A whiff of Cordite

[blockhead]

I believe the cultural appropriation thing is predicated on buying into oppression theory. Everyone has to be put in a box and classed as an oppressor or oppressed based on their group identity. White people oppress non-white people, men oppress women, straight people oppress LGBT people. Then it is seen as 'problematic' for members of an oppressor group to "appropriate" the culture of oppressed groups because they haven't had to go through the struggle to maintain the culture over the years.

oh right, sound a bit weird. is that really how works?

There does seem to be some sort of hierarchy to the all of this with the white american male at the very bottom

[leinsterforever]

I believe the cultural appropriation thing is predicated on buying into oppression theory. Everyone has to be put in a box and classed as an oppressor or oppressed based on their group identity. White people oppress non-white people, men oppress women, straight people oppress LGBT people. Then it is seen as 'problematic' for members of an oppressor group to "appropriate" the culture of oppressed groups because they haven't had to go through the struggle to maintain the culture over the years.

oh right, sound a bit weird. is that really how works?

Well, that's my understanding anyway. I'm open to correction. True, it does sound a bit weird

[Oldschoolsocks]

I can't stand jones just as much as the next human. But this "cultural appropriation" thing is really odd.
Putting on an Native American headress is offensive to native americans? Really?
If I saw someone who is not Celtic whacking the sh!t out of a Bodhrán would I fell offended? No
If the person standing next to me started to complain that the person with the Bodhrán was not Celtic enough to play the Bodhrán I would be slowly inch myself away.
Can I grow dreadlocks? Can I listen to Rap/Soul/Blues? Enjoy Anime?
What the fcuk am I going to dress as at the next fancy dress party?
Is it wrong for me to order food from an Indian takeaway?
And don't give me the Whataboutary response. Thats just the getout clause when you cant explain your own hypocrisy.

I’m a little confused about cultural appropriation too. As a lover of the music of Texas and the Mississippi Delta, is it wrong for me to learn blues guitar? As a lover of Asian cuisine is it wrong for me to cook with pastes, coconut milk and strong spices?

But I don’t think wearing a headdress and making mock whooping noises is the same thing, it’s not really a celebration of the culture is it? It’s more like caricature.

So for me what they (Exeter) do is more like blackface than signing gospel or soul.

Imagine for a second that their identity wasn’t the Exeter Chiefs, but the Exeter Irish Navvies and their celebration when scoring a try was to jump around with fake Irish accents and pretend to be drunk (which I believe is the Navvie Caricature). I don’t think this would align with a lad playing a bodhrán, and might even leave a bad taste in the mouth.

In saying that Blockie I’ve not thought a whole lot about it, and while I actually don’t think there’s malice in it I do believe that a move away from their current identity would be a good move for them.

Thanks OSS for not taking my head off. I can see there are degrees of "CA". The Exeter thing would be worse than say a white guy who has dreadlocks.
Exeter fans wore those head dresses for years without a peep from anybody, now all a sudden its deeply disturbing and you can get banned from a stadium. What changed?
Saracens, they have to be in someones crosshairs.
Closer to home, St. Patricks Athletic, now there's a club name that screams social exclusion to all non-christians.

What has changed? well I suppose time has moved on.

for example my Grandmother felt perfectly fine referring to a particular shade of brown paint using the N-word - there was no malice in it, I suspect she only ever say a black person on a collection box in church but I wouldn't be letting her away with it now.

The last 4 or 5 years of political discourse in the US and other countries has brought things like how the imagery and culture of the First Nations more into the public consciousness than it was previously.

a cynical person might believe that Glasgow are gaming this in order to dampen the away support, but I think we should be more charitable than that.

