‘Beyond belief’ that Flouquet did not see racism in joke
Wednesday 7th January 2009, 2:29PM GMT.
DEPUTY Chief Minister Bernard’s Flouquet’s position looks increasingly untenable today after the release of a damning code of conduct panel report.
The panel was convened to investigate complaints about a joke that he told at a press conference in December.
It said his defence was in parts ‘irrelevant’ and ‘beyond belief’.
It recommends a reprimand, but said that the decision as to whether he should be removed as deputy chief minister or as Public Services minister was a political one.
The States will make that decision when it debates a vote of no confidence, led by Deputy Leon Gallienne, at the end of the month.
Deputy Flouquet (pictured) told the panel that at the time he did not recognise the racial and racist undertones of the joke. If he had, he would not have repeated it.
But that is dismissed by the panel.‘We find it difficult to believe or beyond belief that Deputy Flouquet did not recognise the racial undertones of the joke, as he had used the words “Barack Obama” and “golliwog” almost in the same breath,’ the report says.
‘The fact that he did not make any specific connection to President-elect Obama is, again, totally irrelevant – the necessary inference is blindingly obvious.’
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This man is making himself look even more incompetent if he can’t understant simple english?
All well and good doing all he can at hanging on by the finger tips but what realistic chance will he ever have with being re-elected.
He should have stood down the moment he said the offending remarks. He may have had some dignity about his actions and curried favour with the general public.
He is acting like a stupid young boy that knows he has done wrong but wishes to wriggle out of it which ever way he can.
The CM is a disgrace for not exercising any leadership qualities over this whole fiasco. In my opinion they both need to go. At least let the public decide if they are popular enough to remain where they are not themselves with their scratch each others backs systems.
The way we are governed is a joke. The only people that are laughing are some that are in power. Hopefully not for much longer.
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Deputy Flouquet should not resign as DCM because he is a racist – I don’t actually think he is.
Nevertheless to claim no understanding of the perceived racial undertones of his comments is either a complete lie or unbelievable naivete. Either way, his performance in this hearing has reinforced my view that he is unsuitable for a senior role in government – we cannot afford to have someone so out of touch representing us on the international stage.
This is the reason he should resign and if he will not do the honourable thing, States of Guernsey we look to you to remove him by force.
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Lets hope he’s not representing us at the next Commonwealth games, I dread to think what how he might “inadvertently” conduct himself under these circumstances!
It’s long overdue but surely it’s now time to go Bernie….as quickly and quietly as you can.
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You can’t sack a man just for repeating a JOKE he heard, it was a J O K E, that’s all, you holier-than-thou people, I for one found it amusing and like I said before, even Barry Obama said in his book that his own dad was ‘black as the ace of spades’.Is he a rascist too?
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So, Deputy Flouquet did not recognise the racial and racist undertones of the joke.
I agree this is either a complete lie or he honestly is out of touch with the modern world and its way of thinking, that in itself is surely of greater concern for someone in his position.
Does his lack of worldly understanding, undermine his ability to make best judgment in other areas of public interest!!
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C’mon people of Guernsey. Let’s put this tired old story to bed for once and for all.
He made a silly mistake. He apologised. No one lost their life. Leave the DCM alone. Let’s get on with the job of governing Guernsey. Please.
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Deputy Bernard Flouquet is Guernsey’s second most senior politician sitting in the house for many years. One would expect that he would be advising less experienced Deputy’s on the house’s code of conduct and not being severely criticized for breaking it himself.
His position as a Deputy is for his Parish to decide after all they elected him. But his position as Deputy Chief Minister is the perogative of the States and it is up to them to put an end to this sorry saga.
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As a Guernseyman overseas, it is an absolute embarrasment when people hear about this sort of thing and connect it with us………..Guernsey…..no I am from the other one (Is almost tempting!)
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Matti, you suffer from quite an amazing case of convoluted logic.
Obama is allowed to describe his own father’s physical colour, in the same way I could say my father had hair whiter than snow.
Bernie was comparing a man to an icon which has racist undertones and expected to hear a cackle of supportive laughter…but then since you found the joke funny I guess you are in the same puerile little stable as Bernie
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Agree with you 100% Vic, the joke now is that he is still trying to cling onto his job.
If the man had any integrity he would have walked, he obviously hasn’t got any of that, therefore his peers should have removed him soon after this sorry episode came to light.
The fact that neither of these things have yet happend is a poor reflection on the Island.
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Vincent – I agree his apology should be accepted by all however in my view the issue is no longer about the “joke” by rather Deputy Flouquet’s competence and suitability to hold high office in the island government.
