RE: What do you think of this?

It's a bit condescending but not shocking to me. When I think of all of the adjectives used about the French, Italians, Spanish, etc;, it is probably superior to most descriptions.

I think "back drop" should be one word, "backdrop".

Yes, but it is not disrespectful.

I would say it was downright disrespectful, stripping the people of their humanity by equating them with the scenery.

What are they supposed to be a back drop or backdrop to?

It reminded me that here in the United States you might have heard references to piccaninnies on a Southern plantation. In the film "Gone With the Wind," the ignorant, superstitious slave girl Prissy, played by actress Butterfly McQueen, is an example of the stereotype.

if you scroll down to "Controversial usage" at the link that follows, you will see that the term has been defended fairly recently by the governor of one of our states, a white man.

Piccaninny

It basically says, "The people of Madagascar form a lively and colourful backdrop to the country's spectacular scenery."

In addition to insensitively objectifying the Malagasy, the sentence paints an incongruous image: how are people a backdrop to scenery? It should be vice versa, if at all.

I love looking at black people!

Thank you that is very helpful to me. I am an older man in England and sometimes I wonder what is now considered to be generally offensive.

I am very much with # 4,5,6 on this. I wondered if I was being oversensitive.

The word piccaninny was used in my childhood as were many other words which were not necessarily intended to give offence.

and 7 I don't know what to say so I won't.

It seemed pretty condescending on first read and disrespectful on second. I found the original. It's from the website of a UK company that offers "educational expeditions abroad for school group travel." The company looks extremely reliable and respectable. I looked at some of their other trips & didn't see anything like this, so I think it is an unfortunate hiccup.

In Tok Pisin, the pidgin of Papua New Guinea, pikinini is the standard word for child. Prince Charles introduced himself as "Mi nabawan pikinini bilong Missus Kwin" during a tour last year. I knew that before I arrived in PNG, but was still rather startled the first time I heard it used to address a group of very black children.

Pickaninny is thought to be from a "diminutive from Spanish pequeño+ or Portuguese +pequeno. "

Edited by: nutraxfornerves, taipim i no stret.