Friday, December 23, 2011

Recently Alan Hansen got in hot water when he talked on the telly of 'coloured' footballers. When his faux pas was pointed out he apologised immediately.
A couple of black players wondered out loud what colour Mr. Hansen imagined them to be.
I don't know who wrote the following lines. They are in French and not too serious, but the sense probably comes through. If I find an English version I'll add it later. No title -

Quand je suis né, j'étais noir.
Quand j'ai grandi, j'étais noir.
Quand j'ai peur, je suis noir.
Quand je vais au soleil, je suis noir.
Quand je suis malade, je suis noir.
Quand je me blesse, je reste noir.

Tandis que toi homme blanc,
quand tu es né, tu étais rose,
quand tu as grandi, tu es devenu blanc,
quand tu vas au soleil, tu deviens rouge,
quand tu as froid, tu deviens bleu,
quand tu as peur, tu deviens vert,
quand tu es malade, tu deviens jaune,
quand tu te blesses, tu deviens violet à cet endroit

et après ça, tu m'appeles homme de couleur.

I have some sympathy for Hansen. When I was young - he too, probably - 'coloured' was the accepted term, 'black' considered in bad taste. Even since black has replaced 'coloured' I've heard black West Indians use the latter term. And the NAACP in the United States retains its original title.

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