His competence was first called into question when he made his ill-judged remark. He has compounded the case against him by providing a defence so weak it was dismissed by the panel as “difficult to believe or beyond belief.”
Personally I hope this last ditch attempt to cling on to power convinces the States that he is no longer suitable to hold the office of DCM. As for his position as Deputy, that can be decided at the next election.
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The golliwogs on marmalade (or was it jam) jars was before i was born. And even I knew that it is used as a racist comment.
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He surely has to lose the vote of no confidence. If he doesn’t then it will send a clear message to all that the States of Guernsey finds his actions acceptable. First off all the shocking lack of judgement whereby he told the “joke” in the first place, then his efforts to wriggle out of the mess by claiming he didn’t appreciate the racial undertones (yeah, right), then his attempt to claim that the public was behind him (owing to the amount of support he’d received – try looking at the criticism Bernard, it far outweighs the support) and basically doing anything he can to cling onto his position, which smacks of desperation of the highest order. Just go will you Bernard, do the decent thing and save the States the time and trouble of debating your crass behaviour.
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Please can someone tell me what exactly is his worth to the public now? A widely derided figure who obviously has no self control, backed by a Chief Minister who also has no self control, I keep on hearing how ‘important’ he is to the States, how hard working he is and what a nice chap he is.
What has he achieved in his scrape throughs into public office? Have any schemes that are run under his remit been successful. I recall him being lauded for staying up late one night when the sewage pipes burst – but other than that…..even Dep Jones is swiping….
As the code of conduct plainly implies; the majority of people don’t know him, his family or his personality. Based on the reported facts he seems like a failing politician with ideas above his competence. This is not good enough now that Guernsey fancies itself as no longer a quiet, sleepy backwater, but as at the forefront for brokering major financial deals with dodgy superpowers.
He is now going to force the States to stand up and make predictable speeches (nice chap, irresponsible) and a vote will probably be largely split between those that don’t want to stick the boot in and those that are frankly disgusted with how he, and other senior members of the House have reacted to this.
Either way, this infantile behaviour from someone who should be guiding the next generation of politicians that wish the best for Guernsey has seriously undermined the credibility of government by individualism.
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How can the continuing ‘supporters’ of the DCM not recognise and accept the independent Panels findings.
The Panel was made of up of six respected individuals, including Advocate Tostevin, the DCM’s chosen panel member.
It was a unanimous panel decision, that he was not believed and he should be reprimanded and the issue be referred to the States.
Of course he should stand down and avoid any further embarrassment to Guernsey and all those who reside in our wonderful Island.
If, as he maintains he has huge support from both States members and the public he can restand for the position of DCM and will have confidence in his re-election.
Despite the criticism and at times the vilification I have personally received, the Royal College of Nursing is proud to have taken the action it did.
Racism in all its forms must be challenged, even when it may be perpetuated by ignorance.
To the doubters – this was never a witch hunt, it was about saying we must leave behind unacceptable behaviour and offensive language, lets value and appreciate diversity.
Let us all live and work together to make our community a safe, secure and enjoyable place to be.
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Frankly I am bored with the subject I am more interested to know how many of them are Freemasons.
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Do we have double standards being applied?
I recall Deputy Flouquet expecting a Minister to resign from the Policy Council, not because he did anything wrong, but because of ‘public’ perception (even though there was no public outcry for the Ministers resignation).
This time, this is no doubt about the public perception, and although it is not being suggested that he resign as a Minister, he appears to disregard the real public perception of his conduct whilst representing the island in a televised press conference. As Karen Rankine (MD of Channel TV) stated yesterday in the GP: ‘Channel Television confirms that the press conference in question had, in fact, officially started before the comments were made by the deputy, so it was entirely appropriate for the statements to be recorded by our cameras’
So I understand, after being advised not to tell the joke (what reason was given?) he still proceeded!.
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I am surprised no one has made the link between Midweek Murphy’s comments about Sark and Bernard Flouquet’s apparent inoffensive Golliwog joke.
It shows that humour is subjective; to black Afro Carribean’s the joke makes fun of their history and struggles and for the Sarkees Midweek Murphy’s joke is offensive to their way of Island life.
Flouquet, please go, you’re a complete embarrassment.
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I note Bernie is in good company these days…young Prince Harry has been filmed using racist descriptions of his fellow soldiers.Wasn’t this the same young scallywag who turned up at a London paty dressed as a Nazi officer.
