Friday, June 19, 2020

The Hissing of Dumber Fauns

Telegraph
England rugby fans could soon be banned from singing 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'
RFU reviewing use of the American slave anthem which has previously been criticised by academics for cultural appropriation
I am not sure that this has been thought through. How would one go about enforcing such a ban? I remember when we were in school a teacher left at the end of a lesson and then returned in high dudgeon claiming that someone had hissed at her on the way out. I hadn't heard any hissing, but it instantly occurred to me (and many other classmates) that it is possible to hiss invisibly. Practically all of us hissed her on the second and many subsequent exits. It was madness to challenge us like that. The deputy head was summoned as I recall, such was the escalation.

I can remember hearing Swing Low Sweet Chariot at an international for the first time watching on the TV when Chris Oti scored a hat trick against Ireland in 1998. I was bemused to say the least.

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