The who have Top Gear insulted this week thread

I read that in Richard's voice and intonation. And yes, that's the kind of Mexican I was thinking of when they said it.

If they'd wanted to offend then surely a reference to kidnapping and drug running being the national sports would have been far more offensive to the country itself?
 
MWF said:
I read that in Richard's voice and intonation. And yes, that's the kind of Mexican I was thinking of when they said it.

If they'd wanted to offend then surely a reference to kidnapping and drug running being the national sports would have been far more offensive to the country itself?
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You forgot cutting people's heads off and hanging the bodies off a bridge.
 
Using national stereotypes in TG is sorta fine. But they shouldn't be malicious.

What RH said was right up there with slant-eyed, buck-toothed Asians and chicken-eating black people. These were acceptable in 1960s comics but are, let's be honest, really hurtful for the things they have been used for in the past.

It's one thing to lambast the French for good food and wine, not too ambitious cars and the Germans for the exact opposite. That's not even insulting.

Sad thing is, I was really interested in the car :(
It wasn't even funny :(

Reducing the whole Mexican population to the ongoing drug war is also very one-dimensional and is actually quite stupid.

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The car would have been an affordable, very light 2.0l straight 4, 240 bhp little sports car. Which is exactly what TG is interested in. If it is rubbish, find out, say why it is and be done with it. If it isn't well, nice, they plan to sell it in Europe. 900kg but still includes climate control and mp3 player. 35k quid. Mid-engined, too. In fact, I'm rather intrigued.
Quoth the designer:
?We needed to create a great car because Mexico has no tradition of sophisticated sports car manufacturing,? says designer Daniel Mastretta. ?It is most important that our customers are delighted by the new MXT. That?s what we aimed to do from the first drawing of the car, but we also want to make our country proud of the MXT and to show the world what we can do.?
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With a little bit of research, this one would have been a nice 5-10 minute comparison against something obvious like an Elise.

So yeah, there is quite a lot of egg on the face of RH atm.
 
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FGNN BREAKING NEWS:

We have just received news that Richard Hammond has issued an official apology, per our correspondent LindenChase. We go now to FGNN commentator Judge Smails to offer his views on the nation of Mexico's response...


Back to your regularly scheduled programme.
 
It takes a big man to own up to a mistake and take responsibility for it. No (hamster) pun intended.

I just wish they would drop this "stereotype" excuse, since it doesn't apply to the most offensive comment Richard made.
 
mgzt said:
For gods sake...................get over it..........why cant people (mexicans) laugh at themselves................we do.......(british)......
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You'd have to, since your screen name indicates you drive one of these! Do you perchance have the equally silly haircut to match? :p

2004_mg_zt-pic-20138.jpeg
 
Cobol74 said:
Well I would not have said what was said without making it completely clear that references were to the cartoon Mexican that RH has now so clarified.
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Yeah but as I already said: The whole section was cut and I suppose some references to cartoon characters, which might have helped to clear things up, are missing. Just a hunch of course.

Could we please stop the "NO!!! I WANT TO BELIEVE HE HATES MEXICANS!!" Richard Hammond witch hunt now?
 
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bfandreas said:
Using national stereotypes in TG is sorta fine. But they shouldn't be malicious.

What RH said was right up there with slant-eyed, buck-toothed Asians and chicken-eating black people. These were acceptable in 1960s comics but are, let's be honest, really hurtful for the things they have been used for in the past.

It's one thing to lambast the French for good food and wine, not too ambitious cars and the Germans for the exact opposite. That's not even insulting.

Sad thing is, I was really interested in the car :(
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Absolutely EXCELLENT point...one that shows how far TG has drifted away from cars toward pure entertainment.

Is there a car show on Earth that when presented with news about a unique, affordable, sports car from an unusual source, would forgo trying to get one for a test in favor of spouting stereotypes about the people who made it?

Now that you mention it THIS is what we should be pissed about.

What about the car?

To hell with the apology...get a sample of the car and put it through its paces! An honest road test would say more than anything one of the BBC's press flacks could ever write.
 
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Mike Nassour said:
Absolutely EXCELLENT point...one that shows how far TG has drifted away from cars toward pure entertainment.
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No, really? You think?

I mean, just to make that clear, you want to say you're pissed now, that they're not entirely factual anymore?

Because they don't pay respect to a newly developed, Mexican-built sports car, despite the great reputation and long history of Mexican-built cars, which contains, the... ummm... let me think... wait, wait, I got it... the Beetle, after the rest of the world didn't want it anymore?

