underestimate the power of humorous racism. I may think that these comments come mostly from people who have never experienced racism, who were never on the other side and who never stood in the focus of such humour. Than you may think differenty. Condemming racist behaviour in all its forms has only little to do with political correctness, but more with the respect towards human beings of other nationalities, ethnical or religious backgrounds - one of the most importants visions of the UN Charter for Human Rights. Racist comments are not tolerable. You are not a racist when you do so, but you are not fun either when you do make such a comment.
Of course, Harry can play the game and be "one of the boys" whenever he wants, but not in this way! He was not charming at all, but nothing more than a silly boy (which is a real shame, because all the expensive education was for nothing). He made not a good laugh. He IS the laugh, which is a shame.