[paddyor]

A lot of these ideas are rooted in Critical Race Theory. Which as I understand it is a series of dense legal texts that demonstrate how language and legal structures perpetuate and institutionalize racism. While the texts themselves are supposedly quite convincing the problem is that once this germ of an idea makes it's way into the real world it gets highjacked by morons, trolls and grifters. A few years ago some Asian American journo made a name for herself on twitter freaking out a white girl appropriating her culture by wearing a trad chinese dress. it later emerged said journo was some wealthy ivy league and IIRC she wasn't even of chinese heritage. It was all really dumb. The cultural appropriation thing crops up again and again when some white person releases a cook book that either contains or is entirley made up of asian cusine. The point being it can be very hard to take any of it seriously.

Closer to home you have the lads on OTB wondering about the racial make up of the Irish rugby team. It's legitmate to opine about the structural advantage of private schools IMO wihtout goignt hat bit further.

[riocard911]

Squidge's 63 Greatest Rugby Moments of 2021 is class:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzQvSm_EWo

Anyone reading this can probably guess already, what number 1 is; it's still worth waiting for, but there's loads of good stuff before that.

One aspect inadvertently highlighted is how far Irish ladies rugby has fallen behind England's, but the challenge is to catch up again, I guess.

Enjoy!!!

[Ruckedtobits]

May be the incorrect thread, but a very good piece from Johnny Holland on breakdowns:

https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2021/122 ... wn-battle/

[riocard911]

May be the incorrect thread, but a very good piece from Jason Holland on breakdowns:

https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2021/122 ... wn-battle/

I'm sick and tired of all the injuries at the breakdown. Seeing guys badly injured and in the height of pain having to leave the field of play as a result of criminally irresponsible breakdown laws is not entertainment in my book. The Leavy incident was for me the final straw. That's why, I would prefer, if the game went back to no hands on the ball on the ground at the ruck, like it used to be. The bit of raking that used to go on was rarely as injurious as the stuff we've been seeing in recent years as a result of guys coming in like bloody exocets to clear out defenceless jacklers.

[ronk]

Jason?

Until the Munster coaching positions are filled any mention of his name will bring a different kind of attention.

[Ruckedtobits]

Jason?

Until the Munster coaching positions are filled any mention of his name will bring a different kind of attention.

Obviously an error, but maybe apocryphal! (Now amended in original)

[RoboProp]

May be the incorrect thread, but a very good piece from Jason Holland on breakdowns:

https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2021/122 ... wn-battle/

I'm sick and tired of all the injuries at the breakdown. Seeing guys badly injured and in the height of pain having to leave the field of play as a result of criminally irresponsible breakdown laws is not entertainment in my book. The Leavy incident was for me the final straw. That's why, I would prefer, if the game went back to no hands on the ball on the ground at the ruck, like it used to be. The bit of raking that used to go on was rarely as injurious as the stuff we've been seeing in recent years as a result of guys coming in like bloody exocets to clear out defenceless jacklers.

If given a choice, my preference would be to eat some shoe pie rather than some of these clear outs we have now

[SoupyNorman]

Hugh Cahill on the RTE podcast doesn't seem to have an ounce of common sense. Whether it about the Munster coaching setup for rest of season or happily gloating about seeking a six week booze up festival in London should his own authorities recommend restrictions that may impact feasibilityof hosting Six Nations game in Ireland and elsewhere.

(there can be a reasonable debate about right and wrong approaches to take, but his attitude was just selfish irresponsibility).

[Ruckedtobits]

In passing, how much an improvement is Jacqui Hurley compared with Daire O'Brian as a rugby host(ess)? I thought RTE's pre-match discussion with Stringer & Heaslip was really well handled and light years ahead of the sort of opinionated drivel normal produced. It was almost at TG4 standards.

[mildlyinterested]

In passing, how much an improvement is Jacqui Hurley compared with Daire O'Brian as a rugby host(ess)? I thought RTE's pre-match discussion with Stringer & Heaslip was really well handled and light years ahead of the sort of opinionated drivel normal produced. It was almost at TG4 standards.

Huge upgrade, shame about Heaslip tho.

