Toyota + Saatchi 'guerilla action' and the 'whitening of Brixton'

[story]

Do you mean she hasn't got the experience to at least hide her racist attitudes?

No, I meant that she is inexperienced as a journalist: the writing is unpolished and fairly inept in places.

This is not to excuse her racism. It occurs to me that she isn't even aware that she is being racist. She would probably point out that she said that the area had become nicely multicultural.

I mean that it seems to me that she is inexperienced as a human being: she's young, has not had a lot of varied experiences yet.

 

[editor]

This is not to excuse her racism. It occurs to me that she isn't even aware that she is being racist. She would probably point out that she said that the area had become nicely multicultural.

Is that 'nicely multicultural' as opposed to 'unpleasantly multicultural'?

 

[Frumious B.]

That too is racist, blame Russians in general, and what is 'primitive notions about race'? your flatmate? racist full stop, possibly due to ignorance, racist nevertheless.
That article just is the icing on the gentrification debate.
BTW they seem to have corrected it.

Oh stop wibbling. I said 'some' Russians. There is much more racism in Russia than here. Fact. Besides, since when is 'Russians' a racial descriptor? And racism is pretty much a subset of ignorance, no shit Sherlock. Have another coffee, wake up, learn to read.

 

[Remus Harbank]

Yes so what. Being young/inexperienced doesn’t excuse using terms like ‘whitening’ (unless one writes about toothpaste) – the opposite should be true – young folks should be way more open and tolerant and aware purely because they shouldn't have been conditioned as much as their middle-aged compatriots. This is a mindset that is deeply ingrained. (And why Saatchi would hire inept idiots is another question, unless they are being deliberately ‘provocative’)

 

[story]

so what if English is not her first language? She obviously writes for a site and seems to be well able to string correct sentences together. Do you honestly believe 'whitening' can be mis-translated? She tried to putting 'Brixton used to be full of black people, i.e. a no-go area for people like her, whatever that is, whereas now it has become 'whiter', i.e. safer and 'nicer'. Blatant racism, just call it for what it is!!?

I was trying to say that it seems to me that she is foreign, not from here, perhaps from Eastern Europe, where attitudes are very different.

No, she is not able to string good sentences together. Look at some of the other tosh she has written for that site.

No, there is no misreading of the term "whitening". It's ugly and foul and smacks of really nasty underlying attitudes.

In what way do my posts suggest that I am excusing her? I'm considering any possible context for her words: general foolishness, ineptitude, youth, inexperience etc.

Racist she may be, but I'd venture to suggest that her racism is not considered and understood, but more about inherited notions and lack of thought and understanding. This does NOT EXCUSE IT, but it suggests that there may be room for improvement, once she is called to task.

I'm thinking about a fellow I knew from Spain. He was so taken aback by the number of black people in Brixton when he came to visit that he was frightened. He had never seen more than one black person at a time before, he had never spoken with a non-white person before. His initial fear soon turned to interest an thence to a change in attitude.

 

[story]

Is that 'nicely multicultural' as opposed to 'unpleasantly multicultural'?

I don't know, shall we ask her?

Is this thread really going to be about people calling me a racist because I discern some nuances in that blog?

 

[Remus Harbank]

Is that 'nicely multicultural' as opposed to 'unpleasantly multicultural'?

Actually that's a good question – there is the officially sanctioned ‘multiculturalism’ – lots of smiling people of all creeds drinking Starbucks and being successful consumers, and then there’s reality (which is of course much more preferable.) Saatchi would of course only know about the former since they have created it along with other advertising-whore-conglomerates.

 

[editor]

I mean that it seems to me that she is inexperienced as a human being: she's young, has not had a lot of varied experiences yet.

She's a world-renowned expert according to the site:

Founded in 2008, Popsop has managed to become a successful online daily brand journal with 190,000+ visitors each month. We have built a strong team of 65+ world-renowned experts in the field who provide deeper insight into how people and emerging brands interact and influence each other.

 

[story]

Yes so what. Being young/inexperienced doesn’t excuse using terms like ‘whitening’ (unless one writes about toothpaste) – the opposite should be true – young folks should be way more open and tolerant and aware purely because they shouldn't have been conditioned as much as their middle-aged compatriots. This is a mindset that is deeply ingrained. (And why Saatchi would hire inept idiots is another question, unless they are being deliberately ‘provocative’)

I don't think Saatchi hired her. I think she's a stringer for that blog. Saatchi probably pay them a fee to be included in their updates.

