Time To Drop The "bomber" Chris?

[Sir Jasper 192]

Yes we had a thread about this after the first gp of this year.

[Grachan 7,362]

Here we go the PC Brigade are here. 

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Hee hee! Welcome to the club, Steve.

[saltwellsheathen 0]

In these times of political corretness, is it time for Chris Harris to drop his nickname?

 

The final GP this year is in Germany, and I am sure many Germans still have memories of the tactics used by Bomber Harris in the second world war. Carpet bombing of cities, causing fire storms and the deaths of thousands of women and children.

 

Whilst in this country Bomber Harris is a popular wartime figure, using the same strategy oday would surely see him up for war crimes.

 

Imagine if there was a German rider called Herman "SS" Himmler?

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hows about "poole" dropping the name "pirates" ??? 1000,s of innocent sailors have lost there lives over the years to marauding murdering pirates ??

 

or is that different ?

[usineC 0]

While I quite agree that politically correct objections to certain language/symbols can very quickly veer towards the absurd, there are broader considerations on this topic that deserves a degree of concern over and above the appearance of the apparent jingoistic bigotry straining to gush forth on this thread from the anti-political correctness brigade.

 

The earlier, somewhat sarcastic, point that suggested banning the nickname 'Pirates' for politically correct reasons, quite effectively illustrated how absurd the pc debate can be. The same could equally apply to, say, the nickname Vikings, for all the violence popularly associated with those northern 'brutes' (just forget about the fantastic art they brought with them, eh!), though if you've ever had a saturday night out in Hull city centre you'd know that never was a speedway team more appropriately named!!

 

Yet, while the posting above states that it's only the speedway community that is aware of the more politically in-correct nicknames (in this thread's case, Bomber Harris) and therefore doesn't really matter, we ought to be conscious that speedway does not exist entirely in some sort of cultural bubble.

 

For example, I recently introduced two brand new people to speedway who have a wide range of interests, both are humorous and well educated. The meeting happened to involve Somerset and they were both absolutely flabbergasted by their Rebels nickname and at how proudly the fans brandished their confederate flags. Cultural symbols do matter and my companions were left wondering just what kind of people would so happily associate themselves with such a strong symbol of southern slavery and the KKK? They're aware of Bristol's history of participation in the slave trade but just how big is the Klan's presence in the west country these days, they wondered?

 

During an initial period of discomfort, and extended period of p***taking, I could only reply that those people waving that flag would be speedway people who really didn't give a toss about the world beyond the fourth bend. Sorry to say, but that didn't sound like much of a mitigation to them!

 

Anyway, you'll all be glad to know that these two debutants thought the speedway was thrilling, but whether they'll decide to venture back into our cosy little cultural bubble remains to be seen!

 

Would it matter if they didn't return, anyway? Well, a speedway club that represents a city with quite a high number of young people from a different cultural background, Oxford, has just gone belly-up, so perhaps the image that speedway projects does matter, after all!!

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Oh yeah, and weren't Oxford once the Rebels too, following White City's demise?

Do you think Bill Clinton may have attended Sandy Lane while he was studying there? Could've made him unelectable, eh!

[saltwellsheathen 0]

sorry folks, that will teach me to read the whole thread before posting

[21st century heathen 220]

If this is all you've got Steve perhaps it's time for you to hang up the keyboard?

[Silver Bee 57]

A tad over the top there!   

 

Only amongst the speedway community is his name known!  No-one else would have a clue who he is, what he does or anything else!

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Bet you think Loram is a British sporting hero though

[Tipsy_McStagger 3]

Bet you think Loram is a British sporting hero though 

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Jason Crump is though, being the only British born world speedway champion of the last 15 years.

[SuzieQ 0]

Bet you think Loram is a British sporting hero though 

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Actually No!

 

Mark is my hero , but again outside of speedway circles no-one knows the name!

[shazzybird 10]

Jason Crump is though, being the only British born world speedway champion of the last 15 years. 

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Oh dear here we go again! Mark was born in the British Military Hospital in Malta which does actually make him ours

[Chris-P 18]

In these times of political corretness, is it time for Chris Harris to drop his nickname?

 

The final GP this year is in Germany, and I am sure many Germans still have memories of the tactics used by Bomber Harris in the second world war. Carpet bombing of cities, causing fire storms and the deaths of thousands of women and children.

 

Whilst in this country Bomber Harris is a popular wartime figure, using the same strategy oday would surely see him up for war crimes.

 

Imagine if there was a German rider called Herman "SS" Himmler?

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I cant be assed to read every single post on this thread, But my opinion is,..,

Germanys equivelant to Bomber Harris from the war days would probably be The Red Barron...............

If there was a german speedway rider called Hans "Red Barron" Shmidt !

I for one wouldnt be offended,........would anyone else ??

[Sam Kant from Preston 0]

If there was a german speedway rider called  Hans "Red Barron" Shmidt !

I for one wouldnt be offended,........would anyone else ??

 

I would. Shmidt rhyms with rubbish.

[paulr 0]

Hey! If the Germans can send their football team over here, as they did in 1966, each and every one with their Helmut Schoen, who are they to complain about our Bomber?

 

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Excellent !!

[comebackkings 113]

I cant be assed to read every single post on this thread, But my opinion is,..,

Germanys equivelant to Bomber Harris from the war days would probably be The Red Barron...............

If there was a german speedway rider called  Hans "Red Barron" Shmidt !

I for one wouldnt be offended,........would anyone else ??

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Robbie Kessler uses a Red baron symbol, and he is of Germanic decent.

[Chris-P 18]

I would. Shmidt rhyms with rubbish.

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A very adult & mature reply indeed !