Pike but not Pikey

THE TROUBLE WITH  Political Correctness, apart from its inherent evil, is that it can become comic by targeting one of its own disciples for the twitter treatment.

            

           There he was, Jack Dromey MP, the husband of Hattie Harperson and a solid campaigner and fighter against racism, being accused of the very thing he abhorred. He was going about his duties as an MP, on this occasion visiting the Erdington Royal Mail Sorting Office, when he was introduced to 'pikey', an employee at the sorting office whose nickname was given him by his fellow workers, and based upon the Dad's Army character.

            

            Pikey, as you know is one of those words outlawed in the lexicon of political correctness (Multiculturalism's Little Black Book). Pikey is a derogatory reference to Irish travellers, and has been seen as racist since 2007, when Mr Dromey's wife was part of the government that introduced the legislation banning all derogatory references to minority cultures. Poor old Jack new this of course but naively believed that when it came to political correctness, context would have a role to play.

            

             But no such thing. Since he in all innocence twittered that hated word; he has received what the PC evangelists considers his due punishment on twitter…although those twitters quoted in the Daily Mail sound like good and sound Conservatives being ironical. For example 'Hammy Wheel', who posted: ‘Disgraceful incitement to racial hatred there? “Pikey” is a horrid thing to call anyone. Expect a knock on your door from Plod.’ Or Guy Birchall: ‘Worse than calling a policeman a pleb. Disgustingly insulting behavior!’ While Melinda Scott was brief: ‘Raaaaaaaaaaaacist’.

            

             At least Dromey responded to the criticism with humor: ‘Don’t panic, Mr Mainwaring. This morning’s meeting was with Gareth, a Postie nicknamed after Corporal Pike from Dad’s Army.’ Dromey can now at least tell his wife how ridicules political correctness has become. Political correctness was a concept once feared, but more and more people no longer care about being called racist, if, for instance, the following example falls fowl of this invidious concept.

BENJAMIN DENNEHY who represents Ealing's Hanger Hill Ward and was a onetime member of the Conservative Party, and is now a member of Ukip, has been asked to make an apology by Ealing Council's Standards Committee which he rightly refuses to do. His crime was to draw the public's attention to Southall's Indian community that he claims: "harbours and exploits their own people in squalid third world living conditions".           

            

           He has been accused of making "inappropriate and provocative" comments about Southall's Indian community[and he] is asking a top judge to uphold his human right to "shock and disturb".

            

           Councillor Dennehy launched a judicial review challenge to the Standards Committee, and is now awaiting judicial its verdict.

            

           His removal from the 'Conservative' Party was based upon his observations of Southall's Indian community . His party cared little about the accuracy of such observations; only that his comments would be perceived as racist and reinvigorate the 'Nasty Party' image that, for instance, the ring-fencing of oversees aid has sought to help relinquish.

            

            So the Party treated him as a leaper and exiled him from their no doubt thoroughly decent  society.  I take it that when Mr Dennehy accuses parts of the Indian community harbouring and exploiting their fellow Indians in "squalid third world living conditions"; he is referring to the sheds many members of Southall's Indian community, have had constructed at the rear of their properties to overpopulate and overcharge for the privilege of being shacked up in these human sardine tins.

            

            What should have happened was for these awful sheds to be investigated by the media. They should have been the main item on every British News channel and made the headlines in every newspaper. Instead, the messenger is deemed a racist for "slurring" the community - a community that needed slurring; but as has happened on countless occasions the messenger has been shot.

            

             Do you remember how the police and social services in Rochdale ignored the sexual abuses, including rape, carried out on young girls who were once held in care, and now being prowled upon by a cartel of Pakistanis who preyed on them freely without fear of being arrested by the police, or investigated by social services, despite knowledge of what was happening; and why? For fear of upsetting the Pakistani community.

WHAT JACK DROMEY failed to do, was not realise that there is no acceptable context for a politically incorrect word. He should have paid closer attention to his wife Hattie's strictures on the subject before he entered parliament - after all; ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it.

            

             Pikey, Paki, Nigger, Sambo, Wog, etcetera…are all now outlawed. You can say fuck and cunt as much as you like on stage, as far as our modern "edgy" comedians are concerned; indeed, the more frequently they use such references in their acts the greater the laughter it seems to ignite from within their audiences: and for one modern comedian, he goes as far as using "Mong", to describe someone with Down's Syndrome, which is insulting on two levels. Firstly for those suffering from Downs; but also by insulting to the Mongolian people, from which Mongol, was once the common usage to describe those with Downs some 50 years ago when we knew little better; and the "comedian", who uses it today, cares little anyway.  

            

             We are entering, not for the first time in human history, the outlawing of words, phrases, and all expression that does not fit neatly into a modern paradigm. In an autocratic or totalitarian society, it would be seen as understandable if not forgivable. But in a democratic society, it is neither understandable - and certainly not forgiveable.

            

              I am no friend, ideologically speaking, of Jack Dromey, and certainly I despise all that, politically speaking, he and his beloved wife stands for. But all Jack was doing was doing was introducing himself at the Erdington Royal Mail Sorting Office, to an employee who had the nickname Pikey, christened him, for whatever reason, by his work mates based upon the character in Dad's Army.

IN ALMOST ANY workplace in the land, nicknames flourish among the various workforces, and are usually based upon characters found on television, such as in Dad's Army. I once, in my youth, worked in a amusement arcade. We had one employee whose name was Ray; but was christened Charlie, after Charlie George, the Arsenal footballer. We did so because of his shoulder length hair and face, reminded us of the great man.

              

            The staff at Erdington Royal Mail Sorting Office, no doubt, have a good and comical reason for christening Gareth Martin "Pikey", and, no doubt, he was introduced as such to Jack Dromey; and Mr Dromey, being a man of the working class went along with Mr Martin's moniker - for this is all it was.

            

             Now perhaps Jack and his wife will begin to realise the dangers of confiscating words from usage, and threatening imprisonment for persistent offenders. Mr Dromey's treatment by the media and the Twits is just plain silly: but the only way political correctness can be brought to book, is if its authors and supporters are made an example of whenever they fall foul of its bizarre practices - however innocently.