The fact that there doesn't appear to be any editing or subbing on that site makes it all a bit risky imo.

 

[story]

She's a world-renowned expert according to the site:

And you believe that?

 

[Frumious B.]

Anna Rudenko's LinkedIn page is here: http://ua.linkedin.com/pub/anna-rudenko/21/42a/bb8. Her English isn't that great. If the term 'whitened' is an innocent 'error' of mistranslation perhaps she meant to say 'cleaned up'.

 

[editor]

Racist she may be, but I'd venture to suggest that her racism is not considered and understood, but more about inherited notions and lack of thought and understanding. This does NOT EXCUSE IT, but it suggests that there may be room for improvment, once she is called to task.

I've no idea if she's racist or not, but it's absolutely right that she should be pulled right up for writing that guff.

 

[editor]

And you believe that?

I'm only quoting how the site describes its writers.

 

[story]

Anna Rudenko's LinkedIn page is here: http://ua.linkedin.com/pub/anna-rudenko/21/42a/bb8. Her English isn't that great. If the term 'whitened' is an innocent 'error' of mistranslation perhaps she meant to say 'cleaned up'.

Then a sub should have checked with her.

It's inexcusable that something like that should go out as it stood.

But actually, I think she meant it exactly as it read: that Brixton used to be a kind of ghetto, but it's getting better now. If she's young and not from round these parts, then she doesn't know anything about anything, and she's trying to precis a whole bunch of stuff she's gleaned from a quick scoot through cyberspace and then tried to cram it into a single paragraph, while also inadvertently demonstrating her own attitudes.

Poor lamb, where the fuck was the sub?

Hopefully, she will pay attention to the fall out (I suppose there has been some, if the blog has been edited...?) and be more aware and thoughtful in the future. And hopefully, it will go some way towards a change in her attitudes.

 

[story]

I'm only quoting how the site describes its writers.

They would, wouldn't they.

I think that site is pretty pony.

 

[story]

Yes so what. Being young/inexperienced doesn’t excuse using terms like ‘whitening’ (unless one writes about toothpaste) – the opposite should be true – young folks should be way more open and tolerant and aware purely because they shouldn't have been conditioned as much as their middle-aged compatriots. This is a mindset that is deeply ingrained. (And why Saatchi would hire inept idiots is another question, unless they are being deliberately ‘provocative’)

Are you suggesting that there are no young racists?

 

[kalibuzz]

Racist she may be, but I'd venture to suggest that her racism is not considered and understood, but more about inherited notions and lack of thought and understanding. This does NOT EXCUSE IT, but it suggests that there may be room for improvement, once she is called to task.

Definitely. Same applies to most British people.

 

[prunus]

Seems she's edited it now

Anyway, at the risk of being shouted at, I suspect that it was not a race-based phrase at all in intention - the use with 'image' would suggest she was reaching for an opposite for 'blackened its image' - without realising the (obvious to most people admittedly) offensive connotations.

 

[Kate Belan]

Dear friends,

Let me clarify something. I'm Popsop editor. It has come to my attention that you found one of Popsop articles to be racist. I'm very sorry, however, that is not true. That was just the wrong wording and factual inaccuracy. NO racism was meant there. And, of course, it has nothing to do with Toyota's "guerilla actions".

Anna Rudenko is a freelance news editor from Ukraine. This is not her fault, but mine. Our team is multicultural and we do have strong Russian connections, as we have a partner website Popsop.ru in Russian.

That confusing part of the article has been removed. My team and I sincerely apologise for any confusion or troubles this may have caused.

 

[Rushy]

Seems she's edited it now

Anyway, at the risk of being shouted at, I suspect that it was not a race-based phrase at all in intention - the use with 'image' would suggest she was reaching for an opposite for 'blackened its image' - without realising the (obvious to most people admittedly) offensive connotations.

^^^ This. Clumsy use of our ever evolving language. Worth pointing out. Not worthy of moral outrage.

 

[spring-peeper]

Dear friends,

Let me clarify something. I'm Popsop editor. It has come to my attention that you found one of Popsop articles to be racist. I'm very sorry, however, that is not true. That was just the wrong wording and factual inaccuracy. NO racism was meant there. And, of course, it has nothing to do with Toyota's "guerrilla actions".

