the clarkson debate

[ChristoT]

How come there wasn't an outcry when he was going on about bikers near his home, he said " nothing a length of wire streched across the road won't solve" or was I the only person watching that program?

Because after the first bike, people would be riding up with baseball bats... :evil

[rustyrider]

As someone earlier said, it's not what is said but it's how it's said.  Not only that, it's who is saying it.  About 4 years ago I was taking responsibility for removing London's many pirate radio stations and was being shown some of the less salubrious tower blocks in London where they put their transmitters.  We took one station off air and the guy I was to replace was explaining that the owner of this station would often turn up but was harmless enough.  At this point a tatty Escort van pulled into the street and drove slowly towards us.  Thinking it might be the station owner, we stood there watching it as it drove up.  As it get level with us the driver wound down his window, looked at us and said, "What's the matter, have you guys never seen a nigger before?"

So he can say it when talking about himself but nobody else, or at least no white person, can say it about him.  How does that work then?

[Deefer666]

Who cares? The role Clarkson plays is an ass, but that's all it is A ROLE. He has made a great deal of money by saying controversial and sometimes offensive stuff, which is why there are idiots hanging off his every word in the hope that they can scandalise it and bring him down.

Surely there is more important things going on in the world to be filling the news rather than what some podgy, over the hill, TV celeb might or might not have said?

[midden]

[quote author=mtread link=topic=12928.msg146129#msg146129 date=1399142439]
Not that I'm a fan of (attention seeker, overpaid) Clarkson, but it's how you use words that matter, not what you say.
Didn't Harman call Danny Alexander a 'Ginger Rodent' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-sc...s-11658228 ?
Perhaps she shouldn't be such a hypocrite ?

Think, having watched the vid clip that was rather tongue in cheek at least she never used the word nigger, Clarkson has been pushing the boundaries for sometime now.
All I will say shame she was not the leader of the Labour party got more about her than most off those twats.
[/quote]


Oh  I'm awake now, I missed this one thought it was still going on about the slope comment.......
Ginger rodent is just as bad and/or humorous and shouldn't be excused as tongue and cheek. It should be one rule across the board. In fact in comparison it's worse as it was actually directed at a person. Just that that person probably laughed it off.
Makes me laugh how the 'N' word is so taboo when a white person uses it (in any context) yet it's ok for coloured people to call each other it in  public and in fact write it in to song lyrics.


Interestingly I'm glad but surprised that 'Stupidity' hadn't bleeped out Nigger in the 'Dam busters' the last time I watched it

[midden]

Who cares? The role Clarkson plays is an ass, but that's all it is A ROLE. He has made a great deal of money by saying controversial and sometimes offensive stuff, which is why there are idiots hanging off his every word in the hope that they can scandalise it and bring him down.

Surely there is more important things going on in the world to be filling the news rather than what some podgy, over the hill, TV celeb might or might not have said?

:thumbup :thumbup

[nick crisp]

How come there wasn't an outcry when he was going on about bikers near his home, he said " nothing a length of wire streched across the road won't solve" or was I the only person watching that program?

We know where you live Clarkson 

Chipping Norton - anyone want his address?  :evil  :lol

[pitternator]

Nigger is just a colloquial of negro...is that racist ??..is Caucasian racist too..? Black is a color not a racist remark. Its all bullshit .People have been calling each other names for ever ...sticks and stones etc...

What is" racism" anyway ??....in the UK today too many people winge on about it when tbh theres more foreigners here than indigenous brits and most are doing quite well from it. Hardly downtrodden slaves....... We should be more concerned with starving poor people in the Uk than an off screen utterance from a burk like JC...

[Deefer666]

I thought that the word Nigger came from the dark skinned natives of the Niger delta, Hence the country Nigeria. So surely its a term used to describe a people from a certain area?

[richfzs]

In a similar vein, "stan" means "place of the". Afghanistan is where the Afghans come from, etc etc.

When I was a kid, we used to use the paki shop to get our sweets. We weren't being racist - we were possibly ignorant, for those good shopkeepers may well have been from India, but we meant no malice whatsoever. And surely that's where racism should be defined, when something is meant in a derogatory way?

Clarkson is, as others have said, a buffoon, there's much more important things to worry about!

[Fazafou]

I thought that the word Nigger came from the dark skinned natives of the Niger delta, Hence the country Nigeria. So surely its a term used to describe a people from a certain area?

The term was used as a derogatory name that whites called the black slaves, and its this link that is the controversial bit.

[Millietant]

I met Clarkson at the Nuburgring when he did the S Type Jaguar piece and if I remember correctly, in a quiet moment away from the camera's and talking to a group of us who were there on bikes, he's a bit of a closet biker himself - I think he even owned up to having a RD250 when he was young.


