Prince Harry, The Paki And The Raghead
THE News of The World says Prince Harry three years ago did call a person a “paki” and referred to others as “ragheads.”
St. James’s Palace says Prince Harry did not intend much by it - it being him joshing about.
Here’s the round-up. And - get his - Harry is now Jade Goody…
Is he racist?
NOTW:
The soldier prince pours shame on the Royal Family as he calls an Asian squaddie “our little Paki friend” and tells another officer cadet jokingly wearing a camouflage veil off duty: “F*** me, you look like a raghead”—an offensive term for an Arab.
The shocking comment came during an Army training course - and was captured on film taken by Harry HIMSELF.
DAILY MAIL - context:
Celebrity Big Brother was rocked by a race row in 2007 when the housemates, including Jade Goody and her then boyfriend Jack Tweed, sang racist rhymes alluding to the word ‘Paki’. Their fellow housemate was the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.
The trainee officer - identified as “Ahmed” - was unaware of the racist comment as officer cadets made the recording, it added.
Racist? Fool? Soldier? All three?
Prince Harry Plays At Tabloid Soldiers: Matt Drudge Reads New Ideas
Front-page image: The Spine
Posted: 10th, January 2009 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts Comments (30) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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January 11th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
..and war can wait till tomorrow
January 11th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Its been the lead on all the news reports today Cheryl, but then the weather has warmed up and the gritting lorries put away…
January 11th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Percy, I’m not making excuses for a “Prince” at all, I was talking about a soldier talking amongst his comrades! You ever been around military men and hear how they talk to each other? Percy, but I’ve heard comrades call each other names good naturedly, that we wouldn’t say, and no one took offense. Prince Harry went over to be a soldier NOT a Prince and do you think he insisted men call him Prince Harry - wager you not many addressed him as Prince Harry. He wanted to be one of them — not a Prince just a soldier.
Yes, I am vehemently against racist names used when speaking derogatory and down to a person or about a person in a nasty mean way but that isn’t how the story came across to me in how Prince Harry was talking.
The public and papers couldn’t get charges pressed against Prince Edward for alleged dog cruelty the other week. Now this week is Prince Harry’s turn to be held to the fire for something he said three years ago. Who next? Any worthwhile scandals coming up about the rest of the Royalty we can all stay tuned for?
January 11th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Percy Stilton
I am not making excuses for a prince,*** edited speculation***
I am merely observing that all this hoo-hah is total nonsense, retrieved from the closet by the NOTW to sell a few of their firelighters. And three years on it has had the desired effect - on the idiots who have responded to it.
Next week, another royal revelation. —– When he was a baby, Prince Harry shit in his nappy, forcing the immortal and divine and sainted Diana to clean it up and LSO to clean him. Shock ! Horror ! End of civilisation as we know it, and certainly the end of the Royal Family
.
Such is the power of the press !!!
(Just as an aside, do you know anyone who has EVER bought a copy of NOTW. We have all unfortunately read one, once, but who actually BUYS it? )
January 11th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
..to put it unpolitely…in dog soldier slang…and not to be taken personally…Cheryl & peterMac …You make piss-poor excuses for a prince
January 11th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Cheryl…your royal apology is a poor apology for a royal apology
January 11th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
and I can give you a few reasons why this story has broke in NOWT.. and also as to why now…but I won’t. Needless to say that this will be blown away & brushed under the Axminster just as soon as..
January 11th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
…and excuses
January 11th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Oh Cheryl, what twaddle … I really did expect that outpouring of admiration for the ordinary dog soldier & popular prince that is Harry. ..just not from you. Non of what you have just said is relevant or in context with what said who said what . You are totally out of context.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
He said this THREE YEARS AGO and now someone who knew decides to expose it to get publicity for themselves and cause embarrassment for Prince Harry and as much public outcry as they could; the newspapers have to print their self-righteous headlines worldwide; and nation-wide TV stations, I might add, had to have that for their lead story I had to wake up to this morning!
My favourite Royal of all the Royalty who has had the balls to be just an ‘individual’ than any of the others ever had, now getting the piss for being a soldier and talking off handed like any soldier does when among their comrades.