Anna Rudenko is a freelance news editor from Ukraine. This is not her fault, but mine. Our team is multicultural and we do have strong Russian connections, as we have a partner website Popsop.ru in Russian.

That confusing part of the article has been removed. My team and I sincerely apologise for any confusion or troubles this may have caused.

Thanks Kate

 

[Brixton Hatter]

well done ash and editor for spotting this and publicising it. Good work

 

[Lo Siento.]

Dear friends,

Let me clarify something. I'm Popsop editor ("I'm the editor of Popsop"). It has come to my attention that you found one of Popsop articles to be racist. I'm very sorry, however, that is not true ("I'm very sorry if our article gave that impression, that was not our intention." If I find something to be racist, it is appearance not truth that is at issue). That was just the wrong wording ("The article was badly-worded") and factual inaccuracy (omit this, you're apologizing for the wording of a metaphor, not the content). NO racism was meant there. And, of course, it has nothing to do with Toyota's "guerilla actions".

Anna Rudenko is a freelance news editor from Ukraine. This is not her fault, but mine. Our team is multicultural and we do have strong Russian connections, as we have a partner website Popsop.ru in Russian.

That confusing part of the article has been removed. My team and I sincerely apologise for any confusion or troubles ("problems") this may have caused.

Look Kate, you're the editor, and YOUR English is way below the standard I would expect from someone producing copy in English. If you want to avoid these problems in the future, at the very minimum, start using an English-proficient proofreader.

 

[meurig]

Kate Belan is also from the Ukraine.

 

[sim667]

On a lighter note, the girl with the camera in the photograph is hawt!!

Let her know for me kate

 

[discobastard]

Moral outrage over what was clearly a mistake followed up by doling out a kicking over the odd grammatical error in a heartfelt apology by somebody that clearly speaks far better English than I would ever be able to speak Ukrainian. And they're just trying to earn a living. I'd be tempted to save my ire for something far more deserving than that.

 

[Lo Siento.]

Moral outrage over what was clearly a mistake followed up by doling out a kicking over the odd grammatical error in a heartfelt apology by somebody that clearly speaks far better English than I would ever be able to speak Ukrainian. And they're just trying to earn a living. I'd be tempted to save my ire for something far more deserving than that.

I was generating work for impoverished proofreaders

 

[Gramsci]

Following my reccent post of the viral knitting on Ferndale rd I have found a link to the Toyota marketing by Satchi and Satchi - http://popsop.com/60780

Quote:

'The district, which used to be quite an unpleasant part of the city in the 80s (it was associated with bombing and riots then), has whitened its image and become a nice, multicultural area—and the new project adds another lively and optimistic touch to the transformed atmosphere of this place.'

WTF - I am a bit lost for words.

As I was here in the 80s:

I thought it was a nice multicultural area in the 80s.

Nor was it "unpleasant" in the 80s.

TBH I think they meant to say "cleaned" up its image. A mistake.

Yes knitting makes me much more optimistic about my future in Brixton I feel so much more full of positivity.

 

[Lo Siento.]

Moral outrage over what was clearly a mistake followed up by doling out a kicking over the odd grammatical error in a heartfelt apology by somebody that clearly speaks far better English than I would ever be able to speak Ukrainian. And they're just trying to earn a living. I'd be tempted to save my ire for something far more deserving than that.

As an aside, if I was a copy writer in Ukrainian, I'd want someone to tell me if my writing wasn't up to it.

(incidentally, praising people's language skills by reference to your own inabilities in other languages, is patronising)

 

[discobastard]

As an aside, if I was a copy writer in Ukrainian, I'd want someone to tell me if my writing wasn't up to it.

(incidentally, praising people's language skills by reference to your own inabilities in other languages, is patronising)

Well if you're going to be pedantic....

You couldn't possibly know what a Ukrainian copy writer would want from someone like you, could you? Perhaps if she had asked for feedback on her writing rather than apologising openly about something that had been taken out of context then just maybe she might ask somebody on an open forum what they thought of her writing skills.

And perhaps you meant "If I was Ukrainian, writing English copy...". Your writing isn't up to it.

As for your final unsubstantiated assertion, I don't know where to start. Perhaps you'd like to enlighten us all with your argument for that. It wasn't even especially praise, it was a just a means of communicating a well meaning defence against a rather aggressive comment. Nothing more, nothing less.

Over and out.