Baa Ba Black sheep being changed due to racism

[elvor0]

The one thing we havent thought of: Rainbow sheep is offensive to gay people. Ban that
disgusting filth!

Seriously, is it that big a deal? If they want to change it, just to be sure no one's offended, is that really worth getting up in arms about? Okay, so yeah, maybe the whole thing shouldn't have been a big deal to start with, but if they want to change it, who gives a fuck? Was Baa Ba Black Sheep such a large part of anyone's childhood that its lyrics being changed will be a crushing blow against their very soul? I mean, I don't know about you guys, but even when I was a kid I thought baa ba black sheep was stupid, so if they want to change it to make it even stupider, it doesn't bother me at all.

It's more the precident than anything else, making something racist when it blatently isnt just serves to ingrain the notion of racism more, I'm sure there's not a single person alive (aside from the people in PC committie) that thought that black sheep was/is racist in the slightest, which is why it annoys people. PC is finding offense where there isnt any, which is what pisses people off.

 

[Mcface]

Its the UK, the same place with cctv cameras on every street, are we really surprised?

 

[BlindMessiah94]

That's nothing, the real words to Eenie Meenie Miney Moe are much worse....hint...it's not catch a "tiger" by the toe.

 

[Mr.Numbers]

And Australia, and moving into Europe

They've changed "Couldn't put humpty together again" to "Made humpty happy again" as well.

I think I speak for humanity when I say: WTF?

 

[dan-bri]

I heard about this ages ago, roughly the same time "brain-storm" became "thought shower"

apparently brain storm is offence to epileptic people or something

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

NO 'THEY' DIDN'T

Seriously, I've argued this now three times.

My sources from the last time I did this

Spoiler

The story as originally reported by the Daily Mail, from which the Times took it as fact.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-379114/Baa-baa-rainbow-sheep.html

Question resolved on Yahoo answers
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090205071959AATdHEg

Source from link on Yahoo answers, including the full story, all the versions they now sing and the real reasons for the change. From the BBC Education section specifically.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4782856.stm

A discussion forum for Foundation Stage teachers, this was where my mother first picked up the information required when asked about it by her students.
http://www.foundation-stage.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=14939

A wikipedia article on the phenomenon, which includes this story specifically, and a whole host more links debunking the claim, and showing where it came from in the Daily Mail as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loony_left#Baa_Baa_White_Sheep

Quote from the appropriate section of the Wikipedia article.
'The "Baa Baa White Sheep" story was a wholesale fabrication

It is literally right wing propaganda against the 'loony left' put forward by the Daily Mail as a complete fabrication in order to make people overreact to the idea of political correctness. The only reason people may use rainbow sheep, along with white sheep, yellow sheep, blue sheep and every colour you can name, is because they want the children to learn mroe than simple rhyming patterns, adding in colour understanding and changes in rhythm to the original poem.

THIS IS COMPLETE BULLSHIT AND HAS BEEN FOR TWENTY YEARS, I can't believe people still believe this.

snip.

 

[ace_of_something]

rainbow sheep? That's really stupid sounding. Why not 'big sheep' or something rainbow has too many syllables and ruins the melody.

I don't really care about them taking out the black. It's not like it had some deep cultural meaning or spoke to a history of some peoples. It's just one of the two colors sheep come in.

Still rainbow sheep sounds wordy.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

you Yanks probably haven't heard of it though is the problem.

Now I KNOW you be trollin'.

The source you're looking for:

A controversy emerged over changing the language of 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' in Britain from 1986, because, it was alleged in the popular press, it was seen as racially dubious. This was, as Curran, Pently and Gaber indicate, based only on a rewriting of the rhyme in one private nursery as an exercise for the children there and not on any local government policy.[4] A similar controversy emerged in 1999 when reservations about the rhyme were submitted to Birmingham City Council by a working group on racism in children's resources, which were never approved or implemented.[5] Two private nurseries in Oxfordshire in 2006 altered the song to "Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep", with black being replaced with a variety of other adjectives, like "happy, sad, hopping" and "pink".[6] Commentators have asserted that these controversies have been exaggerated or distorted by some elements of the press as part of a more general campaign for political correctness.[4]

Seriously...that's almost older than I am.

 

[Mangod]

And Australia, and moving into Europe

They've changed "Couldn't put humpty together again" to "Made humpty happy again" as well.

I think I speak for humanity when I say: WTF?

... how the hell is Humpty Dumpty politically incorrect?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I heard about this ages ago, roughly the same time "brain-storm" became "thought shower"

apparently brain storm is offence to epileptic people or something

Again:

Some governmental organisations (The Welsh Development Agency and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Belfast) have reached the conclusion that the term 'brainstorming' is offensive to people with epilepsy[15] (see political correctness) and have suggested the alternative "thought-showers". However, research by the National Society for Epilepsy found of those affected by epilepsy questioned, 93% considered the term inoffensive. A specific comment states that changes need not be made since that could promote an undesirable image of epileptics being easily offended[15].

As an epiletic, nah, keep on going, you neutral-chargers.

Noddy/ Ten Little Indians (which has now been changed twice due to Indian becoming offensive) just show a different time, with different standards. Lots of these "changes" though are just Councillors trying to show a caring side and then getting blow out of all proportion by the tabloids.


Seriously, Google something or at least Snopes it.

 

[Mr.Numbers]

*SNIP* Sorry, root, just got your last message.

And whilst there is a level of caring, there is also a degree of no-one asking the supposed offended and a lot of exaggeration on both sides.

 

[dbmountain]

who are "they" and how do "they" officially change the lyrics to a timeless folk song and enforce the change and ensure that everyone actually sings it to the new "PC" lyrics

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Yeah, but it's reemerged as a law in some places, and a few bans...

And all come back to the same place. You called me American for a start.

Rational head, research the stories. Don't go flying off. It helps.

 

[Mr.Numbers]

Yeah, but it's reemerged as a law in some places, and a few bans...

And all come back to the same place. You called me American for a start.

Rational head, research the stories. Don't go flying off. It helps.

I saw and snipped. I was mostly just weirded out by Rainbow sheep...And a lot of recent bans on increasingly weird things, like Superhero costumes, and a lot of random song changes.

 

[JustShyofGenius]

You can't really change a folk song just by decreeing it thus.

 

[rookie.of.the.year]

In the UK it's already changed. So has humpty dumpty, so that he's not dead in the end.

 

[Mr.Numbers]

^ (Just Shy)
The problem is when they cut it off at the source by changing what the educators are legally allowed to teach the students.

And it's also the sentiment behind changing them.

 

[DaJoW]

According to the BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4782856.stm], this happened some 5 years go. Not sure which country this is supposed to be in since you don't say still. Also a similar story [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loony_Left#Baa_Baa_White_Sheep] was reported in 1987, though that one was false.