PC, BU, BS – (The Dark Side of Children’s Characters)

Whether or not Enid Blyton was a homosexual racist is unclear.  It is well documented that she did not like children very much, which considering what she is so famous for is a little strange in itself.  As for the rest, the jury are out.

Noddy (who hails from Toytown in an unspecified part of the UK) is famous.  Like PROPER famous.  And his adventures have been read by children for many, many years.  As far as I am aware, this has not created a whole generation of young people who have an aversion to people with a darker skin tone or who are down on gays.  I might be wrong about this, but it is not something I have noticed.  In fact, I would have said young people now were far more tolerant, open-minded and very accepting of diversity.  Welcome traits indeed and it has all taken far too bloody long as well.  Racism and homophobia are things which should never have existed in the first place.

  In some ways, I can understand the exclusion of ‘Golliwogs’ in the revamped version of Noddy that appeared in 2009.  In some ways…..  In other ways I do not.  I actually think it is nice to have characters based on people who are black (it is called ‘inclusion’ I think).  The problems only start when these characters are taken, perverted and used to taunt or hurt.  If people are sad enough to do that then the Gollys are probably best left out.  But it is a pitiful thing when we have to pander to the small-mindedness of the few.

You are probably wondering what the hell this post is all about.  And quite rightly too!  Because up until now I have yet to mention ‘coins’.  Well, here we go.

For several years now I have been fully expecting The Royal Mint to release a series of ‘Noddy’ coins.  And, if it were not for the persistent ‘political correctness’ nags then I would also put money on it.  I would also have said the same about ‘Captain Pugwash’.  But that is another well-known character from a series of well-read books with dubious issues attached.  Except this time these are to do with sexual innuendos….  If it weren’t for these gripes with each, then I would be surprised if fifty pences based on each had not been released by now.

The problems only start when these characters are taken, perverted and used to taunt or hurt.  If people are sad enough to do that then the Gollys are probably best left out.  But it is a pitiful thing when we have to pander to the small-mindedness of the few

  Saying all this, it is easy to see why any mint would have concerns about releasing coins with dodgy connotations….. until you remember Lewis Carroll.  While there have been a LOT of things said about his ‘interest’ in little girls, this has not stopped two different mints releasing ‘Alice in Wonderland’ coins….

I am a big fan of Carroll’s work and I do not want to sit here dragging his name through the mud.  The truth is that he could well have been perfectly innocent and would have been mortified to hear such accusations attached to his name – we will never know.  He is basically a Victorian version of Michael Jackson.  Someone else who had so many horrible things written about him…. yet he may well have done nothing wrong.

However, if coin releases go on to be selective, with some things being acceptable and others not then that would be very wrong.  Time will tell on that one.  Certain things, of course, are a given.  This is why we have never had and never will have a range of ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ five pound coins.  ‘Now then, now then….. that would be rather distasteful, wouldn’t it?’

He is basically a Victorian version of Michael Jackson.  Someone else who had so many horrible things written about him…. yet he may well have done nothing wrong

  And my point?  Well, since Royal Mint and other mints are now obsessed with marketing child-orientated goods, I am very interested in which characters are deemed suitable….. and which are not.  It is also possible that someone at some point will buy into a vintage franchise of some description and go on to wish they really hadn’t.

I shall be watching.

 

 

 

FURTHER READING:

Was Mr Carroll a full-on weirdo…. or just a wacky writer? –

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/was-lewis-carroll-a-pedophile-his-photographs-suggest-so-237222

The Great Noddy Kick-Off –

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1221385/No-golliwogs-Noddy-adventure-45-years-avoid-upset.html

MAIN IMAGE – reblogged from The Sun and morphed into a piece of numistical art by me

Noddy Image – pinterest.co.uk

Lewis Carroll Image – petapixel.com

Jimmy (URK!) Saville Image – walesonline.co.uk