HUMOUR BYPASS
I was watching Question Time on BBC1 yesterday and the first subject to be discussed was Jeremy Clarkson's crack about how the strikers should be taken out and shot.
Some context for those who think the world begins and ends at our shores: Question Time is a discussion programme on the BBC where a number of pretty lofty individuals are asked questions by the audience. It's sort of Xarabank without the baying chavs and tejatrin tal-kappillan elements.
Jeremy Clarkson presents probably the best motoring show in the world and is – how should one put it? – less than perfectly politically correct, which is why I love the guy and his show. The BBC is a publicly-funded broadcaster of some repute and very often accused of corporate bias by the political parties, though they don't actually descend to the pettiness of accusing individuals of having an opinion. In a real democracy, individuals are, and this may come as a surprise to the Lil'Elves, expected to have an opinion.
The strikers to whom Clarkson was referring were the ones who participated in a day of stoppage in the UK because they felt aggrieved by the austerity measure taken in connection with their pension rights by the Coalition. They are retaining pension rights but they want their cake in full, apparently unwilling to acknowledge that the pain should be shared.
Clarkson made the crack during a programme on the Beeb, and if you read it in full and in context, you realise that he had his tongue firmly in his cheek, quite apart from the fact that he was spoofing the "you must have a balanced view" attitude so beloved of organisations such as our revered Thought Police, a.k.a. the Broadcasting Authority.
The audience during Question Time clearly got this, from the tone of the questions put and the comments made. The only two who clearly didn't were a pinch-faced representative of the teachers' union, who said she didn't want to be po-faced about the thing and immediately contradicted herself by being precisely that, and the Shadow Minister for something or other who got all earnest and serious about it and went on to attack Clarkson personally, wondering why people thought he was so special and such a great broadcaster.
Is it coincidental that it was from the Left that this came?
A complete failure to take things lightly, an over-inflated sense of self-importance and an immediate personal attack on someone who expressed an opinion that is contrary to theirs' characterised the way Clarkson's inane joke was treated by the two members of the panel who came from the union and Labour Party. Everyone else, the audience included, just got the joke and moved on.
And there I was thinking that this sort of thing only happens here.
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Andrew Azzopardi
Dec 3rd 2011, 11:13
see
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100121397/jeremy-clarkson-ignites-the-hypocrisy-of-the-left/
Victor Laiviera
Dec 5th 2011, 08:48
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2011/dec/04/observer-profile-jeremy-clarkson?newsfeed=true
Cherry-picking on the net is fun isn't it?
J Farrugia
Dec 3rd 2011, 10:18
Clarkson has the right to say whatever he wishes,, it's called freedom of speach and the right to an opinion, dont like it dont listen. the guy's a legend.
Andy Farrugia
Dec 3rd 2011, 11:21
What? Freedom of speech and expression? What sort of gibberish would that be? You see, for the loony left freedom of speech and expression only applies in matters concerning pornography and the right to vilify believers. Loony lefties - a particularly dull sort of gutless, humorless, tawdry hypocrites. They are hilarious, endlessly.
Mario Grech
Dec 3rd 2011, 17:16
@Andy Farrugia
Oh! so glad to see (from your own comment) that for the loony right is oh so different! Clearly Loony righties are a aprticularly bright sort, humour brimmin, genuine beasts. Oh! Andy Oh! Andy
Henry Mifsud
Dec 3rd 2011, 08:51
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20111203/life-features/clarkson-puts-his-second-foot-in-it.396561
Adrian Borg Cardona
Dec 2nd 2011, 18:35
" an over-inflated sense of self-importance and an immediate personal attack on someone who expressed an opinion that is contrary to theirs" - now why did this comment remind me of a certain blogger- not you! Which remainds me: aren't you sad that your chum Lou had to close down his blog or risk losing his job on PBS? And there I was thinking that the PN stands for freedom of expression!
Andrew Borg-Cardona
Dec 2nd 2011, 19:18
Huh?
Angus Black
Dec 2nd 2011, 19:54
PN - PBS, I cannot see the connection, but as to Lou's risk of losing his job, as you put it, I can only see one connection - the one with the Labour Party.
The NP restored freedom of speech, you know, Adrian, unless you were too young to remember that pre-1987 the then leader of the Nationalist Opposition's name was banned at the PBS.
The NP tolerates comments from anyone who cares to speak or tap on a keyboard with impunity and such liberty is not restricted to any 'chum' in particular.
pat muscat
Dec 3rd 2011, 08:38
@Angus Black. There was no freedom of speech in the 60s; the Opposition,s broadcasts on radio were censored,,newspapers could not be read in hospitals and Government departments. There was not even a free vote and no freedom of conscience! Labour supporters were terrorised into submission by the PN and the Church. Thankfully the Church apologized for its actions: the PN did not!
Mr F J Brincat
Dec 2nd 2011, 15:51
"Jeremy Clarkson presents probably the best motoring show in the world..." Does he really? I thought he presented Top Gear.
Mr James Hamilton
Dec 2nd 2011, 15:32
Hearing the Jeremy Clarkson remark about shooting strikers. I thought he was most probably talking about the dismal performance of Chelsea FC of late, whose strikers seem to have lost their ability to shoot.
However in keeping with this story and keeping things in perspective, it should be noted that even David Cameron who happens to be Clarksons chum, thought that it was a stupid and uncalled for remark to make..