Like someone else said, his TV persona is an act. In real life and away from the camera's, he seems like an ordinary bloke - in fact, when we standing alone, by the Jag, smoking, between some filming, he seemed as lonely and out of place as any normal person might be in the same situation and he seemed genuinely glad when we spoke to him.


We also got to do some messing with them when they were out in the public sessions, which was fun (but man, was he slow in that car).


Back on the PC/racism topic, some of our closest friends are of Indian descent, and I have aMalaysian brother in law, Honduran and Chinese sisters in law, a very close group Mexican friends and one of my oldest friends is from Ghana. Yet, when we're together we always have jokes about ethnicity, every way and it's all done and taken in the fun manner in which is was meant - friendly and with no intent to "abuse".


In my, not so humble, opinion, racism CANNOT be identified by the words a person uses - only by the manner and intent in which they are used - and RACISM works both ways. When was the last time we heard of a White English person suffering from racial abuse, or suffering a "racist" (or hate-crime) attack ?


The PC community need to get real and let everyone get on with their lives.

[darrsi]

It's just the media being total wankers as usual.
One of the few British icons we have left and they're trying to bring him down just to make a profit.
Remember, that video was never meant for public release, so whoever the arsehole is that leaked it should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Whatever next, are they gonna persecute people for thinking things as well?

[VNA]

Firstly I'm really not that interested.
What I do find more interesting are some of the comments in this thread.

I'll start with darrsi;

It's just the media being total wankers as usual.

Clarkson loves the media, he plays to them.

One of the few British icons we have left and they're trying to bring him down just to make a profit.

God help us if people consider Clarkson an icon, he's an embarrassment, as for profit - see above.

Now to the head post,

i was aware of her involvement with the paedophile exchange

I am not aware of Harriet Harman having any involvement in what I think you mean to be Paedophile Information Exchange  (PIE).  I do not think that is correct.

or their attempt to make photos of children legal

PIE would not have to make any such attempt.  There is nothing illegal about images of children.

racism i can live with, paedophilia is in 'bullet to the head' territory as far as i'm concerned.

Neither paedophilia or racism should be tolerated.

Pitternator,

Nigger is just a colloquial of negro...is that racist ??

Yes it is a racist term.  It is a 'white man's' term for a person of African descent, it is a word strongly associated, historically, with discrimination, slavery, torture right through to mass murder and genocide.

People have been calling each other names for ever ...sticks and stones etc...

Yes people have been manipulating language for thousands of years.  If you can control language, and you can use language to demonise others, then you can 'legitimately' descriminate right through to eliminating an entire section or race from society.  Do not underestimate the power of language. 

[bigralphie]

Bit like us
We can called each other Foccers but if someone else called you that while out shopping you would be offended  :lol

[ogri48]

Clarkson is entertaining, as are his oppos, May and the hamster. The new series is too contrived, which is a shame, but it's still good telly. As entertainment goes, him and his antics are what you expect to get. If you don't like him, vote with your feet( or the telly remote at least), if you do, enjoy it for what it is, old school banter. The day will come when there will be none of that  left, until then I'll take it for the harmless entertainment that it us.

[VNA]

If you don't like him, vote with your feet

Indeed I do.  It's pretty dumb, dull, stupid TV.  It's sad it's so popular.

[ogri48]

Ah well hey. I guess there's still a few pretty dumb, dull stupid people like me about. We can't all be clever, interesting and intelligent. How's that working out for you?

[rustyrider]

Nigger is just a colloquial of negro...is that racist ??

Yes it is a racist term.  It is a 'white man's' term for a person of African descent, it is a word strongly associated, historically, with discrimination, slavery, torture right through to mass murder and genocide.

Bollocks.  If that was the case it wouldn't be commonplace for people of African origin to refer to each of by the term.  It is only considered racist by the white pc brigade and not by those that it is supposed to be insulting to.  Neither of the two black guys I work with (one is Afro-Caribbean, the other from Ghana) consider it to be derogatory and will use it to describe each other.  But heaven help me if anyone overheard me use it.....

[VNA]

I am Nobody's Nigger - Dean Atta,

DEAN ATTA - I AM NOBODY'S NIGGER

[noggythenog]

So Jeremy said something non pc in front of his team...his colleagues.....& then gets grassed up to the media.....so what happened to reporting him up the chain or having a word with him about it?.....no!...straight to the papers.....something smells fishy.




If we go on a rideout with an action cam & do illegal riding then we should accept that the footage may get us in trouble......but you wouldn't expect another foccer to give that footage to the police without some kind of argument or disagreement first.




So how are these shows orchestrated......do they just say right you may & hammond....make some shit up......or is it all rehearsed & planned?......either way the production company or the director or whoever should be taking a portion of the blame for this......when a ship sinks who usually takes responsibility...the captain.....even if the actions of the one of the crew were really at fault.