[the spoofer]

In passing, how much an improvement is Jacqui Hurley compared with Daire O'Brian as a rugby host(ess)? I thought RTE's pre-match discussion with Stringer & Heaslip was really well handled and light years ahead of the sort of opinionated drivel normal produced. It was almost at TG4 standards.

She is a class act. I said it before, I’d love to see her front all of RTEs rugby productions

[enby]

Saves me having to frantically find the remote to switch off before that smug idiot says "go well".
JH is excellent, a proper professional broadcaster.

[Oldschoolsocks]

You’ve been lucky enough to forget that his catch phrase is “go easy”

[Flash Gordon]

May be the incorrect thread, but a very good piece from Jason Holland on breakdowns:

https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2021/122 ... wn-battle/

I'm sick and tired of all the injuries at the breakdown. Seeing guys badly injured and in the height of pain having to leave the field of play as a result of criminally irresponsible breakdown laws is not entertainment in my book. The Leavy incident was for me the final straw. That's why, I would prefer, if the game went back to no hands on the ball on the ground at the ruck, like it used to be. The bit of raking that used to go on was rarely as injurious as the stuff we've been seeing in recent years as a result of guys coming in like bloody exocets to clear out defenceless jacklers.

If given a choice, my preference would be to eat some shoe pie rather than some of these clear outs we have now

Having slept in a chair for 4 days beside my son who had a suspected broken neck as a result of one of those clearouts, I completely agree. Head down you can't even see what's about to hit you. Thankfully he recovered but i have to admit, though I love the game I wasn't disappointed when he stopped playing it when he left school.

[bails]

Hugh Cahill on the RTE podcast doesn't seem to have an ounce of common sense. Whether it about the Munster coaching setup for rest of season or happily gloating about seeking a six week booze up festival in London should his own authorities recommend restrictions that may impact feasibilityof hosting Six Nations game in Ireland and elsewhere.

(there can be a reasonable debate about right and wrong approaches to take, but his attitude was just selfish irresponsibility).

He is no friend of Leinster rugby. His personal bias for certain players in commentary drives me to reach for the remote control. I had the misfortune to watch Ireland vs Japan in November on RTE2. JGP was sensational for most of the game, yet Cahill a supposed professional, would not bring himself to mention him by name, or mention anything he had done. A real Lunster from Wicklow.

[Oldschool]

In passing, how much an improvement is Jacqui Hurley compared with Daire O'Brian as a rugby host(ess)? I thought RTE's pre-match discussion with Stringer & Heaslip was really well handled and light years ahead of the sort of opinionated drivel normal produced. It was almost at TG4 standards.

Far more intelligible than TG4's.

[Oldschool]

I'm sick and tired of all the injuries at the breakdown. Seeing guys badly injured and in the height of pain having to leave the field of play as a result of criminally irresponsible breakdown laws is not entertainment in my book. The Leavy incident was for me the final straw. That's why, I would prefer, if the game went back to no hands on the ball on the ground at the ruck, like it used to be. The bit of raking that used to go on was rarely as injurious as the stuff we've been seeing in recent years as a result of guys coming in like bloody exocets to clear out defenceless jacklers.

If given a choice, my preference would be to eat some shoe pie rather than some of these clear outs we have now

Having slept in a chair for 4 days beside my son who had a suspected broken neck as a result of one of those clearouts, I completely agree. Head down you can't even see what's about to hit you. Thankfully he recovered but i have to admit, though I love the game I wasn't disappointed when he stopped playing it when he left school.

That must have been an horrific experience.
Glad it turned out ok.
There are some players that any empowerment to hurt another player is like giving them a loaded weapon.
I had a coach who encouraged that sort of thing, disgraceful.
One day one of my teammates ran amoc, broke a players nose (had to be hospitalised)
The ref, thankfully, sent him off.
I went over to the ref and just said well done to him.
I got dropped two levels for the the rest of the season.
I was near the end of my playing days so that was my last season.