Ivan Grech Mintoff
Dec 2nd 2011, 15:06
@il-bocca
Glad you watch the BBC. It is true that foreign media help beat the local (PN) propaganda that the world begins and ends at our shores!
So, needless to say, you will also have picked up the huge, huge alarm bells ringing through the fiscal world right now about the state of the Euro whereby France, UK, Germany, US etc are all saying that it is on the brink of collapse all within DAYS...
Is the euro about to capsize?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15592197
Merkel urges euro fiscal union to tackle debt crisis:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15997784
Eurozone crisis: Cameron and Sarkozy in Paris talks:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15997709
And -believe me- Aunty Beeb is being much less dramatic about the situation than France , Germany and other sources of information including what's coming out of Brussels HQ itself.
For instance if you search for the word EURO in
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/search?lr=lang_en&q=euro
You get nothing but 'EURO-CRISIS' and 'Euro SAVING work' links!!!
And yet in Malta...... nothing!
(Apart from your silly sense of humour and not much else of substance which is always to be expected, of course...)
Why is THIS government not mentioning ANYTHING about the situation, when other countries are readying themselves for the worst...?
Another internal crisis taking them away from REALITY again..?
Or waiting for the opposition to give you some ideas, perhaps.
Humour bypass?
Never a truer word spoken in jest... pity it with such awful timing and is in such bad taste.
Victor Laiviera
Dec 2nd 2011, 10:38
Clarkson is a lout. Not only that, but I shudder to think how many people (especially young people) have lost their lives because of his glorification of cars and excessive speed.
(if you feel like calling me politically correct, and po-faced, go right ahead; I'm sure it will make you feel better)
Mr Tony Gatt
Dec 2nd 2011, 11:10
Whilst I feel there was a bit of over-reaction to his comment about the strikers (he said they should all be shot) I agree he is a lout; he just makes these childish comments to grab attention, I suppose.
Andy Farrugia
Dec 2nd 2011, 11:39
Can you try to formulate a phrase from the following words: sense (noun: common, abstract) - of (preposition) - a (determiner: indefinite article) - humour (noun: common, abstract)? Doubt it, since you seem to be totally devoid of it! What next? Bring on the thought-control police and the censors?
Antoine Vella
Dec 2nd 2011, 20:25
Andy Farrugia, you are so right. Among the many readers of this blog there seems to be a small bunch of grumpy old men who remind me of Victor Meldrew.
Victor Laiviera
Dec 3rd 2011, 09:55
@ Andy Farrugia
Are you saying that I do not have the right to say that Jeremy Clarkson is an uncouth lout if that is what I think? Isn't that a sort of ... erm ... censorship?
Are you going to report mt to the Thought-Control Police?
Andy Farrugia
Dec 3rd 2011, 11:45
Not at all, Laiviera; I merely exercised my right to suggest that you are humorless! Thought-Control Police? That is a term invented by loony lefties, not me.
Victor Laiviera
Dec 3rd 2011, 18:40
The term "Thought Police" was invented by George Orwell in his novel "1984".
Are you saying that one of the seminal writers of the 20th Century was a "loony leftist"?
Victor Laiviera
Dec 4th 2011, 08:07
@Andy Farrugia
The term "Thought Police" was invented by George Orwell in his seminal novel "1984".
Are you saying that one of the most influential writers of the 20th Century was a "loony lefty"?
Andy Farrugia
Dec 4th 2011, 10:31
Laiviera, you and fellow loony leftists are the experts in propaganda and re-education programmes, not me. Try to go beyond a superficial reading of Orwell, if you are up to it.
Victor Laiviera
Dec 4th 2011, 13:27
@ Andy Farrugia
I know it can't be very nice to be caught making such a gaffe in the national press - but you really should control your temper. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
Andy Farrugia
Dec 4th 2011, 19:50
@ Laiviera
Which gaffe are you drivelling about? As regards cliched expressions concerning heat and kitchen: thanks for the advice, I take it you mean that only dyed-in-the-wool political appartchiks like your kind self ought to have a say about matters which concern all of us. I was never in any doubt about your democratic credentials!
Victor Laiviera
Dec 5th 2011, 08:44
The gaffe, Mr Farrugia, consists in referring to a literary giant like George Orwell as a "loony lefty".
I'm assuming you know who George Orwell was of course.
Andy Farrugia
Dec 5th 2011, 18:53
@ Laiviera
"The gaffe, Mr Farrugia, consists in referring to a literary giant like George Orwell as a "loony lefty"."
( If what you assert were corrrect, you should have included a personal pronoun, YOU - referring to ME-, between the preposition IN and the Verb REFERRING.)
I know you are an expert in fudging, spinning, twisting and weaving ( typical of "the loony left") but you brought Orwell into the equation. I never referred to Orwell in the terms you describe. See if you can find any evidence of the FALSE quote - "loony lefty" - you ascribe to me! I never even used the word "lefty". But, as i stated previously, "I was never in any doubt about your democratic credentials." Goodbye.
Guzi Abela
Dec 2nd 2011, 10:08
You have never watched Ballaro' have'nt you?
Andrew Borg-Cardona
Dec 2nd 2011, 10:43
No I haven't never watched it - actually, I have never watched it, if that's what you were trying to say. And your point is?
Please choose the reason of your report below: