Should Channel 4 stop CBB?
This will be the last CBB thread I promise. Probably. Unless some silly kid in India decides to burn himself in protest at Shilpa Shetty’s treatment. Either way it’s all getting quite silly now isn’t it? As I’m short on time, CBB is a useful time filler.
Anyway, Channel 4 first said: “Shilpa has not voiced any concerns of racial abuse to Big Brother.” Now that she has, C4 seems to have changed it’s stance to condemning “Unambiguous racist behaviour and language”. The Daily Mirror today has a brilliant attempt at trying to get comments out of any Channel 4 executive and failing. Over at the Guardian, Stephen Brook and his readers are quite annoyed at the continuing spectacle too.
But my stance remains the same: No, Channel 4 should not stop or axe this series of CBB. Simply because I believe such examples of bullying (by Jade Goody) and subtle racism (by the other two) should be exposed and aired so people can see that even in 2007 such ignorant attitudes exist and should be condemned. The trio have already hung themselves and become objects of hate… a clear line in the sand has been drawn. Just as long as no one gets hurt in the process I’m happy to see this spectacle continue and people be repulsed by the nasty views on display.
Oh and I’ll be on Sky News at 1:30pm saying the same.
Update: Carphone Warehouse has suspended sponsoring Big Brother (thanks Billy), though it still leaves them the option to come back. Readers can put their effigies of Charles Dunstone on hold for now.
Update 2: The media bandwagon keeps rolling! I’ll be on Channel 4 News at 7pm tonight.
“such examples of bullying (by Jade Goody) and subtle racism (by the other two) should be exposed and aired so people can see that even in 2007 such ignorant attitudes exist and should be condemned”
Absolutely.
Personally I don’t care if they ban it or not. I don’t get it. It’s not an age thing because plenty of old broads are hooked on it.
But as an alternative, how about banning Ms Goodey and her family. There have recently been series on cable about her salon, her perfume, and, for crying out loud, her PA (that’s personal assistant, Anas :-).
Her unfortunate mother (she has been a victim of physical and emotional trauma, though that’s absolutely NO excuse for her behaviour) has been treated to an Extreme Makeover, that’s about £50,000 of cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry etc., and has had a 60 minute makeover (where £30,000 is not an unusual spend)on her house. As her daughter is reputed to be worth around £8,000,000 one would have thought that she should not be recipient of such bounty.
So, no more series for the daughter, no more freebies for the mother, and no more publicity for any of the family. Let them sink back into the obscurity they came from. For brainless, no talent no-marks, they’ve done pretty damn well.
Its exploitative tv. I don’t believe in banning anything, but i would hope everyone would think the entire concept of locking people up for entertainment so incredibly shit that it wouldn’t be commissioned.
Whatever you do, please don’t vote for Shilpa to stay. If she is to leave, she’ll leave with dignity. Don’t line the pockets of the fat cunts by giving them your money
And no, nothing about this has been silly. Snobby Uncle Toms like Faroukh Dhondy who will always cringe whenever their sort makes a fuss can apologise all they like, but the fact that everyone from the educated and innit British Asian to the Times columnist and Daily Star reader to the Indian government and the freaky effigy burners have all come together to discuss the way brown people are treated in the western world.
Forget your poncy paper manifestos, this is the closest there’s been to a global debate on a single issue
I’m just irritated that I have to watch the damn thing (but then I don’t want to be one of those people that says ‘I haven’t read Satanic Verses or watched Behzti but…)
Peace
Calling someone an uncle tom isn’t very nice.
Uncle taj then. There is a contingency of guardian-worshipping Asian ‘representatives’ that are deeply ashamed of grass-roots level Asians and I fucking hate them
Kismet - I have tried to read ‘Satanic Verses’ but could never get past page 11. This was a better attempt than ‘War and Peace’ where page 3 was my limit. The reason? They both bored me to sleep. Therefore I refuse to be bored by CBB.
I don’t need to watch it to know that it’s mindless rubbish,to know that the three women in question are ill-mannered trollops with no self control, or that an agenda of racist bullying is a bad thing.
Because your ‘asianess’ is more ‘real’ than theres? What are you going to do next, start calling them coconuts?
Nope. I’m going to call them Uncle Taj, thanks
Well they’d be right in calling you a knob in return. Deal with what they say, questioning their sense of self is just shit.
Of course they’ll call me a knob. That’s a whole point. I refuse to ‘represent’ my community by kissing wooly liberal arse.
