Prince Harry in Hot Water Over Remarks

What purpose do the royals serve, exactly? Besides a boon for tourism? Just asking.

Prince Harry was recorded making controversial remarks and the British media choked back their hypocrisy long enough to climb upon their soapbox and condemn him, further encouraging the cult of victimhood.

The prince is heard in the video referring to his friend Ahmed Khan as "our little Paki friend."

Maybe it is a slur; here I thought it was for the PAKI in Pakistan. Like how BRIT signals British, AUSSIE means Austrialian, TURK means Turkish. Forgive me that I find irony in how the same people who militantly refer to Harry as "The Ginger" in the British press (the use of the sobriquet is prolific) are the ones fanning the flames of offense. 

Harry's heard in another video joking with another friend and telling him that he looks like a "raghead."

OK. Here's the deal. I find terms that make other ethnicities uncomfortable to be offensive. That applies to calling Americas "gringos" and Jews "pigs." I personally don't engage in it, but I also don't give most complaints a shred of validity because these rules are arbitrary and those who police them are inconsistent. What sort of message does it send to a kid growing up who sees himself as the butt of every joke for his appearance but is lectured by those same outlets on the virtues of desensitizing political correctness?

This isn't a case of political correctness - it's a case of people picking on those who are the easiest on which to pick. It's tolerated when those targets don't fight back. You can still be a bigot without attacking Muslims, blacks, and homosexuals. It should be common knowledge that bigotry sucks.

Sure, Harry should know better as a public figure. You like the money, the martinis, the nightclubs and exotic vacations with your girlfriend? You have to walk a line to get all of that. That means don't videotape yourself talking about the color of your pubes and making remarks that you wouldn't say in public because OF COURSE someone you trust will sell the footage to a gossip outlet for five figures. I don't disagree that he should've (and did) apologize for his "raghead" remark.

However, the British media also owes an apology. The people holding placards painted with slurs owe an apology. The people who make fun of gingers, blacks, fat people, gringos, homosexuals, midgets, Mexicans, religious people, atheists, Mormons, Scientologists, hippies, blondes, liberals, conservatives, all need to issue apologies as well. If we're going to act holier than thou, we need to do it right.

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Comments

[Amy H]

wasn't this video shot 3 years ago? I just think it is silly to be mad at someone for something they did 3 years ago. You know, BEFORE he went to war and probably matured a little. I just can't seem to get that mad about this...

[BaltimoreGal]

Paki, I can kind of understand as an abbreviation. Raghead, I find offensive. I know plenty of people who don't, believe me, but I just don't think it's funny.

I'm an Army kid and I KNOW that in trenches soldiers talk out of line. It's a coping mechanism. Also, this was a while ago. So I do think the kid (and he is a kid) should be cut a little slack. But it's not an excuse.

[lori]

I lived in Pakistan for 2 1/2 years and from what my Pakistani coworkers and friends have told me, Paki is generally considered to be an offensive term to Pakistanis. The "Pak" in Pakistan refers to the concept of Purity and to use "paki" to derisively refer to Pakistanis is sort of equal to using the "N" word to refer to African Americans.

Along that vein, however, many young Pakistanis (especially those in other countries like Britain, Canada etc) will refer to themselves as "pakis" much like many young African Americans use the "N" word.

[lori]

sorry got all teachy and forgot the point that actually has to do with the piece. I don't know what Harry's friendship is like with Khan, but it's possible they are close enough that this kind of thing is acceptable between them. Like young women calling each other "bitch".

The teachy comment (preachy perhaps) was just to enlighten that it's not just an abreviation.

[Barbara]

Wow, a royal person is can be as idiotic as any other teenager in the world. BFD.

Also, I'm not clear on the Paki thing being offensive. It's not a term I'm familiar with. But Raghead? Ugh, that brought up images of my teen years when my brother would call me that when I was acting PMS-ish. I HATE that term for totally unofficial reasons.

[Jamie]

I spent half a year in London, and my boyfriend is British. Trust me, in Britain "Paki" is in no way analogous to "Aussie" or "Turk." It is very offensive. It's much closer to calling a Hispanic person a "Spic."

[Bitchilla the Hun]

I lived in England for 1 1/2 years and "Paki" is definitely considered a slur there. It's used for anyone of middle eastern, Indian, etc. descent, not just Pakistanis. Like Jamie above said, it would like calling someone a "Spic." Very offensive.

But if this is from 3 years ago, I'm not sure why it was brought up now.

[jamiegp]

Yeah the P word he used is not "an abbreviation" in any sense.

And call me crazy, but when you are afforded a shit-ton of privilege and such for your bloodline, basically, you are asked to be the embodiment of the State and what it aspires to be.

And if that's his experience of "life's not fair," I'm sure the guys who mined all the royal jewels can hip him to how unfair life can get for other folks.

[Dana]

As per timing - I don't know when he recorded himself, only that the footage was recently, as in the past week, sold and released.

[BaltimoreGal]

I should clarify that I'm not defending the use of the word "Paki" in any sense. If it is a racial slur then it's reprehensible to use it, of course. It is just not one that I was aware of, and not being an expert on British or Pakistani culture I was trying not to jump the gun. I still stand by the idea that if the kid apologizes for actions that happened three years ago we should give him a little bit of the benefit of the doubt. If the British military is as concerned about protocol as I think it is, he will regret this for a very long time.

[wife]

I talked to my husband who is from that part of the world. He told me it is the equivalent of calling someone the "n" word. When the people of pakistein were under british colonial rule, this is the name they were called. He said it is no way equivalent to "Turk" or Aussie.