Funny, Bill and Ben the flower pot men sprang to mind when I read this thread too. Surprised I've got so far in life having watched that show as a kid and reading books such as Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" or that warmonger Biggles. I guess I could easily have grown up to be a sadistic marauder after reading Treasure Island.
I still have a small Thomas the Tank Engine book from 50+ years ago, it was fun to read again to my kids when they were little and they loved the pictures. Must have had an awful effect on my son who's now half way through UF studying biochemistry.

Coughs and sneezles spread diseasels. Good advice to a small boy growing up that's still just as relevant today.

Who can forget Ivor the Engine?

On the other hand, I enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom at the time, but it was on TV the other night and seemed incredibly crass and disrespectful to Indians.

As a rule we don't have the TV on at all when my 3-year old daughter is up, but as an occasional treat I've downloaded a pile of Ivor the Engine, Mary Mungo and Midge, Mr Benn, Bagpuss and Paddington onto a memory stick for her to watch. I know I'm messing her up for the time that she starts to compare notes with her friends. Just trying to preserve the British accent for as long as I can!

I just dug up the similar thread from 2011, several people replied with "It's just a kids TV show" or similar. Like that makes the conservatism more palatable. That kids brains are not sponges that suck up all sorts of influences. I said then that:

and I think my opinion has not changed. Thomas, the show, is unquestionably conservative. Does it matter for a child exposed to a variety of influences and discussions? Probably not.

Must admit I do not remember every seeing a Loco having an abortion.

... because Emily knew her stuff apparently.

Where's the thread?

BERT IS EVIL - The Only Official Evil Portal

I reckon Bert got to them. The bastard.

Racist because of the color of the smoke....? FFS........
Sometimes I wonder whether the folk bleating on about racism everywhere are a tad too "involved" and exacerbating the problem because they are looking for it everywhere...

A quick google came up with those images as first hits.....


Should I now head off to sue yahoo (ok, it wasn't google, but I just "yahoo'd" something just doesn't sound right...) for blatant racism in its presentation of locomotives.

Or maybe first I should track down the owner of the last wonderfully balanced locomotive, who presumably has a female engineer on the footplate, and will be perfectly willing to paint it pink for the unbiased viewing pleasure of generations to come.....unless of course, pinkstinks objects.......oh me, oh my, what to do.....

I do kind of get the white=good bad=black thing. It made me think of Muhammad Ali