My community watch bollywood not because it’s kistch but because they like it, they listen to bhangra and shop for saris in green street and annoy fellow passengers on trains by talking loudly on the mobiles in their own language
I’m not ashamed of them
I agree, Sunny - C$ shouldn’t stop the programme or even censor the crap coming from the house morons.
Let the world see them for who and what they are and, hopefully, that’ll be an end to their already marginal ‘celebrity’ status.
The qualification I would make, if it continues, is that of showing due concern for Shilpa’s well-being. From the news reports, it does appear that its starting to get on top of her and it may be wise to find a way to pull her out the house without alerting the twats as to why - a fake nomination and vote.
Why not alert the idiots? Simply because if they’re this rancid now, just think how much bigger a hole they’ll dig themselves once she’s out the door and they can have a real bitchfest at her expense. The one thing I am in favour of here is giving them enough rope to hang themselves.
As far as anything else goes, the best form of protest would be to boycott the phone votes and hit C4 and Endemol where it hurts most - in the revenues.
Perhaps, you are though laughable insecure.
Have personal digs at me all you like Kulvinder, water off a duck’s back.
Come back to me with some wit and maybe I’ll humour you
Kismet Hardy - and calling people cunts is ok? This makes you no better than them by using a nasty female gendered slang to put people down. Such double standards.
Oooh Sunny stop pretending you are irritated by all this, it has given your media career a boost, as you keep reminding us. Don’t lose your bearings when you’re sitting next to Narinder Kaur and Makosi in the green room, ready to waggle your finger at the nation.
But to be honest I feel sorry for Danielle and Jo. I think they are just silly weak willed girls who are scared of being bullied by Jade themselves. As for Jade versus Shilpa, well it’s like watching Audrey Hepburn up against one of the Fat Slags from Viz.
Actually Phil, you’ll find cunt is a word men use primarily to insult other men
Now ‘bitch’ I find deeply offensive because it’s pretty exclusively targetted at women
By the way, the female cunt is a shrine of worship so don’t go calling it nasty
It wasn’t a personal dig as such, I was rather pointing out you’re a hypocrite.
Actually Kismet if you go to the message boards it’s mostly white people who are protesting against this. One thing that pisses me off are those idiots who fight prejudice with prejudice, like some movie director called Mahesh Bhatt in Bombay who went on a rant about how this shows the true face of the West. No it doesnt you ignorant chauvinist, you worthless talentless hack. It’s being protested against by millions of white people who are against racism. Dumb people.
There is a contingency of guardian-worshipping Asian ‘representatives’ that are deeply ashamed of grass-roots level Asians and I fucking hate them
Be careful Kismet, you’re talking about Sunny’s mates there.
Sorry Kulvinder, I must be thicker than I appear. Hypocrite how?
PS. Jagdeep, I know. It’s great isn’t it? A Harrow rudeboy and a Daily Star reader in agreement for once
That agreement Jags was with point 20, not point 21. Fuck the Karl popping pistachio munchers
Kismet. You know what I mean so don’t try to clever. It is used as an insult, you meant it as an insult. Don’t talk about racism and then use sexist language, there are plenty of ways to say what you meant. You went for something very base. Does this therefore mean you are sexist are or are you just being rude? Now go away and think about it.
Channel 4 should not have commissioned this circus in the first place but now is not the moment to call for its banning. Rather, now is the moment to condemn unambiguously the uncivilized and clearly racist behaviour of the lumpen-proletarian trio that has ganged up to taunt Shilpa Shetty. Congratulations to Kismet Hardy, Sid Love, the Chairwoman, and all those at PP who grasped the point early on.
Readers of PP would be well-advised to take note of the plebian right-wingers at HP who are defending the “poor” and “working-class” whites against the “posh” and “pure-race” Indian. It is important to remind ourselves that this plebian element has ever been an integral part of European racism, from the medieval pogroms to the Dreyfus Affair and beyond. The scale of the racism we face today is scarcely comparable but the nature of it is remarkably similar.
By speaking out against foul mouthed ignorance that you see on television, but echoing it in you views. As Kesara and others pointed out the attitude of asians isn’t exactly pure in itself. I have at various times been called a coconut, a white wannabe, and yes, even an uncle tom simply because i prefer to question and don’t blindly follow a path of what being an ‘asian’ is meant to be.
You weren’t, and aren’t willing to make an argument about what and why you disagree with what they say and instead form your opinions based around their sense of self.
You’re a bully.
You’re a hypocrite Kismet because you don’t join in the generic bashing of salt-of-the-earth unapologetically garish bollywood loving Asians that is a pastime of some Asian media slappers.