It's the first fast thing from Mexico since Speedy Gonzales and they ignore it. That's sooooo unfair :(
 
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skylock said:
You forgot cutting people's heads off and hanging the bodies off a bridge.
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As crazy as it sounds, this...along with remarks about the kidnapping and drug running...might have led to less of a brouhaha than remarks about food and sleeping. Mexicans know what is actually going on in their country (yes, powered by America's...and the world's...appetite for illegal drugs), but to slap them down with stereotypes from the Speedy Gonzales era of Warner Brothers cartoons is completely unacceptable to many.

And for those who don't know who "Speedy" is, he's the one on the left. Check out the other two on the right for more stereotypes.

tabasco800.jpg
 
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MacGuffin said:
No, really? You think?

I mean, just to make that clear, you want to say you're pissed now, that they're not entirely factual anymore?

Because they don't pay respect to a newly developed, Mexican-built sports car, despite the great reputation and long history of Mexican-built cars, which contains, the... ummm... let me think... wait, wait, I got it... the Beetle, after the rest of the world didn't want it anymore?

It's the first fast thing from Mexico since Speedy Gonzales and they ignore it. That's sooooo unfair :(
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Oh come on! Of COURSE I know that it's not entirely factual. But a few of us would like a dribble of car news occasionally.

My POINT is that they SHOULD be talking about it seriously just BECAUSE of where it comes from. Mexico has had a major car industry for years, but there hasn't been any design there. Indeed, Wiki has an excellent article on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cars_in_Mexico


And here's a quote from a recent Autoblog...

Report: BMW considers investing $1B in Mexican suppliers

BMW is looking to cut $4.9 billion in costs by 2012, but as always, it takes money to make money. Automotive News reports that the German automaker is looking at investing $1 billion in Mexican suppliers to lower costs. The move makes perfect sense considering BMW makes vehicles here in North America, and importing parts from Germany means the company has to pay far higher wages and freight charges. Mexico is also proving to be a viable alternative to production in China, where recent labor unrest has brought wages on the upswing.
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It seems BMW thinks rather highly of Mexican producers.

And do you really think the Beetle was designed in Mexico? Of course not! I think someone else deserves the blame for that. ;)
 
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Indeed, with any luck everyone can now just move on. The last thing Hammond needs is to be painted as a racist due a stupid remark since, as we all know, that's the last thing he is.

Given that the BBC issued an official apology, I'd also expect some kind of funny, self-deprecating, remarks by the boys this week.
 
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It strikes me it all boils down to this.

The US, Japan, Germany etc etc etc are well established Western nations that are strong economically (relatively speaking), politically etc. Mexico isn't.

I think that's one of the reasons why so many people are up in arms about the remarks and why it has caused so much of a furore, because people feel the need to stand up for the little guy.

I wouldn't say that what was said on TG was any worse than the collective jibes at Germany, America, Australia or anywhere else that TG has lampooned but because Mexico is, in many respects almost a Third World country people have leapt to its defence.

But at the end of the day it was a joke, based on old-fashioned cartoon stereotypes no more relevant today than the Nazi insinuations that have been made several times in the past on the show. One only has to look at the way the trio have behaved in the likes of Botswana and Vietnam to know that in fact they have the ultimate respect for other, very different cultures and in some cases are even in awe of these countries and their peoples.

And if someone like the Daily Fail or similar hadn't poked a couple of Mexican citizens with a sharp stick and got them to complain I doubt we'd have filled the previous several pages with the Pro TG vs Pro Mexico debate.
 
Yes, but one of those Mexican Citizens just happened to be Eduardo Medina Mora, The Ambassador to Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

OOPS! :lol:

Actually, the Embassy in London this morning posted the following at the top of its home page, indicating it's all over (thank goodness!).

The Mexican Embassy in London acknowledges the apology issued publicly by the BBC for the remarks made on Mexico by the presenters of "Top Gear" broadcast last Sunday. The Embassy received this morning a letter addressed to Ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora, containing such apology.



This Embassy will continue to both, monitor any references made about Mexico in the British media, and look after its image in the United Kingdom.
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http://portal.sre.gob.mx/reinounidoeng/
 
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I hate to even wade into this mess but..

Please consider what was intended and the forum where it was said. Three guys whose show is based around taking the pi$$ out of each other and everyone else they encounter. Now one of them goes too far, apologizes and says his intention was to entertain, not cause serious offence. If you don't take him at his word then write him off and don't bother with him or his show anymore. If you do, then it is time to move on.

The best way to get rid of a stereotype is to ignore it - or use pie charts ;).
 
Mmmmm......pie!

Well, that's been a great debate through history. In this country, the debate about the Klan, for instance, is...do you confront them, or ignore them and hope they will go away? Frankly, I don't know.

In this case, I certainly hope it's a case of Boys having Fun about something they knew nothing about, issue apology, move on.
 
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