The Loony Left Coming For Evil Thomas the Tank Engine

[Flashman]

Thomas the Tank Engine had to shut the hell up to save children everywhere | Tracy Van Slyke | Comment is free | theguardian.com

Step away from the train set!

At first blush, Thomas and his friends seem rather placid and mild. And there are certainly a lot worse shows in terms of in-your-face violence, sexism, racism and classism. But looks can be deceiving: the constant bent of messages about friendship, work, class, gender and race sends my kid the absolute wrong message.

For the record, all the "villains" on Thomas and Friends are the dirty diesel engines. I'd like to think there was a good environmental message in there, but when the good engines pump out white smoke and the bad engines pump out black smoke – and they are all pumping out smoke – it's not hard to make the leap into the race territory.)

[original PM]

it's not hard to make the leap into race on many things if you make a living out of doing so

remember blackboards became whiteboard etc!

fookin lefty

[MicrosoftBob]

Did they publish a Daily Mash parody article by mistake ?

[xoggoth]

Quite. I see TTTE goes back to 1947, lots of sexism I suppose but racism in a story set in the UK could hardly be a factor. One could say that maybe the series is just continuing on its original path and things mean what they always did. In our insane multicultural society all British history and heritage have to be sacrificed.

Did they publish a Daily Mash parody article by mistake ?

I did wonder if it was a bit tongue in cheek but no, seems not.

[TheFaQQer]

it's not hard to make the leap into race on many things if you make a living out of doing so

remember blackboards became whiteboard etc!

fookin lefty

Blackboards became whiteboards because they changed colour from black to white, and it's easier to write on a whiteboard with a marker pen than it is to write on a blackboard with chalk.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Is she confusing steam (white & clean) for smoke (black and dirty)? Perhaps she's the one who should be kept away from her kid

[xoggoth]

Bothering to read the crap she cites, she may have a point about sexism and classism (as one would expect in a 1940's series) but suddenly in the 2nd to last paragraph that becomes "sexism, racism and classism". Not a single instance of "racism" in her descriptions.

Typical loony lefty, anything that contains any of what they disapprove of expands to include the full set.

[darmstadt]

**** her, she's a septic (and a Democrat if you reall ywant to know.) What does she know about Great British children's literature? Weirdo, just read her bio, it makes no sense: Tracy Van Slyke

[northernladuk]

Blackboards became whiteboards because they changed colour from black to white, and it's easier to write on a whiteboard with a marker pen than it is to write on a blackboard with chalk.

There is still two up at SWMBO's school in the common area. They are called chalk boards now.

[xoggoth]

Indeed. Difficult to know what she is talking about. Mind you, despite being a righty, I'm not a Guardian/Independent loather, they do have all sorts of commenters, some quite sensible.