Originally Posted by LONDON (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – The BBC apologised to the Mexican ambassador to London on Friday for remarks made about him on a top television show -- but defended its jokes about the country as being part of British humour.
Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora had written to the BBC earlier in the week about comments made by presenters of the motoring show "Top Gear" describing Mexicans as "lazy", "feckless" and "flatulent".
The BBC said in a statement that the executive producer of the show had "written to the Mexican Ambassador and apologised for the comments made about him during the show."
But it added: "On the broader issue of comments about Mexicans as people, the show has explained they were making comic use of a stereotype; a practice with which regular viewers of Top Gear will be familiar."
In the show, during a discussion about a sports car made by Mexican firm Mastretta, presenter Richard Hammond said vehicles reflected national characteristics.
"Mexican cars are just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat," he said.
The presenters then described Mexican food as "sick with cheese on it".
Chief presenter Jeremy Clarkson later said "we won't get any complaints about this because the Mexican ambassador's going to be sitting there with a remote control like this" -- before slumping in his chair and snoring.
The BBC said hundreds of Mexicans had contacted its Spanish-language website BBC Mundo to complain.
Medina-Mora described the remarks as "outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults".
But the BBC said that while the comments may have been "rude" there was "no vindictiveness" behind them.
"We are sorry if we have offended some people, but jokes centred on national stereotyping are a part of Top Gear's humour, and indeed a robust part of our national humour," the statement said.
"Our own comedians make jokes about the British being terrible cooks and terrible romantics, and we in turn make jokes about the Italians being disorganised and over dramatic; the French being arrogant and the Germans being over organized."

Originally Posted by red6spd (Post 927494)

Can you hear that????? Its the worlds smallest violin playing just for them.. LOL

Originally Posted by ThoriumHotdog (Post 927722)

I'm glad the real Top Gear isn't filmed in the US. There would be angry La Raza protests and Clarkson would have been canned on the spot. Hurray for the UK!

Originally Posted by Lemers (Post 927836)

The American filter is changing from "for the people" to "for the minorities"

Originally Posted by Lemers (Post 939733)

There are laws protecting the rights of women and anyone from a minority. But what law out there specifies a white male for protection?

Originally Posted by Lemers (Post 939733)

There are laws protecting the rights of women and anyone from a minority. But what law out there specifies a white male for protection?

Originally Posted by Lemers (Post 939827)

I would like to say that a war was fought that killed more Americans then any other war in history and those Soldiers fighting and dying were a vast majority of white people.

And even after slavery was abolished white people in the north continued to have indentured servants. Indentured servants white immigrants like my ancestors that worked in close the slave conditions and each generation built on the values that their parents pasted down.

I don't ever remember being given anything because I was white. But I see a lot of programs that give money and privilege to people because they are from a minority.

Originally Posted by Jordo! (Post 940214)

...
And WTF is "black privilege"? Having a greater likelihood of possessing a big ****?

Originally Posted by Jordo! (Post 940214)

Dude, historically, and cross culturally white people have a huge leg up on like everyone else.

That doens't mean you don't have to work hard -- it just means someone of a different background generally has to work substantially harder to get to the same rung.

Really now...

And WTF is "black privilege"? Having a greater likelihood of possessing a big ****?

Seriously, if you are a white male you have so many advantages over everyone else, the only people you should be complaining about competing with are other white males. Gimmie a fvcking break.

Originally Posted by nuTinmuch (Post 940233)

Yes, exactly that!

Hahaha, no, but it was more to show -everyone- has some advantage, somewhere, although some are way larger than others. I'm not getting into that argument, though. :p

Originally Posted by Ron (Post 940225)

:icon18: Today's episode of Top Gear was one the best I've seen. And they mentioned Mexico again lol. For those that don't know, you can download them from here: http://www.finalgear.com/shows/topgear/