14 November, 2008
Turbangate
I'd never heard of Sam Mason before the nonsense over the taxi arose: [1] [2] and meeja passim. In summary, while on duty but off-air at BBC Radio Bristol, she phoned for a taxi to pick up her 14-year-old daughter, requesting a "non-Asian" and preferably female driver, as her daughter was apparently scared of "Asians". Details of the call were leaked to the Sun (apparently some kind of daily newspaper) and she was consequently sacked by the BBC for being a Racist (capitalization intentional).
Over in the snake pit (GUTalk) the Righteous Left are beside themselves with self-satisfied glee, entertaining themselves by taunting their seemingly captive little herd of dim Rightwing Trolls. Reader comments on newspaper sites (such as the two linked above) are rather more evenly split between pro, anti and who-cares tendencies, but strong feelings are certainly in evidence: at the last count, the Bristol Evening Post article had attracted 557 reader comments.
What do I think? I'm not sure. I don't know the woman. I have no particularly strong feelings on her daughter's reported preference to ride with a White and preferably female driver. Perhaps she's had bad experiences, who knows? As one of the newspaper readers points out, Muslim customers often specifically ask for Muslim drivers to taxi their women about, and nobody bats the proverbial eyelid, even though this insistence carries the plausible subtext that Kaffir drivers are not only haram but in all probability dangerous rapist monsters as well. On the other hand, as a public figure, she does need to know when to show a little discretion and it does seem a rather odd stipulation to make.
What is certain, to my mind, is that the BBC's response will do no good. Its reaction, probably influenced by the Ross/Brand affair and a perceived need to be seen to be decisive, was to sack the woman in a show of outrage. All this will achieve will be to further entrench the resentment of many if not most of the White population: the pervasive view that in the eyes of the BBC and the rest of the Liberal Establishment, the White man can do no right and must be perpetually punished.
Recall that the phone call was off-air and a private transaction. What the BBC should have done was to defend Sam Mason's privacy and tell the Sun to fuck off, while having a quiet word with her and suggesting a little more discretion in future, given her public visibility and visible association with the BBC.
No good will come of this.
Update
Just found this post on a GUTalk thread:
I like it. I don't know what the poster's actual intention was but it definitely infuses a sense of proportion into this nonsense.
Over in the snake pit (GUTalk) the Righteous Left are beside themselves with self-satisfied glee, entertaining themselves by taunting their seemingly captive little herd of dim Rightwing Trolls. Reader comments on newspaper sites (such as the two linked above) are rather more evenly split between pro, anti and who-cares tendencies, but strong feelings are certainly in evidence: at the last count, the Bristol Evening Post article had attracted 557 reader comments.
What do I think? I'm not sure. I don't know the woman. I have no particularly strong feelings on her daughter's reported preference to ride with a White and preferably female driver. Perhaps she's had bad experiences, who knows? As one of the newspaper readers points out, Muslim customers often specifically ask for Muslim drivers to taxi their women about, and nobody bats the proverbial eyelid, even though this insistence carries the plausible subtext that Kaffir drivers are not only haram but in all probability dangerous rapist monsters as well. On the other hand, as a public figure, she does need to know when to show a little discretion and it does seem a rather odd stipulation to make.
What is certain, to my mind, is that the BBC's response will do no good. Its reaction, probably influenced by the Ross/Brand affair and a perceived need to be seen to be decisive, was to sack the woman in a show of outrage. All this will achieve will be to further entrench the resentment of many if not most of the White population: the pervasive view that in the eyes of the BBC and the rest of the Liberal Establishment, the White man can do no right and must be perpetually punished.
Recall that the phone call was off-air and a private transaction. What the BBC should have done was to defend Sam Mason's privacy and tell the Sun to fuck off, while having a quiet word with her and suggesting a little more discretion in future, given her public visibility and visible association with the BBC.
No good will come of this.
Update
Just found this post on a GUTalk thread:
britincanada - 04:17pm Nov 13, 2008 GMT (#280 of 422)
She should have called up and asked for a cab for her daughter and her daughters pet pig, wouldn't guarantee the driver would be white but would up the odds considerably.
I like it. I don't know what the poster's actual intention was but it definitely infuses a sense of proportion into this nonsense.
# posted by Edwin Greenwood @ 12:02 