Farroukh Dhondy is an interesting person, I wouldnt disagree with him that it’s all been blown out of proportion. He used to be a hard left Trotskyite anti racist, now he writes for various right wing American journals about multiculturalism toeing the general Daily Mail line about Muslim fundamentalists and black criminals. He is good mates with VS Naipaul too.
Why on earth are people telling Ch4 to stop this?
Firstly, it’s bringing to attention the real issues of integration and racism in a more powerful manner than any campaign I’ve seen run in the past.
Secondly, it’s being watched with avid attention by today’s youth who have a natural tendency to look up to today’s celebrities and are hopefully realising they’re almost all a pile of s***
Thirdly, maybe it will help our government realise that some of their airy fairy policies about ‘integration’ and ‘tolerance’ need a whole lot more attention.
Phil, don’t confuse the impact of a word with the action that follows it
I don’t call women cunts. I love, worship and beg at their feet. I may be lewd as fuck but the fact remains, I’m begging them. Women have the right (and boy do they excercise it) to tell me to piss off. No dice pal. I adore women and fall at their feet
In the same vein, the Sun reporting a judge telling a hoodlum not to say ‘f****g Paki’ doesn’t offend me to see the word Paki.
The word offends me only when there’s the possibility of aggressive action behind it
Words are not power. They just pass the time before you do something about it
You’re a bully
Kulvinder, stop acting like a cry baby.
Rana Roy — I have read that thread on Harry’s Place and it has convinced me that they have truly degenerated into a confederacy of twats. Sorry to use that word, but I have to, because I used to spend a lot of time lurking and reading them as a corrective to the apologia for suicide bombing type of leftism you get elsewhere. But they have really lost their bearings completely and are a total lost cause, even when a Hindu lady tried to explain to them what was offensive about the bullying. Complete and utter assholes. This is what happens when you pin your colours to a failed war and don’t introspect or apologise like even most of the neo-cons have been man enough to do — you fester in your own piss and start to stink and lose your bearings.
Kulvinder, that would be to assume my views are also ‘foul-mouthed ignorance’ The foul mouth is my prerogative, the ignorance is a matter for you to judge.
I’m sorry justifying myself in the face of being called ‘laughably insecure’ makes me a bully in your eyes
“Words are not power. They just pass the time before you do something about it”
Well, we’d kinda be screwed without them.
For everyone to judge.
Those who called me an uncle tom, were usually insecure in their sense of self.
PS. Kulvinder, I’m not levelling my disgust towards, as you call it ‘wannabe white’ (what does that mean anyway?), I’m venting my spleen that they’re the ones called upon to ‘represent’ the community
GROAN!!!!! Guys isn’t this all getting a bit personal?
Kulvinder, you’re the one that’s made this personal. I’m sorry the term Uncle Tom brought back terrible memories of being alienated from other Asians. I’ve been called all sorts by every race under the sun. It’s supposed to make you stronger.
My anger isn’t towards people that ‘want to be white’ (again, a bollocks term), but towards people who are ashamed of Asians who are happy to be just that
I was unaware they claimed to represent anyone.
Noone can represent who i am, apart from myself, and though i do not agree with them in this instance. I have agreed with what they’ve said in the past on other issues.
Sahil. Point taken. But for the record, I wasn’t the one that made it personal. But if someone makes a personal dig at me, I’ll stand my ground.
Shilpa taught me this.
Which brings us seamlessly back to the topic, hopefully.
I’m with you on this Kismet, although I also see where Kulvinder is coming from. But you have clarified your position so Kulvinder should see it clearer.
No they should not stop the programme. As much as I hate big brother it has highlighted something that people go through in workplaces and schools all over the country. Most of us have been through it.
Bullying is wrong, and racism is wrong but it is commonplace and this is actually a very tame example in comparison. To cancel the show will cast the wrong message. It would say that C4 can not deal with it. If employers had that impression then we will all be out of jobs.
It is important to see how Big Brother tackles it and overcome it. I do believe this has gone too far, but to not see the guilty housemates be reprimanded, in a suitable manner, would be wrong. Something must be done, and over-reacting to the intolerant remarks aint gona get us nowhere. It is good to see that the guilty parties have been unanimously vilified and condemned.
But hey the punishment must fit the crime, and as much as what has gone on is abhorrent some of the reaction to it is a bit over the top.
It is interesting to note that according to the police, all forces have now adopted the proposed definition of a racist incident, which is: “a racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”.