Harry apologised for that insult, he has now once again apologised for his latest insults. There may be a question about who his real father is, but there can be no doubt that the Duke of Edinburgh is his grandfather.
Has Bernie got any Royal bloodline connections?
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I love Midweek Murphy!
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If prince harry,can appolgise and still remain third in line to the throne, so i cannot see why bernard cannot stay second in command of our of our states.
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wobberler
What a ridiculous statement. Harry Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was not elected. He can be as racist as he likes (and he likes) and all he has to do is pay lip service to societal niceties.
Our Barry tries to make friends and influence people in order to carry out public duty. If the public think it’s ok to be a narrow minded ignoramus then shame on us.
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……and there lies the problem Wobberler….people like you who cannot see..
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I wondered how long it would be before someone compared Bernie with Prince Harry!
As already pointed out..Harry isn’t an elected official, he made the comment privately and not at an official meeting and it merely made reference to the guys nationality, although this has been interpreted as derogatory according to some so the prince has quickly apologised.
Had Bernie joked about president elect Obama being a “Yank” to his next door neighbour and then this had been “leaked to the press” then then this would have been a much closer comparison and I doubt many people would have minded.
The apologists keep trying but using this example is like comparing an apple with an orange.
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I totally agree with wobberler, sure he can see very well, sounds to me Mr Gamble has a personal vendetta in this case, Prince Harry can apologise but you want blood from someone who will never have his kind of status. Reading the paper in the last week I feel Guernsey wants to be a law unto itself but on the other hand needs to be part of the UK when it suits, which is it???
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Nobody wants blood Caroline, just competence and accountability. Loose cannons like Flouquet are not good for the island.
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Did’nt anyone ever eat marmalade collect the tokens to have a pin badge or even a golliwog, no one seemed to get the hassle this man is getting, is there nothing better to talk about now on this Island.
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Caroline
I think it is interesting to highlight how pathetically racist Flouquet’s ‘overwhelming public support’ is proving to be. It may well have suited you to be ignorant about such issues in the past, but there is frankly no excuse for it in the present. All it does is perpetuate the myth that offensive behaviour should be treated as a joke. What sort of message does that send out?
The reason this silly little story has rumbled on is because of people like you defending the rights of someone who believes that racist comments are acceptable in 21st century global politics.
No, I did not collect the tokens, nor wear the badge or indeed regard golliwogs as toys. I was brought up to understand the history of racial abuse.
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So, Mr Flouquet says he didnt understand that there might be a racial link to golliwogs. That means he is either astoundingly stupid or astoundingly dishonest. I agree that it is beyond belief that he couldnt make the connection. That being the case, to expect anyone to believe his lie also shows incredibly poor judgment.
We dont need stupid and dishonest people representing Guernsey. Get out Bernard, you are an embarrassment to Guernsey and to yourself.
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Totally agree with Norman, People of Guernsey get a life, have you ever thought how many of us are left, clear the jobs from outsiders, according to Companies, there are not enough qualified people to take jobs in Guernsey, there must only be about a quarter of locals left, why then dont people going to the UK have to be licensed like outsiders do??? Guernsey is now run by UK’s.
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This is a politically correct storm in a teacup. This joke is not relevant to his ability to do his job, so it is not a sacking offence. The hypocrisy of the PC crowd is reprehensible – he could have praised Mao, who murdered tens of millions, and not one of them would have raised a whisper of protest.
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Yes Caroline I ate marmalade and collected the tokens for my badge, as a child I even had a Golliwog book for my birthday, but I didn’t associate the black children in my class at school with it.
Of coarse I didn’t get any hassel then as that was many years ago in more innocent times. Today things are different, people look at things in a different way because the way golliwog is used as a term of racial abuse.
When Deputy Flouquet told his pathetic joke he was associating black people with Golliwogs, the very thing which turned the innocent Golliwogs of my chidhood into icons of race hate.
He says he didn’t realise this, well he’s the age as me. Has he been on a different planet to the one I’ve lived on for all these years?.
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Caroline – you are advocating racism.
Your analogy regarding collecting tokens is totally defunct.
Next you will be saying it is OK for black people to queue in different queues, fight in different regiments, work on cotton farms and in fact, why not have them as slaves. This is the same difference – what you suggest is that ‘hey, it happened before so what is the big fuss?’ This is called ‘ignorance’.
In the 17th century we used to hang people, gillotine them, men could beat their wives, women could not vote etc. Just because we used to do it does not mean to say it is correct.
I admit that the world has gone PC mad however Bernie is supposed to be a man on political influence, and people in political influence need to be seen to be doing the appropriate and proportionate thing – he is a bigoted racist and should be kicked out.
