The Off Topic Topic

[Monoriu]

Doesn't really matter what their attitude is. You behave yourself in your host country.

Sure.  I am not arguing otherwise. 

[Eddie Teach]

They were misled into thinking freedom of speech was a Western thing.

[Tamas]

There was a predictably sad row on Twitter etc over this cartoon and that he showed a black Roman family as the norm for Roman Britain.

One thing I am curious about is: just how much of Roman Africa was black? I was reading commenters at the Guardian and the defenders of the cartoon basically declared that pre-Muslim conquest Africa: BLACK ALL OVER. Which I have serious doubts about. Surely there was a lot of Arabs going there when they conquered stuff but I don't think they could have pretty much eradicated black people from North Africa by outbreeding?

[The Brain]

Cleopatra and Hannibal were black, but other than that I'm not so sure.

[CountDeMoney]

Are you sure they're showing it as the "norm for Roman Britain" or are they portraying elements of contemporary Britain for the sake of engaging its audience?

[CountDeMoney]

BTW, that reminds me:  which one of our Scandiweenies had a problem with the Moops fucking up his bloodline back in the day, bitching about his forefathers being enslaved and shit.  Was that Viking?  I can't remember.

[Tamas]

Are you sure they're showing it as the "norm for Roman Britain" or are they portraying elements of contemporary Britain for the sake of engaging its audience?

I am pretty sure its the latter, but what's the point? Why should black kids develop an emotional connection to the Roman Empire? In Britain of all places?

[The Brain]

Are you sure they're showing it as the "norm for Roman Britain" or are they portraying elements of contemporary Britain for the sake of engaging its audience?

I am pretty sure its the latter, but what's the point? Why should black kids develop an emotional connection to the Roman Empire? In Britain of all places?

Black Mannerheim frowns on your shenanigans.

[derspiess]

Cleopatra and Hannibal were black, but other than that I'm not so sure.

[garbon]

Are you sure they're showing it as the "norm for Roman Britain" or are they portraying elements of contemporary Britain for the sake of engaging its audience?

I am pretty sure its the latter, but what's the point? Why should black kids develop an emotional connection to the Roman Empire? In Britain of all places?

Yes, that is the reason for diverse representation. Wtf, do you ever use your brain before posting?

[sbr]

Are you sure they're showing it as the "norm for Roman Britain" or are they portraying elements of contemporary Britain for the sake of engaging its audience?

I am pretty sure its the latter, but what's the point? Why should black kids develop an emotional connection to the Roman Empire? In Britain of all places?

Yes, that is the reason for diverse representation. Wtf, do you ever use your brain before posting?

languish is almost dead already, now you want people to think before they post?

[CountDeMoney]

Yes, that is the reason for diverse representation. Wtf, do you ever use your brain before posting?

The Bible doesn't have any black people in it, why should cartoons?

[garbon]

Are you sure they're showing it as the "norm for Roman Britain" or are they portraying elements of contemporary Britain for the sake of engaging its audience?

I am pretty sure its the latter, but what's the point? Why should black kids develop an emotional connection to the Roman Empire? In Britain of all places?

Yes, that is the reason for diverse representation. Wtf, do you ever use your brain before posting?

languish is almost dead already, now you want people to think before they post?

If they want to complain about something, it'd be nice if they had at least a basic understanding of what they are choosing to post about.

[garbon]

And now let's take a summary from the far leftist Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/06/mary-beard-misogynistic-race-row-bbc-cartoon-us-academic-claimed/

Mary Beard in 'misogynistic' race row over black Romans in BBC cartoon

When the BBC made a cartoon to educate schoolchildren about life in Roman Britain, it was hardly expecting controversy.

But the inclusion of a high-ranking black soldier in its depiction of a 'typical Roman family' has caused an almighty fall-out, with the historian Mary Beard facing a barrage of abuse for arguing that it was historically correct.

Prof Beard, a Cambridge University classicist and television presenter, said the cartoon was "indeed pretty accurate", adding that "there's plenty of firm evidence for ethnic diversity in Roman Britain".

She made her comments on Twitter, and the response was swift. Users of the social media site dubbed her a "batty old broad" and a "pretentious know-nothing", despite her scholarly record.

Among her fiercest critics was a US-Lebanese economist, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who described Prof Beard as a member of the "politically correct Gestapo". He claimed that "scholarship is dead in the UK".

Support came from JK Rowling, who said Prof Beard had been voicing an "expert opinion", and from Jess Phillips MP, who wrote: "Remember women, keep being clever and opinionated, that's what decent people see and admire."

Prof Beard temporarily withdrew from Twitter, saying she was in danger of losing her "usual courteous patience".

Instead she wrote a blog post in which she explained that she thought the BBC character was loosely based on Quintus Lollius Urbicus, a man from what is now Algeria, who became governor of Britain around AD139.

She said: "One thing is for sure, the Roman empire - Britain included - was culturally and ethnically diverse, from the Syrians in Bath, to Quintus Lollius Urbicus, the Ethiopian who met Septimius Severus on Hadrian's Wall and the wonderful couple from South Shields, Barates and Queenie ('Regina'), he from Palmyra, she an Essex girl.

"There is no doubt about that. The trouble is that pinning this down in specific cases to precise ethnicities is much harder than many would like and it requires an array of historical and scientific techniques."

It is impossible to estimate what proportion of people living in Roman Britain were from ethnic minorities, she said, because "we have really no clue how many people lived in Britain then anyway" and "typicality is pretty meaningless when there would be such huge discrepancies between urban and rural communities, militarised and non-militarised zones."

Discussing the abuse she had received online, Prof Beard said she engaged with her critics because ignoring them "feels to me like leaving the bullies in charge of the playground.

"And it's rather too much like what women have been advised to do for centuries. Don't answer back, and just turn away.

"Besides, although one will probably make no difference to the hardcore, one might change the minds of some of the penumbra, as well as showing everyone that it is possible to stand your ground."

[The Brain]

It is impossible to estimate what proportion of people living in Roman Britain were from ethnic minorities

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