Good to see ya on Tuesday Sunny, shame it was only a brief chat. Look I have posted something useful for once.
Kulvinder, good for you
anytime you want to continue this in a pub, I’m sure we’ll probably end up violently agreeing
Peace
…right.
Its their shame.
Sunny you are everywhere in the media you old tart and a hot favourite to be invited into the BB house next time around. Class has always been a factor in the BB dynamic and bullying is the ethos that drives the series. But the race element is new (except in the voting). Perhaps past contestants have been clever enough to realise they are on television, but I agree that this series should be allowed to continue. It gives a fascinating insight into the sort of working-class resentments that drive fascism.
It’s so cute when Sunny flounces around all camp and irritated by things like this — dude, Hundal, THIS IS YOUR MOMENT! Years ago when you dreamt of setting up ‘Asians In Media’ and ‘Pickled Politics’ it was precisely to pontificate and finger wag as the trendy Indian contrarian on such topics as this. If I were you I would go into hyperdrive — you even have the political editor of the New Statesman who wants to pinch your bum, you’re such a tart. Bollywood star, MEDIA, racism, you must be pinching yourself that you’re not dreaming!
Crikey Kulvinder, you really got a rough ride from Asians, huh? For what it’s worth, I got called coconut and avoided the black-clad IT contingency at uni, but that was my ignorance.
Somewhere along the lines I realised I just hung out with people I liked
One last time, anyone who thinks Asians happy to be Asian ‘is there shame’, shouldn’t be a spokesperson when an issue like this arises
I’m bored now. I’ll see you in that pub if you’re still up for it. I promise not to embarrass you by talking about Shah Rukh Khan
It gives a fascinating insight into the sort of working-class resentments that drive fascism.
Maybe so, but ask yourself how comes Channel 4 execs didn’t put a more worldly wise white working class person in that house, eh?
Who remembers Gos, the Punjabi lad from Southall who was on Big Brother a few years ago? He would have shut up Jade by sitting on her and squashing her mouth shut.
Most surreal moment for me was Geoff Boycott appearing on BBC Asian Network, apparently he’s good friends with Shilpa Shetty from the Bombay cricket social scene and defended her against those vile fiends.
Hi Kismet I know this is getting heated, but Chill Winston!! Shilpa is going to win this hands down, only outside possibility is Dirk, because he is such a pervert
. Plus the damnation of these girls is pretty uniform across a pretty heterogenous tabloid. What more do you want? Kill BB, well that’s not going to happen if you keep watching it, plus why, because they show racist views on TV, well it is how the user interacts with this bullshit that matters, no?
Welcome to reality. 1…2…3 !
“Oh the Protestants hate the Catholics,
and the Catholics hate the Protestants,
and the Hindus hate the Moslems
and everybody hates the Jews.”
repeat.
“it is how the user interacts with this bullshit that matters, no?”
Amen to that
El Cid
Maybe so, but ask yourself how comes Channel 4 execs didn’t put a more worldly wise white working class person in that house, eh?
Because they are a bunch of arrogant luvvie morons personified, read the two articles linked by Sunny in the Guardian and the Mirror above about what happened when people tried to interview them. They thought it would be a right giggle to put a real life Little Britain grotesque in there to confirm all the stereotype of the white working class, and subject a harmless Bollywood actress to them (as well as others who are intimidated by Jade)
They did it to get the ratings up, and so that they could make more money. They did it because they are pretty shameless — last year they broadcast a drunken female contestant masturbating with a wine bottle on the lawn.
This is my first posting …
I hadn’t even heard of sunny until i heard him on asian network radio being interviewed by anita rani …(now she is cool !)
1- Didn’t really understand what sunny was saying, as he just seemed to be really pissed off with Brit Asians for calling him a “freshie” … maybe the show did not do him justice, either way bro, pls take a break … being called a freshie is considered by some as a compliment (e.g. they think its opposite to being called “stale”, shows your a fresh desi pukkah indian from india). seems sunny has a litle chip on his shoulder against british sub continentals (excuse me but i dont like using the asian label because whether we like it or not, that label now applies more to muslims, & not to sikhs, hindus, jains, buddhists, chinese or other varieties)…
Also, racism takes many forms just as a flu virus does, sometimes the symptoms are manageble headaches & sneezes, othertimes disgusting phlem coughing & a raging fever.
Likewise Sometimes racism is subtle like that of the 4 gangsta girls ((Jade, Mum, Jo, Dani) & their chamchaa, Jack)- e.g. comment “she should fuck off back home”.
