I've gotten a few questions regarding the whole John Galliano saga dominating the press of late, so I will (not) address them here. I am in complete agreement that the racist remarks John Galliano has allegedly made against the Jewish and Asian peoples are unacceptable. Hatred of any sort, whether against a religion, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or any other affiliation is despicable, and I regret that prejudice and discrimination are so prevalent in some form in the vast majority of societies around the world.
However, I refuse to make a judgement on the character of John Galliano or this situation at the present time. While I do not condone the words that he said in the video, nor the alleged racism he displayed at La Perle which brought about his arrest, there are always at least two sides to every story. I don't think that Galliano's side of events should be given any less weight than his accusers' simply because he drunkenly uttered some admittedly grotesque phrases on a different occasion.
As for firing Galliano, I think it was the best decision Dior could have made in the circumstances. Regardless of whether the incidents at La Perle were unprovoked or not, they need to distance themselves from Galliano's name to preserve their brand's reputation. It's just good business.
I have some questions for you all to contemplate though, while you wait for the materialization of my own opinion on the matter. There's no need for you to answer them at all, but I would encourage you to think about them anyway; it might help you think more critically about the situation at hand:
1) Can you judge a person based on one isolated incident? Or indeed, two?
2) How does one define a racist person? Can you be classified as racist if there are only limited examples of you having made racist comments or had racist thoughts?
3) Is there a difference between a person who simply thinks racist thoughts, one who speaks those thoughts aloud, and one who acts on those thoughts?
4) Is it right to cast a person from society because they have made a mistake? Can we forgive a mistake if an apology is forthcoming?
I have related before how I am taking psychology classes at university, and things of this sort (reasoning, judgement, prejudice, etc.) are all things that we have studied recently (Indeed, John Galliano's case has come up as a topic of discussion in my Social Psychology class not infrequently in recent weeks). Analyzing the different arguments for and against everyone involved in this from Galliano to Natalie Portman has been an interesting experience, especially given it's correspondence to my course material. I find the situation incredibly sad, but there is also something to be said for its value as a case study of social and cognitive psychology, political science, and the French legal system, not to mention the economics of the fashion industry.
Because I find this entire topic so interesting, I will continue writing on it as new information becomes available, and as I pick up on things. I would encourage you all to participate in the debate yourselves, but if you choose to do so, please respect each other's opinions: criticize constructively, or not at all.
My next topic in this series will be regarding Dior, their show at Paris Fashion Week, and such things. I cannot guarantee a date when this will be completed, as I am about to head into a second slew of midterms at school, but I will post it as quickly as I may.
Peace, love, and floating,
Gill Ford
However, I refuse to make a judgement on the character of John Galliano or this situation at the present time. While I do not condone the words that he said in the video, nor the alleged racism he displayed at La Perle which brought about his arrest, there are always at least two sides to every story. I don't think that Galliano's side of events should be given any less weight than his accusers' simply because he drunkenly uttered some admittedly grotesque phrases on a different occasion.
As for firing Galliano, I think it was the best decision Dior could have made in the circumstances. Regardless of whether the incidents at La Perle were unprovoked or not, they need to distance themselves from Galliano's name to preserve their brand's reputation. It's just good business.
I have some questions for you all to contemplate though, while you wait for the materialization of my own opinion on the matter. There's no need for you to answer them at all, but I would encourage you to think about them anyway; it might help you think more critically about the situation at hand:
1) Can you judge a person based on one isolated incident? Or indeed, two?
2) How does one define a racist person? Can you be classified as racist if there are only limited examples of you having made racist comments or had racist thoughts?
3) Is there a difference between a person who simply thinks racist thoughts, one who speaks those thoughts aloud, and one who acts on those thoughts?
4) Is it right to cast a person from society because they have made a mistake? Can we forgive a mistake if an apology is forthcoming?
I have related before how I am taking psychology classes at university, and things of this sort (reasoning, judgement, prejudice, etc.) are all things that we have studied recently (Indeed, John Galliano's case has come up as a topic of discussion in my Social Psychology class not infrequently in recent weeks). Analyzing the different arguments for and against everyone involved in this from Galliano to Natalie Portman has been an interesting experience, especially given it's correspondence to my course material. I find the situation incredibly sad, but there is also something to be said for its value as a case study of social and cognitive psychology, political science, and the French legal system, not to mention the economics of the fashion industry.
Because I find this entire topic so interesting, I will continue writing on it as new information becomes available, and as I pick up on things. I would encourage you all to participate in the debate yourselves, but if you choose to do so, please respect each other's opinions: criticize constructively, or not at all.
My next topic in this series will be regarding Dior, their show at Paris Fashion Week, and such things. I cannot guarantee a date when this will be completed, as I am about to head into a second slew of midterms at school, but I will post it as quickly as I may.
Peace, love, and floating,
Gill Ford
10 comments:
I think you bring up a lot of good points here Gill, but you should be careful with some of your statements. You come off as a little sympathetic to Galliano when you should be on the side of the Jewish people who he insulted. Antisemitism is a major issue, and you looking at it like it's an experiment comes off as ignorant and naive. I don't what to tell you how to write on your blog, but you should be careful what you say because people might not like it.
^Antisemitism is a major issue but so is racism in general. Why does everyone keep forgetting that he made racist comments about Asians?! And what are you talking about Gill should watch what she says? This is a blog, its her blog, shes allowed to have an opinion.
It's not even as if she gave an opinion either... More like she is staying neutral until she has both sides of the story, which is a lot smarter than anyone else seems to have been. Has anyone in the news kept a neutral position yet? All the comments I've read about are for or against John Galliano. There's nothing inbetween.
so you support john galliano?
^She's neutral. Read.
I don't think that what John Galliano said was unforgivable and I don't think he's actually racist. There are too many people who actually know him that are saying this is out of character for him. I think he's having a rough time right now, and acting strangely as a result. But what he said in that video is still not okay AT ALL, and Dior were right to fire him. But
Galliano is a stain on the fashion industry and the house of Dior. Nobody can say something as hateful as he did by accident. Saying *I love Hitler* is something people might say sarcastically or somethings,, but to say someones should be gassed is different. There is no way you can say that and intend it to be taken as a joke and it doesn't make it any more appropriate for it to be used as an insult like telling someone to rot in hell or something like that. It's too literal, it's too vivid, and the memory of that actually happening is still way too soon. Not a big loss though, in my opinion. Galliano's talent has run out and Dior should be glad to be rid of him for that reason just as much as the racism one.
Glad to see you back to more political writing Gill, I look forward to the continuation of this series! :)
I don't understand why people are freaking out about what he said. He's a drunk fashion designer. Yeah antisemitism is the shits but what is so important about John Galliano's opinion about Hitler? Why should anyone care what he says while he's drunk and off duty, he's famous for making clothes. That's what people should be focused on.
^agree.
Post a Comment