You will be telling us all next that racism at football matches is OK as it went on all the time in the 1970′s and 80′s.
Get a life.
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Oliver Chettle
It is completely relevant to his job. He has shown a gross lack of judgement in the presence of the media. Part of his remit is to speak to external bodies on behalf of the people of Guernsey.
If he deems it necessary to be ignorant then this impacts on his overall competence as a politician. I didn’t know him before and now I do, he has put himself in this teacup and is steadfastly refusing to get out, he just can’t be trusted.
Oh, and please tell me what his political achievements have been.
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It’s no wonder that political correctness has such a bad name…it’s being constantly hijacked by racists as the only reason why people are making a stand against intolerance. There is no hypocrisy here, just a basic requirement that our politicians should represent our values. In an island with so much imported labour, in all walks of life, and International facing industries like tourism and finance, shouldn’t we deserve to have senior politicians that embrace this rather than snigger like a caricature from Love thy Neighbour!
Can the closet racists please stop whining about poor misunderstood Bernie being picked on by the “PC brigade” and join the rest of us in this century by politely requesting him to step down.
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so harry can call his mate a “paki” to the camera, but watch out people…the guernsey pc brigade will be down on you like a ton of bricks if you try to tell an old joke about golliwogs…what will chris rock and eddie murphy chat about on stage now? will NWA change their name? i dont think so. i suggest you go and listen to The Chronic. an album by Dr Dre. horses for courses i think.
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Caroline…no personal vendetta. I have never met the man and doubt if I care to.
I spent a good part of my younger days battling against apartheid and I sure as hell am not going to allow some dim-wit like Flouquet to parade about the cloisters of Guernsy making racist remarks that he and people like you think should be simply ignored.
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Caroline. Why don’t they have the tokens on jam jars anymore?
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leigh haines
I would suggest you do your homework on black culture coming out of the civil rights movements in the US. The espousal of derogatory terms by certain black gangs does NOT make it acceptable for their recent oppressors to think to continue the racial hatred. The likes of Richard Pryor were using the bad language as a heavy indicator of the savagery that blacks had to survive with in their everyday lives UNTIL VERY RECENTLY. The golliwog was an extension of this perverse attitude to fellow human beings, dressed up as harmless, childish innocence. I am sure no harm was intended by the users of this imagery, but it doesn’t alter the fact that it is borne out of prejudice.
I would defy you to go approach Mr Dr Dre and call him n*****.
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Totally ridiculous and inappropriate to draw any sort of comparison whatsoever between Prince Harry and Deputy Flouquet. The prince, when he uttered the P word, was a very immature young man, barely out of his 20s, who believed he was filming for a very closed audience of fellow young soldiers who were preparing to face a fearsome enemy in one of the world’s most dangerous war zones.
The deputy, when he uttered the G joke, was an experienced and seasoned politician, nearly three times the age of young Harry, who KNEW the cameras were rolling for a totally open press conference that had already begun, and he was preparing to face only the pussycats of the local media.
Absolutely laughable even to think of comparing the two!
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Oh come on. It was a joke, no need to sack him over that surely. The man has apologised now let him get on with it. In fact hasn’t he now apologised like half a dozens times already. Why can’t it just be dropped.
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Irrespective of wether we agree or disagree on the racist element of this farce we are left with the clear evidence that this man is not fit for office. He clearly puts himself above the well being of Guernsey and I for one want him to be removed from any responsible job in the States. There is now a clear suggestion that there is far more going on behind the scenes than any of us realise, why else would the CM and the policy council not insist on his resignation for the good of the states as a whole.
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Nice one Bernie – you make the rest of the States look like racists too, which of course they are as they are condoning your racism by not sacking you.
I conclude that the States of Guernsey and Lyndon Trott are all racist otherwise they would have had this clown fired.
Oh – and it is illegal to make comments based on colour, creed, sexual orientation or otherwise. I might to Barrack and get him to submit a complaint under the HRA and therefore Bernie will be prosecuted under the HRA – a real fillet for Guernsey international relations. Only kidding Bernie – I’ll give you a week to resign mate.
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Oh dear, when you read through all of these posts.. don’t you folks get wound up your own backsides.. when you look back at the original tape of Bernie you can see he is obviously merely repeating a joke he heard and that all it is doing is saying that yes, as Obama is black and a golliwog is black then yes, now it’s OK to bring it back. The joke DOESN’T refer to the history of black people and slavery etc etc. The doll was not meant to be representative of all that went before, it was just meant to be a comical doll, much like we have clown dolls. Incidentally, isn’t Bernie in good company now, heard the one about Prince Charles and Sooty?