Sometimes racism is disgusting, like the brick that was thrown at my head, whilst i was inocently walking to a university lecture in the morning,the nurse who puty the sticthes in was white, so there not all the same.
But can we stop this “is it racism or just ignorant bullying” debate please, its both & much more …
Also - I agree with rakhee’s posting #28, can you say more please …
I agree with sunny, dont ban big bro, but apparently the bbc asian network radio show has closed with a poll with 67% saying they want it banned …
I doubt if sunny ever reads these, but bro, no offence intended, but you do need to lose that freshie chip on your shoulder, please … you seem like a very intelligent guy, so stop making references to it, coz it does not serve you well …
like i said, i doubt if he will read or respond to this … anyway i have left him my email, just in case …
Sunny a freshie? I’m pretty sure he is British born and bred.
You make a good point, Parm and it just goes to show that getting personal is pointless because the individual (minus an action to debate) is always more complex than a generalisation.
Sunny does have the accent of a ‘freshie’ but panders to the pistachio munchers
I work pretty much exclusively for a sector of the Asian community but I chase smack like a deranged donkey
Taking an individual to task over an individual comment or action is not the same as mocking a group where a kind of comment or action is expected, and they both have their merits
Parmjit
Sunny has to take a contrarian line and serve lots of constituencies. It is obvious that Asian people are identifying with this story because it hits a raw nerve because practically everyone empathises with the bout of racist bullying Shilpa received having experienced something like it themselves at some point in time. Comparing it to being called a freshy is ridiculous, but you have to fill air time somehow, and throw scraps to those people who are uneasy with Asians protesting against it, and that is Sunny’s style. He also has to throw scraps to his various audiences, which include white liberals and right wingers.
For me this whole episode shows too how ashamed the majority of white people are of Jade type racism, that is the big story behind all this, it proves that Britain is not a fundamentally racist society contrary to what some people say.
Kismet, pistachio-munchers, I love it.
Carphone Warehouse suspend sponsorship.
My community watch bollywood not
Actually I’m not a big fan of Bollywood, I much prefer India’s arthouse films. And I hate it when Indian film is defined only by Bollywood. And I also hate the term ‘Uncle Tom’.
Who says I’m annoyed? Of course I’m loving this whole bloody controversy! It’s such a farce and it always has been. Life is too short to take Big Brother seriously, as my article today on comment is free also indicates.
Parmjit no offence taken… I don’t have that chip on my shoulder, I’m the one who is saying people are making too big a deal out of this.
Martin and Jagdeep - heh! Can’t disagree with either of you.
Sunny, you do realise though that alot of people were distressed by the episode because it brought back memories of similar kinds of bullying? Plus the freshie thing isnt really applicable — we tease our parents who are freshies, and freshies tease us by making fun of the way we speak Punjabi or Hindi. It’s not the same thing.
“Carphone Warehouse suspend sponsorship.”
Oh my, this has got interesting.
Jagdeep,
exactly. Solidarity bruv
Like i said no harm ment to any parties …
However, after wasting all the years geting post grad dip’s & mba’s etc & enduring working in situations were the intense envy felt by me from mainly white colleagues but sadly also some black afro-carib people, simply because i got the best results at work, & now with seeing how shilpa was treated (by the way i dont like bollywood either, except for 1942 a love story, gues i must be a hopeless romantic), anyway i’m starting to ramble …
wot i was trying to say, after all these years striving to make britain a better place in my own little way by chairing local charities helping the disabled poverty stricken etc, & spending most of my energy helping people who are not even from my cultural background, i’ve decided to sling my hook & i’m immigrating
i dont know if its going to be back home to the mother land, or america or canada or italy or … we’ll see soon enough …
p.s. i’m not a journo or anything like that, just an ordinary del piero lookalike who cant play football as well as the original …who saw sunny on sky & searched for him on the net (he is very intelligent guy … good luck with fighting racism bro)
enjoyed chatting to all of yer
hope you al have a nice day …
& thanks Big Bro for convincing me that the UK is no place for any educated family orientated law abiding people like me …
theres no way i want any of my decendants to be treated like shilpa has been ..
& i really do feel very sorry for those nice decent white people out there, but just like H should have done more to stop shilpa being bullied, so should you have done more to make the uk a fairer place …
no offence intended to anyone…
A ban on CBB would be a ridiculous idea, but Channel 4 should be issuing a disclaimer at the beginning and end of the show, saying that the views are not representative of Channel 4 and that they do not condone such behaviour. Even though everyone is well aware of those facts, it would at least satiate some of the baying of blood that is going on in the media. Perhaps having a bullying helpline number at the end of the show, like they do at the end of TV dramas that tackle serious issues, would be of assistance.
