A few links & a video

I intended to link articles by Tabloid Watch and Enemies of Reason; however, Angry Mob not only beat me to the punch but also did so with style. I make no apology for this blog-post loop as Angry Mob’s post includes the links and adds substantial value. The topic itself is the media’s lacklustre response to anti-Muslim protests – “rather than being roundly condemned on the front page of every tabloid they are left to small articles and are treated somewhat sympathetically in them.” In response to the, at least, 1451 people who voted in favour of the views of a “fucking moron”, who believed that the violence was “due to Politcal [sic] Correctness”, Angry Mob writes:

Sadly this is the mindset of some people who think that political correctness is somehow stripping people of fundamental rights - and in some ways I guess it is.

For example, if you are the kind of un-evolved, ignorant, shit-kicker that attends this kind of protest then you have been stripped of the right to call a black person a 'nigger' or an Asian person a 'fucking Paki'. You can no longer beat up a person for being a different colour or for being gay. You have lost these rights because we live in a world that is on the whole becoming more tolerant - whatever you or the Daily Mail may think you are merely a noisy minority.

Also by way of Angry Mob, indirectly this time, an illustration by Procrastinationathon.

The video below is an animated music video interpreting the war on terror from the point of view of Leo Blair. Although it is a couple of years old, it still affects. If you can forgive the relatively obscure and pretentious reference, it is like something from Nancy Spero’s War Series in the internet age.



The video came via bloggerheads.

"The politically correct society is the civilised society"

In an interesting article about the new equality bill – ‘This bold equality push is just what we needed. In 1997’ - Toynbee briefly discusses political correctness.  

The phrase "political correctness" was born as a coded cover for all who still want to say Paki, spastic or queer, all those who still want to pick on anyone not like them, playground bullies who never grew up. The politically correct society is the civilised society, however much some may squirm at the more inelegant official circumlocutions designed to avoid offence. Inelegance is better than bile.

For more from the Polemical Report on political correctness see:

“That is why it is not on the jam jars – because we have moved on.”

To Carol Thatcher, “That is why it is not on the jam jars – because we have moved on.”

Witness Carol Thatcher being asked whether she regrets "using the word that she did" by Andrew Marr twice. "No" is her obstinate response, at the second time of asking. Her initial response was obfuscatory - she attempted to reposition herself as the victim. She also suggests that plenty of people agree with her. If The Daily Mail agrees with her about political correctness, how could she be wrong? (!). She had over two months to construct a response. The best she could muster was arrogant denial.

Another thought occurred to me after the initial disgust for her misplaced conviction. What was she doing on television? Of course, she should be granted a right of reply, but she has already had many opportunities. What this short clip does not reveal is that she was on there to review newspapers primarily. It is only for the 1 minute 28 seconds that it was even acknowledged that she had been offensive and is unrepentant about it. For the most part Carol Thatcher was treated in a familiar cosy manner.

Although not entirely relevant - here is Stewart Lee’s response to an audience poll that revealed that the majority thought that political correctness had gone mad.

Thank-you Stewart Lee – that makes me feel better.

UPDATE
Since originally writing this post, I have stumbled across Mongoose Chronicles. She offers a spirited assessment of Carol Thatcher’s performance worthy of a link. 'Carol Thatcher disgusts me'

[J]ust because you grew up seeing golliwogs on the side of your jam jar as you sat at your breakfast table with your white, wealthy family and friends, does not entitle you to decide for another group of people what they are and are not allowed to be offended by. […]

I was disgusted by Thatcher in this Andrew Marr interview, because alarmingly, she seems to be part of this club of golliwog collectors who think their quaint little hobby is more valuable than the historical and current subjugation of an entire group of people; and worse, she is also one of those who has assumed the role of victim because The Man wants to take away her right to hurl racial slurs at people. And the rest of us should just get over it so she can have her golliwog fridge magnets and make fun of black people.