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It is not often that I make entries on forums, but on this subject much has been written. Some say that enough has been said, but has it? Certainly not by Mr Flouquet, you can say sorry as many times as you want too, but what a lot of people want to hear are the words similar to I resign my post as Deputy Chief Minister, would be nice to see that printed after the States debate.
I may be mistaken, but I am unaware that he has been asked to resign as a Deputy or a Minister, but as you will know, when he is deputising for the Chief Minister, in Government business representing the Island of Guernsey, what do you think the individuals opposite him think and what is their perception of Guernsey as a whole.
I agree with what Mr Gamble has written as at January 13, 2009 at 1:43 pm
It will be interesting to see how the vote goes, if it comes to that. If he keeps the Deputy Chief Minister’s position, what will that say about the States of Guernsey, its views, the views of the current sitting deputies and what they see as acceptable behavior and see how much more damage is caused to the Island’s reputation.
Please Mr Flouquet, if you have an ounce of decency left, do the honorable thing and resign the position.
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This is increasingly looking like a political witch hunt, supported by some score settling from the last house, some new political aspirations and in the background a UK nursing union; and a healthy dose of faux outrage.
Brehaut’s is looking increasingly sticky here. He was threatened by the CM yet he didn’t follow through with the Code of Conduct Committee. So why the sudden moral high ground here?
It doesn’t make sense, unless it’s simply he prefers gangs when trying to sever the heads of government? Barry on his own against CM, or gang against the DCM. I suppose if yo uare going to give someone a kicking its better if its 7 on 1 isn’t it?
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My 2 cents:
His was a bad joke. In private, amongst friends, I may make comments that would be deemed racist, inappropriate or ‘edgy’ in order to raise a laugh, but I do not consider myself to be racist in the slightest.
The difference between myself and Mr F is the fact that he chose to make such a joke in front of the media which is just not done in this day and age.
If he thinks that is appropriate behaviour then he is a complete buffoon and should not be representing our island in any capacity, in my opinion.
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Jackie
Your analysis is wrong. Deputy Brehaut (reportedly) accepted the apology to avoid the CM’s embarassment as his own staff would have had to corroborate that the CM had been out of order. I imagine there was an amount of teeth-gritting about the whole thing.
Here the DCM opened his mouth and spouted off in front of the media without even considering there would be consequence which shows up a fatal flaw in his ability to communicate with the outside world as a spokesperson for Guernsey.
You and others obviously think it’s quite alright to make racist jokes on the public’s behalf. The majority don’t. Live with it.
Oh, and ‘witch hunt’ would imply that the DCM is innocent. I take it therefore that you think that the Code of Conduct panel are just another cog in this grand conspiracy?
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He isn’t innocent, but I accept the Code of Conducts findings of a reprimand. Beyond this, it’s a witch hunt.
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Darren
“I conclude that the States of Guernsey and Lyndon Trott are all racist otherwise they would have had this clown fired.” Oh dear; annd all their families and friends. The last tie I heard something like that it was Pol Pot massacaring people who wore spectacles; as this was a sign of intelligence: Something that is clearly lacking in your posts
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I’m not entirely clear how disapproval of one specific, named individual can be thought to be a witch hunt. Perhaps ‘witch hunt’ has now become an alternative for the ‘politically correct’ jibe.
While on the subject of language, I wonder who drafted the No Confidence requête. It asks that the motion be brought before the States “as soon as reasonably practicable”.
The time-honoured legal phrase is “as soon as may be”. However that has the disadvantage that the average citizen might interpret as being rather lackadaisical – which it isn’t.
I note that the Irish Law Commission’s 1999 Consultation Paper on Statutory Drafting and Interpretation recommends that the phrase be replaced by “as soon as practicable”.
The point being that the phrase used in the Billet suggests that “as soon as practicable” is open to unreasonable delay, which it isn’t.
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Jackie, your posts on this subject are increasingly desperate and hysterical. You’ve lost the argument so your only recourse is to bleat on about witch hunts and bullying. By the way, the vote of no confidence motion has seven signatures because those are the rules of the States. You need at least seven signatories to bring about a vote like this. The Code of Conduct Committee, whose findings Deputy Flouquet has accepted, cannot remove a DCM from office but, as near as dammit, that’s what they said they would like to see happen. Try reading the billet.
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Bring out the ducking stool!
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I bet he floats!
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