CBB should continue to be broadcast in the way that it is, but the producers should take on a greater role as to social awareness of the impact of the show than it currently is. Perhaps even a primetime debate on Racism in Modern Day Britain headed by Jon Snow could assist in taking the sting out of the tale.
To edit out the bullying, racist or not, would be to brush those issues under the carpet, like it so often is in real life. By allowing those views to be broadcast, albeit with certain conditions, it allows the debate we have concerning racism and bullying to continue.
Freedom of Speech should be upheld, but it should also be supported by a freedom to debate this topic in an educated way rather than burying one’s head in the sand which is what Channel 4 have currently opted for.
Martin: > It gives a fascinating insight into the sort of working-class resentments that drive fascism.
No.
Sorry, Martin, but I’m not having that.
It does give a fascinating insight, for those not from a working class background, into the kind of resentments that are readily exploited by fascism, but let’s try to avoid conflating non-political racism founded on ignorance and stupidity with conscious, ideological, racism/fascism.
Racism should always by opposed, but one has to be careful in doing so not to foster even greater alienation and drive people from ignorance into fascism.
What Jade Goody needs, as an outcome to her behaviour, is to be shown that she is stupid, ignorant bully and that both her action and the condemnation she receives as a result of them stem directly from her behaviour - she needs, if effect, to be educated to understand why her behaviour is wrong.
Condemnation without education, on the other hand, only serves to foster greater resentment and alienation, on which the far-right can feed and draw strength and support.
When she get out of the house and has to come to terms with the public reaction to her behaviour, i.e. asks the question ‘why have I pissed people off?’ she can take away one of two messages - ‘Because you’re stupid’ or ‘Because you’re white’, which is the interpretation the far-right peddle as a matter of routine.
It’s last message that needs combatting in tackling racism.
Sunny, you do realise though that alot of people were distressed by the episode because it brought back memories of similar kinds of bullying?
Jagdeep, have a listen to the Asian Network discussion this morning. I’ve made this and many other related points already.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/asiannet/aod.shtml?asiannet/asiananita_thu
Jagdeep, good to see that we are in agreement re HP(your message 30 in reply to my 25). But the depth of their failure here is quite remarkable and cannot be reduced to the Iraq factor. Lots of people failed the test on Iraq without losing their moral compass altogether. Blair, Brown, Cameron, et al. have condemned the disgusting racism on display at CBB. Those who have failed to do so are really “beyond the pale”. So why are they linked to PP as “comrades”?
Parmjit, don’t be so silly, millions of white people have protested against this and are up in arms. Don’t emigrate we need desis like you here. Britain is still one of the best places — you think Indians don’t cop shit in America? Come on bro. Stay. England is cool. And if you love football, what the hell are you going to do there? And if you look like Del Piero, you should be on the pull down the wine bars. Don’t get depressed by this, seriously, majority fo white people, except Harry’s Place and other ogres, are totally against racism.
Forget your poncy paper manifestos, this is the closest there’s been to a global debate on a single issue
Indeed, this is much more important and closer to a global debate on a single issue than EVER managed with Iraq war, global capitalism (Cold War) or the environment!
Silly me for thinking those things were important and a challenge to our species when all I had to do was turn the TV on and watch Big Brother for truth and enlightenment…
Rana Roy
As I said, their failure to introspect after the Iraq debacle is indicitive of a basic spinelessness at Harry’s Place, and the degeneration into knee jerk contrarians who are pretty listless. Like I said, I like reading their stuff that goes against the apologia for suicide bombing that passes as commentary amongst some on the Left, but that thread just shows how listeless, addled by sectarian sniping with the SWP, and degenerate they have become.
Nice work, Sunny! I conquer with your line of commentary and it is extremely befitting of what is actually going on socially in ‘Multicultural’ Britain - sad!
Rana Roy, David T occasionally writes good denunciations of some aspects of Ken Livingstone silliness. The idiocy and bitterness of their stance twists them into making apologia for racist bullying by some fucked up reason, if Ken Livingstone steps in to join the bandwagon of condemnation they have to oppose it simply because Ken is on that side, irrespective of the rights and wrongs. Even when a Hindu lady tried to politely explain to them what was racially offensive about this didnt make them realise. I dont know why they are linked but I think Sunny is friends with one of them.
Holy shit!
