Ed Lines: Bar guilty of fun, realism not racism

I wonder exactly what it was that got them riled about a Paihia Christmas float which included several black slaves.

Slaves who, from the photographic evidence I've seen, were going about their business in hauling their queen Cleopatra through the streets of Paihia.

Certainly, the slaves' presence can't be considered gratuitous - the parade, organised by Business Paihia, had a Rivers of the World theme. Up to nine complaints were lodged with the business association before the parade, arising from the use of black body paint and rumours the float would feature nudity and whipping.

There was none of the latter. But there was plenty of the former.

The float was put together by The Beachhouse Bar, which apparently outdid itself last year with a float that our reporter Peter de Graaf suggested looked "like it had warped in from Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, featuring 20 male dancers clad in little more than gold body paint".

Crikey.

Bars causing controversy with crazy stunts in Northland is nothing new of course.

Whangarei's Killer Prawn caused a stir one year with a St Patrick's Day stunt that an Irish guest took exception to. No surprise it offended the Irish lady - the stunt involved balaclavas and a fake knee-capping.

The bar acknowledged it might have been in bad taste, apologised and the relatively small world of Whangarei righted itself upon its axis and life went on.

Bar owners tend to study at the "all publicity is good publicity" school of marketing.

It's not a get out of jail card, mind you. But the concerns about the Paihia float appear to have not only been unfounded but lacking in the spirit of the event.

The realism that the bar sought obviously struck a politically correct chord.

Fair enough that no one wants to see slavery or coloured people lampooned.

But perhaps the only thing that the Paihia bar is guilty of is a sense of fun and realism - not racism.

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