clarkson suspended by BBC

[pjclarke]

I very much doubt the man is an actual racist or homophobe, and I very much doubt that he himself believes a lot of the drivel about lycra-Nazi sandalistas that he comes out with, to the cheers of his demographic. But like many entertainers paid to express an opinion, over time those opinions tend to drift to the more extreme. They have to, as he develops and panders to his audience and his audience learn where to come to have their prejudices reaffirmed. Who that audience is, is obvious.

All very well, free country, and he can be very funny, if school playground humour is your thing. Of course if any one takes issue with some of his more provocative statements, his apologists can always fall back on the 'he's joking', 'not to be taken seriously', 'he's just an entertainer', 'don't be such a sanctimonious/humourless, killjoy'. And it is indeed a mistake to take Clarkson seriously, however much his misogynist, , anti-social, casually sexist, racist, small-penised ,boy-racer inadequate fanbois might want us to. (I'm joking, don't be so humourless).

I once saw him (in his public persona) boasting about picking up a dozen or so speeding tickets while in the States and tearing them up as he knew he would not be pursued once he returned, he also approves of vigilantes destroying speed cameras, champions shooting burglars in the back, running down cyclists …. all absolutely hilarious stuff, ha ha ha, not to be taken seriously.

But why all the fuss? He'll either be reinstated after a period of penance (The Jonathon Ross solution). Or he'll appear in another car-themed entertainment for Sun readers on ITV or Sky. The media firestorm is bemusing, my guess is, he's loving it.

[darmstadt]

I very much doubt the man is an actual racist or homophobe,

I think he's the type of person who says "oh dear, thats the neighbourhood gone" or "price of our house has gone down" if a coloured family moves into the neighbourhood. The casual racism of the middle class...

[GlenW]

Lots of wrong info there and a bit of googling what clearly update your Royal knowledge.

Her shagging a ginger bloke is accurate though.

[darmstadt]

Give us some examples of him being sanctimonious then.

interestingly he would probably make jokes about people who work in call centers and then be happy to laugh and joke with them on an equal level. People like you on the other hand are so up yourself that call centre people are there to be looked down upon. There mus be an awfully large number of call centre workers

Bit like the way you regard contractors

[DodgyAgent]

I very much doubt the man is an actual racist or homophobe, and I very much doubt that he himself believes a lot of the drivel about lycra-Nazi sandalistas that he comes out with, to the cheers of his demographic. But like many entertainers paid to express an opinion, over time those opinions tend to drift to the more extreme. They have to, as he develops and panders to his audience and his audience learn where to come to have their prejudices reaffirmed. Who that audience is, is obvious.

All very well, free country, and he can be very funny, if school playground humour is your thing. Of course if any one takes issue with some of his more provocative statements, his apologists can always fall back on the 'he's joking', 'not to be taken seriously', 'he's just an entertainer', 'don't be such a sanctimonious/humourless, killjoy'. And it is indeed a mistake to take Clarkson seriously, however much his misogynist, , anti-social, casually sexist, racist, small-penised ,boy-racer inadequate fanbois might want us to. (I'm joking, don't be so humourless).

I once saw him (in his public persona) boasting about picking up a dozen or so speeding tickets while in the States and tearing them up as he knew he would not be pursued once he returned, he also approves of vigilantes destroying speed cameras, champions shooting burglars in the back, running down cyclists …. all absolutely hilarious stuff, ha ha ha, not to be taken seriously.

But why all the fuss? He'll either be reinstated after a period of penance (The Jonathon Ross solution). Or he'll appear in another car-themed entertainment for Sun readers on ITV or Sky. The media firestorm is bemusing, my guess is, he's loving it.

You are another prime example of the type of person who needs to be offended

There is a special expression men and boys (or men who are boys) wear when they watch Top Gear. It is almost perfect happiness. They smile and nod at the TV like one of those felt-coated chihuahas sitting in the back window of a Vauxhall Viva in 1973. Objections that Clarkson and his co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May are overgrown schoolboys pratting about and making complete idiots of themselves miss the point. For that is the secret of the trio’s vast appeal. No one could possibly find the lads more ridiculous than they find themselves.

[d000hg]

So going to a factory and seeing a bundle of wires hanging out of a fuse box and commenting "looks like that was put in by an Indian" is just insensitive?

Did you not read what I wrote, or just not understand it?

And it would depend. Having seen what wiring typically looks like In India for instance...

Ok, if you really believe that, can you go into your client co office and tell a few "stupid jokes" let us know how you get on.

The fact that society is overly sensitive and stupid doesn't make me wrong. And I think you know it. But the fact remains, if I had a black/gay friend in the workplace and we were bantering in a way neither of us had any problems with, and some other colleague heard us and reported it, I'd probably get canned regardless what my friend said.

[pjclarke]

You are another prime example of the type of person who needs to be offended

There is a special expression men and boys (or men who are boys) wear when they watch Top Gear. It is almost perfect happiness. They smile and nod at the TV like one of those felt-coated chihuahas sitting in the back window of a Vauxhall Viva in 1973. Objections that Clarkson and his co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May are overgrown schoolboys pratting about and making complete idiots of themselves miss the point. For that is the secret of the trio’s vast appeal. No one could possibly find the lads more ridiculous than they find themselves.

Men who are boys. Perfect!

[Scruff]

Her shagging a ginger bloke is accurate though.

At least they improved the Gene Pool. The Ginger one will have offspring that aren't as mentally challenged as Charles and his male siblings...

[GlenW]

At least they improved the Gene Pool. The Ginger one will have offspring that aren't as mentally challenged as Charles and his male siblings...

Shame the elder son wasn't ginger, that could have spelled the end of the sponging wasters.

[DodgyAgent]

Bit like the way you regard contractors

I treat all people according to how they behave as individuals not as they are categorised by race, birth, profession or how treat their children in isolated non contextual circumstances.

Contractors on the other hand I treat with contempt