F-word Boris and the driver of a black London cab

Some people are saying the mophead mayor of London Boris Johnson  is a racist. But the cabbie in this episode was not black at all; a black cab is common usage for the distinctive London taxi,  if not all of them are black these days. Johnson, an occasional visitor to Zimbabwe when working as a journalist, says the white cab driver in his home neighbourhood is a ”serial heckler” who is always yells out of the window of his black taxi, not least at public figures he recognises.

In my day as a newspaper sub-editor doing page make-up and headlines we never used the f-word, even with asterisks. And when our ceremonial president in Zimbabwe was Canaan Banana we were never allowed to use Banana in headlines. It had to be “President to host banquet for regional leaders” and not “Banana banquet for regional leaders.”

The British gutter press, of course, never have any qualms about their headlines.

When Canaan Banana fell from grace and went on trial for illegal homosexual offences, they had “Banana up for sodomy” and “Banana got fruity and squeezed my plums, says witness.”

From a previous post of mine. At least this made a social point about greed and excess among business and political leaders.