“The Enemy” (And The Associated Baggage Of Humanity…) January 12, 2009
Posted by bensix in Uncategorized.trackback
The reaction of Prince Henry of Wales, upon seeing a fellow soldier whose head was covered by a cloth…
“Fuck me! You look like a raghead!”
Such wit, such perceptiveness; surely this man is the right, er, “choice” to represent us all.
Thankfully, a Spokesman was there to sort out the confusion…
“Prince Harry used the term ‘rag-head’ to mean Taliban or Iraqi insurgent.”
So, he looked at someone whose dress vaguely resembled that of an Arabic guy and thought “lolz, da enemy“.
Except that such headwear isn’t conveniently unique to the Taliban and the Iraqi insurgency; it’s associated with the Middle East, and those two “enemies” only by extension. Before he’d even entered conflict, the dumb Prince was generalising his perceptions of the supposed opposition.
Along with “japs” and “gooks”, terms like “raghead” stereotype, demean and dehumanise whole peoples, helping soldiers, states and onlookers to value some lives over others…
Merry Christmas.
Prince Harry being a tit is a given, but that doesn’t mean that using ‘offensive language’ in the context of a war is a bad thing.
It isn’t cricket, it’s war and if I’d been shot at all day or lost friends to the Taliban, the very least I’d call them is ragheads or Pakis.
Just a thought…