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Child Abuse, Racism Or Just A Bit Of Fun?

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anotheoldgit | 12:00 Sun 03rd Mar 2013 | News
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287320/Outrage-parents-blacked-baby-look-like-football-star-Mario-Balotelli.html

One has to question the infant's parents, but then I am no football fan, some will go to any lengths to mimic their football heroes.
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That is not nice. What were the parents thinking of?
The child even sports the footballer's slogan 'Why Always Me?'

well if he didn't the picture would be pointless as well as tasteless
Maths, Daily Mail style

Three Twitter users + one author = public outrage.

Not child abuse, racism or a bit of fun...rather its the Mail filling web space with a story which has all the elements required to increase web traffic.

It is barely news.
Harmless fun.
What a factual well researched story from the Daily Mail's master journalists.

The parents were not named. Nor where they live or even if it was in this country. We are not told when the photo was taken, whether the baby was harmed or if the authorities have been informed.

Photos of children and babies covered in food mess are quite common. It seems to amuse parents. The fact that in this instance was terribly executed does not mean it is bad.

It is unlikely the child was harmed, traumatised or came out any the worse for this prank. No itnis not racist, No it is not child abuse. It is a bit of fun if you find stupid joke photos funny (plenty do).


http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?searchterm=Child+with+messy+face&search_group=&lang=en&search_source=search_form

Question Author
Please don't turn this into an anti-Daily Mail thread, they merely reported on it, so as to inform, just as I am doing, but it still would seem some are disturbed by it.

/// Parenting expert Sue Atkins, author of Parenting Made Easy: How To Raise Happy Children, told the Sunday Mirror: 'Just looking at this picture makes me very uncomfortable, especially the fact the child is blacked up. I don't like it at all.' ///

/// A picture of the baby, who even sports the footballer's slogan 'Why Always Me?', was then posted on the Internet sparking outrage last night. The photo was retweeted 2,000 times. ///

It was also connected with the following previous similar 'accusations of racism' matter.

/// Last month a 10-year-old Leeds United fan caused outrage after he blacked up to pose with his hero El Hadji Diouf. ///

/// In January former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy 'blacked up for a festival' in Spain. ///

/// And last year Robbie Fowler tweeted a picture of himself made up like Lionel Richie. ///








Has Balliotelli complained? Did El Hadji Diouf complain? No is the answer.
It seems they have better things to do than worry about a bit of harmless though admittedly unfunny "fun"
It seems the only people offended are the usual bunch of white "liberals" who are always ready to take offence on someone elses behalf.
AOG

Who has made the link to the previous stories?

The Daily Mail.

Therefore, is it not fair to make this about the Daily Mail?

You see, what it has done is fabricated an 'outrage', to which it's readers will respond with "Why are people so touchy...this is PC gone mad" etc etc.

It is based on three Twitter posts and a comment from an author.

But in all fairness, the Daily Mail frequently tries to manufacture 'outrage' where none exists.

Remember at the beginning of January when it tried to create a story out of the Big Fat Quiz Of The Year?

Sometimes, it just doesn't work, because people can see through the ruse.

Let's wait a while to see the response from Mail readers to this non-story. I bet I know what will get the most green arrows.
What is the evidence of 'outrage', aog ? Just taking the Mail's own text, where is the supporting evidence?

Where has the idea that this is racism come from? From one woman saying that the child being made to appear black makes her uncomfortable?

Where's the evidence of child abuse, or anyone thinking it is ?

If someone wants to dress their baby like a particularly famous , very eccentric, footballer, recognised on sight,they may. If that footballer is black they'll have to make the child look black
Question Author
sp1814

And why shouldn't the Daily Mail report on the idiosyncrasies of some in their everlasting quest to attach the words racist or racism to most things, where it is not intended?
A bit of fun.
Some people need to lighten up. All to quick and easy to jump on the racist or child abuse wagons these days. This story was neither.
(in my opinion)
Question Author
FredPuli43

/// What is the evidence of 'outrage', aog ? Just taking the Mail's own text, where is the supporting evidence? ///

I may not be a follower of the Twitter site or even an expert of the said language that goes with it, so I can only assume that "Photo causes outrage on-line and retweeted 2,000 times" meant that there was 2,000 complaints on Twitter over this.

/// Where has the idea that this is racism come from? From one woman saying that the child being made to appear black makes her
uncomfortable? ///

She happened to be Parenting expert Sue Atkins, author of Parenting Made Easy: How To Raise Happy Children, so was speaking with some amount of authoritarianism.

/// Where's the evidence of child abuse, or anyone thinking it is ? ///

*** While another said: 'Parents tweeted ghastly picture of baby dressed as Mario Balotelli, this must be CHILD ABUSE.' ***

Agree with your last paragraph though.

Oh,is that the reason the DM ran this story, aog? And there was I thinking that it was part of a constant campaign by the Daily Mail to keep its readership fearful that whatever they say or do will bring them trouble, even prosecution, at the hands of the 'PC brigade'.

That's the reason it prints or reprints stories like this, and why it uses hyperbole ( "outrage", "disgust" etc) all the time
I feel sorry for the baby :-(
Aog I see the evidence in support is one person giving her personal opinion that it makes her uneasy that the child is made up as black, and one person saying this must be child abuse. That's two people, and the first doesn't sound 'outraged' at all.

Do you think, aog, that the Daily Mail uses hyperbole?
Question Author
FredPuli43

You asked "Where's the evidence of child abuse, or anyone thinking it is"?

I merely provided you with the evidence to your question, when I put,

*** While another said: 'Parents tweeted ghastly picture of baby dressed as Mario Balotelli, this must be CHILD ABUSE.' *** .

Only for you to then later admit, that one person did in actual fact say it must be child abuse

/// and one person saying this must be child abuse. ///

Please make up your mind Fred.


No AOG - that is not how Twitter works.

Just because the photo has been retweeted 2,000 does not mean that 2,000 were outraged by it. To 're-tweet' means to 'forward', in the same way that one may forward an email.

This, fundamentally, is the Daily Mail filling it's website with a fake outrage story.

Now I've had Sunday lunch, I'm going to have a look at the comments section under the story. I'm fairly certain I know what I will find as the top rated response.
Well...who would have guessed!

Either the DM moderators are off work, or the readers of the Mail have realised that this is a non-story, because after five hours...no-one has bothered commenting on this fake outrage.

I'm overjoyed to have been proven wrong.

Who knows? Perhaps the next time the Mail publishes a fake 'gay lobby' or 'unfair advantage to blacks' story, it will be met with a similar degree of apathy.

(Not holding my breath...)
Asking for your evidence is not saying there isn't any. And it amounts to what we see, that one person said it must be child abuse. I ask again, do you think that the Daily Mail uses hyperbole? And,if you agree it does, why, do you think it does ?
The poor baby looks miserable and was obviously forced to do this against its will. Social Services should have been alerted immediately!

This baby will now grow up blaming black people for its unhappy childhood and more than likely become a racist just like the parents.

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