Posted on 02/07/2008 12:10:59 PM PST by Morgana
A story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale has been turned down by a government agency's awards panel as the subject matter could offend Muslims.
The digital book, re-telling the classic story, was rejected by judges who warned that "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".
Becta, the government's educational technology agency, is a leading partner in the annual Bett Award for schools.
The judges also attacked Three Little Cowboy Builders for offending builders.
The book's creative director, Anne Curtis, said the idea that including pigs in a story could be interpreted as racism was "like a slap in the face".
'Cultural issues'
The CD-Rom digital version of the traditional story of the three little pigs, called Three Little Cowboy Builders, is aimed at primary school children.
But judges at this year's Bett Award said that they had "concerns about the Asian community and the use of pigs raises cultural issues".
The Three Little Cowboy Builders has already been a prize winner at the recent Education Resource Award - but its Newcastle-based publishers, Shoo-fly, were turned down by the Bett Award panel.
The feedback from the judges explaining why they had rejected the CD-Rom highlighted that they "could not recommend this product to the Muslim community".
They also warned that the story might "alienate parts of the workforce (building trade)".
The judges criticised the stereotyping in the story of the unfortunate pigs: "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?"
Animal Farm?
Ms Curtis said that rather than preventing the spread of racism, such an attitude was likely to inflame ill-feeling. As another example, she says would that mean that secondary schools could not teach Animal Farm because it features pigs?
Her company is committed to an ethical approach to business and its products promote a message of mutual respect, she says - and banning such traditional stories will "close minds rather than open them".
Becta, the government funded agency responsible for technology in schools and colleges, says that it is standing by the judges' verdict.
"Becta with its partners is responsible for the judging criteria against which the 70 independent judges, mostly practising teachers, comment. All the partners stick by the judging criteria," said a Becta spokesman.
The reason that this product was not shortlisted was because "it failed to reach the required standard across a number of criteria", said the spokesman.
Becta runs the awards with the Besa trade association and show organisers, Emap Education.
Merlin John, author of an educational technology website which highlighted the story, warns that such rulings can undermine the credibility of the awards.
"When benchmarks are undermined by pedestrian and pedantic tick lists, and by inflexible, unhelpful processes, it can tarnish the achievements of even the most worthy winners.
"It's time for a rethink, and for Becta to listen to the criticisms that have been ignored for a number of years," said Mr John.
They can't be serious can they???
Deadly serious.......
Muslims are pushing the envelope to see what they can get away with. Evidently, the Brits aren’t as tough as I remember them. Let them come over here and I’ll read that story to them whether they like it or not.
Hows about replacing the pig faces with that of M*****ed? Might as well really p*ss them off. Besides, the substitution is fitting....oops, not fitting. After all, one of the three pigs had a measurable IQ.
Why were people never afraid of offending the Jewish Community with stories about anthropomorphic pigs?
Sorry you will have to explain that one to me. I have not heard that one.
Such as the 3 little pigs.
The pig, in its natural state, is a filthy animal.
But when cooked over a slow roasting fire at 350 degrees, and covered in BBQ rub and BBQ sauce, is a delicious animal.
let’s not get off the point here.
The three little pigs is a story of three pigs who build houses. It is a story to teach kids the right way to build a house. There is a moral clause here. The fact that the story is about pigs means nothing except that the author liked pigs and was trying to entertain children as well as teach them a moral!!
These muslims are trying their best to F*** up a cute story and impose THEIR religion on us!!! If they do not like pigs DON’T READ THE STORY!!
And you know what??? I hope they build their house out of STRAW!!!!
It’s not only art/media that Muslims may object to that is being censored. In the US you can no longer read “Little Black Sambo,” and try to find a copy of Disney’s “Song of the South.”
You took the words right out of my mouth.
The pig, in its natural state, is a filthy animal.
But when cooked over a slow roasting fire at 350 degrees, and covered in BBQ rub and BBQ sauce, is a delicious animal.
Well that and the Vet. needs to give them some drugs to get a lot of diseases out!!!
You are right however....I love bacon!!!
The Pig is the Jewish Community’s best friend!!! When you have pigs around you will not have Muslims!!!
