"It's the Thing that counts..."

I cannot recall ever using those words.
I have already apologised for causing some GNs an obvious degree of incredulity for my apparent lack of 'emotional intelligence' etc but what I say is totally true.
Obviously better I avoid some threads in future.

Loopy and janerowena I'm not doubting your sincerity but I do get irritated by those who profess faux innocence/naivity and how difficult it is to keep up with current vernacular - when did people last use words such as Mongol, Spastic, Sub-normal?

Not a sport for the well-endowed then thatbags!

I find it astonishing that he didn't know that the word was no longer acceptable.

I should imagine that nipple piercings could be relevant in archery. I personally have never caught my breasts with bowstring (flat chested) but I know people who have! Ouch!

It is true. I didn't know and not only that - I have a friend in Kent who describes herself as coloured! What do you do then? She is in her 50s and a beautiful pale coffee colour, she says she doesn't want to be 'black'! I only knew that some people used black, and others used coloured. I thought the americans preferred black, that was all, and that is had perhaps been adopted by the youth culture purely because they liked all things American.

Thank you Anya ^i do think some people who have not worked in certain jobs, environments, been out in the world much, read certain books, etc. may well have missed out on an understanding of what is acceotable and what isn't. This isn't a reflection on them as such, it's more a case of 'you don't know what it is you don't know'.
I was unaware and I now stand corrected, apologies to all who find this incredible however it is true.

Body piercings?

Bags I really can't see why you're even mentioning H&S questions for archery students in relation to someone being asked how long they've been a cripple!

That link reinforces my point Bags

Even Liddle says

And it is true that the term ‘coloured’ has been a little de trop for the past 25 years

As an archery coach, GT, I have to ask people directly if they have any disabilities, long or short-term injuries, body piercings, etc that might have a bearing on how I coach them in archery. This is so that everyone is accommodated properly.

Body piercings are relevant. If you have pierced nipples, for instance, I'd strongly advise you to wear a chest guard when shooting.

Just saying because I think there clearly are cupircumstances when it is allright for a stranger to ask someone about disabilities or anything that might affect their ability to do whatever it is, or the coach's ability to teach them.

I agree that Cumberbatch was probably brought up in an environment where white people thought themselves a bit above the hoy palloy. We don't know Benedict Cumberbatch, just what he wants us to see. He was not being deliberately offensive, it is obviously just how he has been brought up.

I'm with jings agsin - I am completely underwhelmed by Nick Cohen and his journalistic endeavours. Whenever I read him I find him slight, full of non sequiturs and populist.

Oh well. Or something similar.

Sorry, he not...

oh, never mind.

I meant you attacking Cohen, jings, as if that had anything to do with it.

Rod Liddle's take.

Elegran - you present two options - averting a disabled person's eyes or asking personal questions about their disability. I am suggesting a third way ( and the right way) - treat a disabled person as anyone else when engaging in general chat. i know there are people who feel lessened because of their disability - but for me that only would happen if I were treated differently because of it ( when not appropriate or relevant). Anyway, no point in continuing this discussion - I won't shift from my position that it is totally wrong for someone I dont know, or have just met, to ask me about my disability.

It wasn't just 'no coloureds, no dogs' on the boarding house windows. My parents came over from Ireland after the war and according to them, the signs read 'no coloureds, no Irish, no dogs'.

Do you mean attacking you or him? (need to know to carry on with this thrilling argument )

That's right, jings, attack the person not the issue. Way to go

Oh! And he's got one book. Pretty straight guys. Sounds riveting.

"Nick Cohen
Journalist
Nick Cohen is an English journalist, author and political commentator. He is a columnist for The Observer, a blogger for The Spectator and TV critic for Standpoint magazine. He has written for the London Evening Standard and the New Statesman."

Wow!

Why not 'black actors', like everyone else in this country now?

* Riverwalk's* question 'where have you been?' is a very interesting one and very pertinent to this issue.

i do think some people who have not worked in certain jobs, environments, been out in the world much, read certain books, etc. may well have missed out on an understanding of what is acceotable and what isn't. This isn't a reflection on them as such, it's more a case of 'you don't know what it is you don't know'.

Certainly since I retired I rely on my children, TV, radio, reading and even GN more and more to keep me up to date with certain issues. This thread has raised an issue that some people were unaware of. Well that's progress.