Naming Your Black Cat Or Dog After A Well-known Black Person

Jeremy Clarkson tweeted that he had named his Scottish terrier dog Didier Drogba. Big deal. Hardly newsworthy but it was on the radio this morning on LBC. Some people thought that Jeremy Clarkson was being racist. The Scottish terrier is a black dog and Didier Drogba is a well known, top-flight footballer who used to play in the Premier league in England but who now plays for a Turkish club. I think Jeremy Clarkson was also enjoying a play on words because the word “dog” is hidden inside the surname of the footballer “Drogba”. “Drog” — “dog”. Amusing.

Okay. The radio show that I refer to is one in which listeners can call in and enter into a telephone discussion with the presenter. A well-known British presenter, Nick Ferrari, was the host. A person called in and said that he had called his black cat Whitney after Whitney Houston the famous black singer. Both Ferrari and the caller believed Clarkson was not being racist even inadvertently. The caller thought the hoo-ha was a case of OT PC (over the top political correctness).

The big question is whether naming a black cat or black dog after a black celebrity person is acceptable. Some people will rightly argue that the whole conversation is pointless and that this is another example of political correctness. There is a lot of political correctness in Britain at the moment and it means that we cannot open our mouths without thinking very carefully what we want to say for fear of upsetting the “political correctness police”.

I am one of those people who is sensitive to the emotions and feelings of other people and of course animals but who likes people to speak their minds without fear of being criticised because of political correctness or a misguided, heightened sensitivity.

As a result, my opinion about what Jeremy Clarkson tweeted is that it is entirely acceptable. Jeremy Clarkson is known to be outspoken and very funny. He is a presenter of the well-known BBC television programme called Top Gear (it’s about cars). I don’t know if Americans have seen this program but it is very popular in Britain and sold throughout the world.

What do you think? Perhaps it depends on which country you live in. In some countries the dog is seen as “ritually” unclean (unfairly, I have to say). Isn’t that the attitude of the citizens of Islamic countries? As far as I know Muslims generally see dogs in a negative light. If that is correct, what Clarkson did might be seen by Muslims, not as racist, by as an insult. Do we care?

Associated: Hidden racism behind disliking black cats.