January 11th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
..anyway now we have finished with Paki…what of the use of Ragheads by Royalty? ..and what of the charming & chivalrous Harry , an officer & a gentleman and a privileged prince to boot, what has 3 years on made of him? or 3 centuries? ….and Ahmed? probably Head of the Ahmed forces by now?…but never a King
January 11th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
…but not in this context
January 11th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
..your argument is hardly dis ahming …imho
January 11th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
…and citing the NOWT in this context is pushing it a bit by anyones standards…its a dirty job but someone has to do it…even 3 news years old is news of the world..happy new year PM may you get a knighthood for your chivalrous defense of Royalty & the word Paki
January 11th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Wiki is using the word Paki correctly….now lets see what Wiki has to say about Harry
January 11th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Pakistan is a country. It is the homeland of the “Paki” people, a name the founding fathers chose for themselves in 1934, (Wikipedia has a good entry and explanation for people who don’t yet understand), just as Baluchi-stan is the home of the Baluchis, Afghani-stan of the Afghans, Uzbechi-stan of the Uzbechis and so on and boringly on.
To refer to someone as ‘a Pakistani’ is like saying that someone is a Scotland-er, or a Finland-er.
If people wish to take offence at it, then fair enough. Though it is interesting how many of the so called ‘offended’ people are do-gooder Politically Correct thought-police Brits. Black people have changed their preferred offence-word so many times in the last 20 years that we have all lost track. Black, Negro, Negroid, person-of-colour, Afro-caribbean, African-caribbean, IC3, and now back to black again. I suspect that will change again the the next few years.
But a video of something done 3 years ago is really pushing it a bit, even by NOTW standards
January 11th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Ahmed & Extremely Dangerous…sorry I could not resist
January 11th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I trust that “Ahmed”, which is a good name for a soldier, is a true officer ..and a gentlerman , so he will not take offence and be taking this any further…if he wants to further his career…and curry favour with Royalty
January 11th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Calling someone a brit instead of british could also be offensive.
On the news I have heard several foriegn gentlemen demanding an apology from prince harry, most of them have made derogatory statements regarding his intelligence.
Surely you cannot expect an apology for something with another insult.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
…that is to you Anorak, by the way
January 11th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
…but in this context, I agree, Harry’s use of Paki is abusive or my names not Ahmed.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
….I disagree, Paki can be anything you want it to be.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Another storm in a teacup
January 11th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I am from Scotland and referred to as a Scot so therefore what is derogatory about calling someone from Pakistan a Paki - I just don’t see it. Do Australians consider being called an Aussie derogatory?
Also why is it that if a Pakistani person calls another Pakistani person a Paki it is ok but if I do it it is wrong - double standards I think! I think this is what has happened with Harry - he referred to a friend as a Paki but because Harry is white it is wrong! I think that in this country the term racist is over used and misused and should be replaced by the word bullying - then the context would also be taken in to consideration.
The term Paki is also used in the west of Scotland to refer to a shop owned by a person of Pakistani descent eg “I will just pop out to the Pakis for some milk”. In the same way as going to a Chinese restaurant for a meal is known as “going out to the Chinky” or on being asked what a person ate last night they may reply “I had a Chinky” None of these terms are derogatory although I do accept that they are sometimes/often used in a derogatory and bullying context but that can also apply to many words and expressions in the English language so the context has to be considered.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Peter Mac - C’mom, Paki is a term of abuse.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Prince Harry for King!!
January 11th, 2009 at 9:54 am
But ‘Paki’ is the name they chose for themselves, being the initial letters of the areas from which they wanted to create their new country.
Pujab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan.
They fought and died for their separate identity, and were once proud to be ‘Pakis’. Why do they now see the word as an insult ?
January 11th, 2009 at 7:47 am
1 - Abuse of the Irish and Welsh can be racist. Of course it can. And Saquib - the only victim is Ahmed; it is up to him to say if he was abused. Only he can provide context…
January 11th, 2009 at 2:50 am
Sorry Freda, being Welsh isn’t really a separate ‘race’ is it? And besides, it’s down to the individual or group of people the term is aimed at to decide whether or not it’s offensive (in this case people like myself). Not others who enjoy sticking their oar in with comments which have absolutely nothing to do with the original talking point.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:24 am
I am a scouser, have both Welsh and Irish relatives. Are you going to take the nicknames I endure to Trevor Phillips? Think I might not be on his agenda, especially as he could not earn a lot if a public enquiry was denied!