Burn the heretics, and all their works!

Readers may recall that at the beginning of last month, I noted that efforts were being made to remove the iconic French cartoon character, Asterix the Gaul, as the face of a campaign promoting children's rights, on the grounds that it was "too French" for a multicultural society such as France.

Well, now another well-known cartoon character has fallen foul of the multiculturalists and "anti-racists". Yes, Tintin, the Belgian cartoon character, has been denounced as "racist" by the ever-cretinous Commission for Racial Equality, which wants him banned. The particular offence comes in the form of the book Tintin in the Congo, first published in 1946. Apparently, the depictions of black Congolese in the book are deemed demeaning.

A spokesman for the CRE said: "This book contains imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice, where the 'savage natives' look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles.

"It beggars belief that in this day and age Borders would think it acceptable to sell and display Tintin In The Congo. High street shops, and indeed any shops, ought to think very carefully about whether they ought to be selling and displaying it."

The spokesman said the only acceptable place for the book was "in a museum, with a big sign saying 'old fashioned, racist claptrap' ".

Tintin may not be politically-correct. It may even be offensive to some people (what isn't?). But that is absolutely no reason to ban it. Children can, presumably, enjoy Tintin without becoming wicked racists with a mission to wipe out all black people. And surely, if this is a book which children shouldn't be reading, then that is a matter for their parents to decide on, rather than race relations industry honchos.

Another point that comes to mind is, why pick on this rather innocuous comic book? Why does the CRE not concern itself with, for example, the deeply racist lyrics directed by certain black rappers against white people? After all, I don't think that Tintin ever expressed his desire to kill blacks, did he? As ever, the CRE's behaviour just serves to illustrate the double standards which permeate all discussions of race in this country today.