Just heard in the grapevine Shashish Lal Nair is organising a mass gathering for tomorrow night’s eviction
There’s going to be a fight isn’t there
How can you be sad? This is the hysteria and revolution you wanted. You think change like that doesn’t come without hurting a whole load of people??
68: Leon buddy, the G8 summit, march against the war etc (while much, much nobler) kinda failed though, no? Why won’t you celebrate when a show of strength is actually successful for once
Who the heck is Shashish Lal Nair?
Leon, I’ll trell you why I’m so fired up about this. Because the Asian community are standing shoulder to shoulder with all liberal minded (white/black/etc) folk on the issue of not standing for ignorant prejudice
The last generation decided the only way to stand up to racism was through violence (cue: gangs, riots etc)
This one is doing it through voicing their complaints
It’s called peaceful protestations
I don’t want anyone to get hurt
I don’t understand why Leon is so rubbed off about this. I agree it’s out of proportion, is that your only objection? Or is it that Asians got pissed off with a scene of racist bullying and complained?
And who the heck is Shashish Lal Nair?
I mean if it’s the proportion thing I agree, it’s faintly farcical, I mean, it’s like a Little Britain sketch — Vicki Pollard starting a race war!
One man’s blown out of proportion is another man’s positive action is another man’s bank balance lined is another man’s embarrassment for the ways others can’t control themselves is another man’s voyeuristic fascination is another man’s study of sociological impact
Shashish Lal Nair is some nobody bollywood director but I’m worried all those hardnuts (on other websites threatening to give Jack a good kick-in) will turn up to kick someone else in
hahaha Shashish Lal Nair F Orf and keep your publicity hungry nose out of things. Wanker.
I’m outta here people, laterz Kismet *touch fists*
Big love
I am quite literally speechless if you’re sincere about that comment.
Compared to what i faced from the ‘white people’? yes!
The implication of saying uncle tom is ‘race traitor’, you chose not to argue anything but instead personally attack who they are.
If i appear to be angry about its because i am, if you said it without knowing the implication of what you meant, you are ignorant. If you knew what you were saying, you’re a bigot.
It is no different and as reprehensible as one white person calling another a race traitor or condeming them for being subservient to and aping ‘black people’ or one jew ignoring the point another was making and simply saying ‘goy’.
Apart from the inevitable withhunt that will envelope those three women because of their bullying (the irony) its the seeming inability of asians to be introspective about their own prejudice.
Leon is correct, compared to the other issues in the world this is nothing.
How amusing..can’t believe the stuff i’m seeing…so this is News? all this is great publicity for Shilpa seems like. dear me - if she’s scared of racism heck she’d better not go back to India. In any case does anyone go on Big Brother to be mollycoddled - surely not - the whole set-up is to exploit and get people to be spiteful bitches to each other - terrible show - I never watch it - one of the worst inventions of the 20th century as far as i can see. So i’ve no idea if this is ‘racist’ or not. Still - if people accused her of ‘wanting to be lighter skinned than she was’ ( which is what i’ve read was said ) … it’s probably just as well Shilpa hasn’t been on any Fair and Lovely ads…now that would be proof wouldn’t it! And the press in India is all up in arms as well.. How ironic. Ho ho ho. And the other thing i read was said “referring to her as ‘the Indian’” well i can’t see how that’s ‘racist’. Next time someone says ‘gora’ or ‘white’ i guess we’d better all write to Ofcom eh?
p.s. i do think it’s definitely the case that it’s British Asians who make the most fun of Indian accents.
big brother has been childish from the start..!
You’re wrong Kulvinder and, either through your bitter experience of racism at the hand of Asians or just stubbornness, missing the point.
I’m not having a go at Asians that don’t want to be like other Asians (insert whatever insult you want to read into this: coconut, wannabe white, any old crap that satisfies your victimhood)
I’m having a go at Asians that don’t want to be like other Asians, who are in fact, ashamed of other Asians, who choose to be a spokesperson for that very community in the mainstream media
If that isn’t you, it’s not about you
Don’t make it about you
i take it ‘freshie’ the term here corresponding to FOB in the US.
gosh just goes to show how racist these asians can be.
You slurred someone else, you deliberately did it in a way to undermine who they were instead of what they said.
I maybe hullucinating the bit where you said uncle tom, if i am i apologise. If i’m not i very very much ‘get’ what you said.
