A single word from Carl Jan Granqvist on live radio triggered immediate reactions in the studio. By the time the broadcast was over, the word had been edited out - and in post-mortem reports it is often avoided altogether.
The popular restaurateur and label profile Carl Jan Granqvist was participating in the “Talkshow i P1” to talk about Easter tableware when the situation arose. In a description of older black porcelain, he used the word “negro”, which was immediately met with a clear remark from the host in the middle of the broadcast.
- Wow, we are not allowed to use that word. Today we are not allowed to use that word, the presenter said Ciss Elwin quickly.
Granqvist responded directly in the same vein, referring to a historical context:
- No, but they didn't know that in the 1930s.
The exchange took place in real time and the transmission continued thereafter without any longer interruptions.
The word removed afterwards
When the program later was published in Swedish Radio's digital channels, the word had been cut out. This means that the version now available differs from what was actually broadcast live to listeners.
- It was of course an unfortunate situation during the live broadcast... The word will also be cut from the digital version, says the program's responsible publisher Emma Boëthius.
According to Sveriges Radio, the change should be apparent afterwards, but the actual wording is not included in the published audio file.
Same event - different rendering
After the broadcast, several mainstream media reported on the incident. These texts describe what happened, but the word “negro” itself is often not printed. Instead, the anxious euphemism “the n-word” is used, despite the fact that the word was spoken openly on live radio.
Granqvist himself has subsequently explained his choice of words by saying that he was referring to older terms.
- That was just so I could be accurate with the description.
He says the term was used historically to refer to the type of icing discussed in the program. However, he doesn't seem as concerned and shocked as the established newspaper editors that a word was said on air.
- I am 80 years old and have four years to go to my grave. I don't have to apologize for my life. My whole life has been devoted to enlightenment and I have never worked on racism or anything like that. Your intonations for a political career or whatever you are doing as editors are none of my business. I can only be upset that you are trying to get a person who has worked for public education to be questioned, he tells Göteborgs-Posten.
Just so ridiculous that you can't mention the n-word when you used it daily when I was growing up.
Agreed!
The democratic PC dictatorship decides what words we can say. The media are the obedient and strangled lapdogs of the oppressive state
Negro balls and negro kisses were good candies in the 50s and 60s. Negrita is a good rum. In Norrbotten we call high tufts on the marshes for negro skulls. Evert Taube sang about tall negroes, negroes and screams and screams, etc. Negro means black. Nothing else.