Prince Philip is a unabashed racist

The argument

Prince Philip is a racist, and he has made racially insensitive comments consistently for decades. Some of these include telling the president of Nigeria that he looks ready for bed when the latter was wearing traditional robes, asking native Australians if they are still throwing spears at one another, and insinuating that British exchange students living in China will eventually get "slitty-eyed." There are many more comments where these come from, and they demonstrate that Prince Philip has very problematic views about people of color.

Premises

Counter-arguments

One of Prince Philip's comments--specifically the one about throwing spears--was not actually racist. According to one of the native Australians who met him, the royal's question was based not on a misconception of indigenous culture but instead on a performance involving the throwing of boomerangs and spears that was put on by a group of Aboriginal people. Prince Philip's comment was therefore taken out of context and is not indicative of a racist attitude towards indigenous Australians.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Consistency across decades is asserted from a short list of remarks, with no account of how many such occasions arose across a public life of many thousands of engagements. [Rejecting P2] At least one example is contested. The counter-argument reports that the question about spears followed a display of spear- and boomerang-throwing staged by Aboriginal performers, which changes what the remark was responding to. [Rejecting P3] The step from remarks to settled views is the one the argument needs and does not take. Offensive or careless comments can be evidence of prejudice, but the premise treats them as proof of it, and nothing else is offered — no decision, appointment or stated belief — in support.

Further reading

More on prejudiced comments that Prince Philip has made: www.mashable.com/2017/05/04/prince-philip-gaffes-list/