Paki The Hippo
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It appears my googleganger has come up with an unintentionally offensive learning aide for kids, Paki the Hippo:
Let’s face it, we all care about the environment but managing energy, water, and waste is a challenge in itself. The key is instilling eco-behavior as a part of our everyday routine. That’s where Paki the Hippo comes in.
Designer Paul Berger created Paki as a edutainment way for school kids to learn about energy consumption. With teeth, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all articulated, Paki aims to teach in an uber cute way instead of staring at boring graphs and topographic charts…
I can see it now: a bunch of school kids at the zoo, pointing at the hippo and shouting “Paki.” Perhaps a name change is in order?
Paki The Hippo Is Eco-Edutainment (Yanko Design)
5 Comments
July 13th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Not one of a hundred Americans would associate “Paki” with a nationality. I suspect this is why the offense is “unintentional” and why only race hustlers like John Wiley Price want to declare words like “paki” or “black hole” off limits. By the way, are all shortenings of names racist? Is “Yank” racist?
July 14th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Bill, it might be harmless in the US, but in the UK it is most definitely a racist term.
For more info, see here.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Christ, do they actually have Hippos in Zoos?? That is nothing short of criminal. I bloody hate Zoos. They should have been universally banned years ago.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:50 am
Paul, Your link in no way establishes that the term is racist. Saying that it is racist is not the same as establishing in what its racism consists. This thing of declaring terms racist because someone somewhere claims them to be racist seems totally out of hand, and the notation that the term can be used by members of the offended group but not by others, made famous by American Blacks calling each other nigger, ought to be the necessary proof that ordinary intimidation is at work. I reached my limit when Anna Quindlen’s sister tried unsuccessfully to explain to me why “oriental” was offensive but “asian” was not. I’m no longer tolerant of these people who want to control everyone else’s language even when it is harmless. It just one more power play. Stay clear of it unless you can tell me what is inherently racist in “paki.”
July 16th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Bill, I am English. I spent the majority of my life living in the UK. I can state unequivocally that the term “paki” is only ever used in a derogatory manner. Here is a good example. Nothing to do with the thought police or PC run amok.