There has been a general downgrading of common sense in England over many years now. It is based on an overabundance of tolerance for both intolerant and irrational ideas.
At the personal level, it teaches the belligerent, bullying, arrogant, and unyielding that they will always get their way if they stubbornly insist on it and browbeat others to accept their aggressive ideas.
It is the same technique used by Hitler successfully against Chamberlain: demand until your opponent gives you what you want, then increase your demands, correctly seeing their endless efforts to “meet you halfway”, as spinelessness on their part.
Historically, it is just the opposite from how England used to behave, before their decline. England, behaving as an arrogant empire, in its later years was able to do much good and extend its better qualities to parts of its realm that it had once just exploited. It truly helped many millions of its previous colonial subjects in establishing themselves as more modern states, instead of the being totally primitive.
It was able to do this because it still believed in the values that made it strong. Values such as democracy, Common Law, justice for all, and the superiority of these ways over their alternatives. They also saw the importance of doing things the English way to maintaining this goodness.
But with World War I, when much of their upper classes were wiped out, yet the weak and ineffectual remained, and a similar, if less dramatic cull after World War II, there was little or no strength of character left, compared to the burgeoning numbers of the craven and corrupt.
And, simply put, the English lost the ability to tell the belligerent, bullying, arrogant, and unyielding that their ideas were wrong, unacceptable, and unfair. So these people have since that time done their level best to tear down the rot that is England.
It is natural selection. If the English will not stand up for themselves and their posterity, then others will take their lands and their future, and make them their own. And England will cease to be, and what remains of the English will either leave or die out.
Which, for many of the English, is an acceptable and fitting end to their kind, so great is their self-loathing.
Ironically, there are many in the US who feel the same way about America.
The best way to deal with these types of organizations is to announce that:
1. You will no longer be submitting materials for their evaluation and approval.
2. You will no longer consider their evaluations authoritative.
3. You will no longer be paying fees to support their work.
Then set up rival organizations that will do the evaluations minus all the PC interpretations/nonsense. Let these self-appointed gatekeepers face some competition.
And then stand WAY back and let the marketplace do its thing.
Do you think they offended us when they took down the WTC? Do you think England was offended when they blew up a bus and a subway? Do you think Spain was offended when they blew up a commuter train? Gosh, I guess we’d better roll over and give those people what they want - G-d forbid we offend them .....
They are required to conduct war, jihad, until the whole world is muslim or dhimmi.
But, if they can use our own PC “tolerance” against us without having to risk violence, they’re going to do that first.
They will push and push and push and get what they can until we resist, then the violence starts.
We have to decide at what point that violence should start.
I keep thinking - if you substitute Japan for Islam during WWII what would have been the consequences? Idle thoughts .... these people want to kill us and our politicians and those who have a voice don’t realize that ....
...ps .... then too, when will it happen when stores like Safeway, etc, will be required to hide pork products and cover their alcohol displays .... in America?????? I think there would be a backlash like you wouldn’t believe .....
..ps .... then too, when will it happen when stores like Safeway, etc, will be required to hide pork products and cover their alcohol displays .... in America?????? I think there would be a backlash like you wouldn’t believe .....
Yea!! We will keep the pork rinds and booze and kick out the muzzies!!!!!!!
I do believe they are!
In any event, I spent the '70s as a "cowboy builder" - whom do I sue for the non-porcine tortious insult?!?
Mmmmmm, bacon ......
Jules is that you?!
Not in 15 years you won’t. It’ll be forbidden here too.
That’s assuming the trend continues indefinitely. Pendulums sometimes do snap back.
Do you travel to large cities much? How many cabs or limos do you take in the average week? Try going to Chicago, Boston, Miami, LA or New York and finding a cab driver who was born here.
In my experiences, Kennedy has made it almost impossible to rent a limo driven by a native American these days.
But the mohammedans like the one about “as I was going to St.Ives I met a man with seven wives,” makes them feel so culturally appreciated.
No, we are not as tough.
But we arent quite pussies yet.
Oh, Jeez, imagine what they will think of Jakers and Piggly Winks./Just Asking - seoul62........
I am partial to Plumrose and Hormel Black Label, well done - yummy, underdone - ughhhh./Just Asking - seoul62........
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