I’m having a go at Asians that don’t want to be like other Asians, who are in fact, ashamed of other Asians, who choose to be a spokesperson for that very community in the mainstream media
I’m ashamed of the attitude of other asians both in this thread on this issue and more widely in some of the other more idiotic practises that occur in the commmunity. I’m ashamed of honour killings and the fact that it can be condoned. I’m ashamed of the racism that exists within the asian commmunity. There is nothing wrong with with shame, on the contrary its vital.
Next time someone says ‘gora’ or ‘white’ i guess we’d better all write to Ofcom eh?
Indeed.
its the seeming inability of asians to be introspective about their own prejudice.
Actually, Kulvinder, I’m quite pleasantly surprised that the Indian press has been open to this introspective
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6274043.stm
Even many British Asians on radio this morning said there was no point chucking stones. Anyway, I want this controversy to die now. From tomorrow on I’m gonna try and focus on something else.
To be fair, it was the idiots on BC who irritated me the most. Point taken.
Kulvinder, I may be hallucinating too but why is it okay for you to say Asians are racist, that they’re attitude makes you feel ashamed, that they are insecure, that those Asians to want to be Asian is ‘their shame’…
Yet I can’t say a person that agrees with all of the above makes me sick?
And for the last time, my clarification on my usage of Uncle Tom:
Not someone that ‘wants to be white’
But someone that’s ashamed to be Asian and yet make comments regarding Asians to non-Asians
Stop feeling shame, embarrassment on behalf of SOME Asians you know. They don’t represent you and you don’t represent them
88. Leon dude. 100%. Gora and kala are vile terminologies. Not sure about white though. Black & Brown’s okay with us as descriptions, no?
The media bandwagon keeps rolling! I’ll be on Channel 4 News at 7pm tonight.
Excellent, hopefully some common sense and sanity can be brought to this. Will try and catch it (I’ll be at my Grandparents with family so will get to point at tv and go, I know him!:D:D)
Oh you can, as i said if you knew the implications of what you meant, you’re a bigot. Im not sure how to reply to you if asians who bring up the issue of racism within the commmunity make you sick.
I never questioned you right to say what you want.
Yes i know, as i said; at times im ashamed to be asian and happily comment on the fact to the ‘non-asians’
Calm down people. Some people are really missing the massive manipulation of participants and public that is going on here.
Channel 4 wants 2 things.
Objective 1. Big viewer ratings = Big advertising revenue.
Objective 2. Big telephone voting = Big premium rate revenue.
What most people see on Big Brother is the highlights programme. All this stuff is edited.
Look closely at the credits of any “Reality” programme. Many of them feature “Story” or “Script” producers, editors, associated.
With 30 or 40 or 50 cameras on these shows they have litterally hundreds of hours of footage each day, to edit into a 1 hour package. It’s not just about what is happening.
The difference between any two reality shows is taking hundreds of hours of video footage, and with extreme professional skills, editing and fine tuning the available material into a “product”.
It is the expert way they carefully edit flounces, lip curls, reactions, pensive faces, to form attention grabbing television.
They capture and edit footage to form a narrative. They capture and edit footage to portray characters in the way they want to portray them.
Before contestants enter the envioronments, they do publicity shots, videos, biographies.
Haven’t you ever watched the first episode and immediately thought that is “the joker”, “the troublemaker”, “the femme fatale”, “the hunk”, “the intelligent one” … ? The official Big Brother machine, the publicity, the website already has them set up with “characterisations” before they even show the first highlights programme.
Channel 4 loves conflict on Big Brother. When they all get along happily, nobody is interested. Conflict means ratings. The producers create situations where they can get arguments. Like the poor house where they had to shower in cold water and live on rice. Or putting Michelle Bass and Emma Moron in the hidden house, letting them watch the bitching, thend putting them back in for the infamous “Fight Night”.
Has anybody noticed how they have not been given any substantial tasks ? Keeping them sitting around bored gives the opportunity for fights and arguments.
Channel 4 have been manipulating one set of morons (the celebriddies), to achieve Objective 1.
As to Objective 2, the biggest phone votes are when they have a hate figure. And for Objective 2 they need a different set of morons.
All in all, it’s going pretty well for them.
BIG BROTHER’S SISTERHOOD…
Last night was the first time I’d ever sat through a whole programme of highlights from Celebrity Big Brother. The things I do for the sake of this blog… On the basis of what I’ve seen so far, the Shilpa…
Kulvinder, you’ve made this so personal I have to take a step back. I’m deeply sorry that you got racially abused by other Asians and accept your resentment towards them and don’t want to prey on your sense of victimhood.
I wish you peace
I have never sought to be the victim in anything, don’t patronise me.
Kulvinder, you’ve made this so personal I have to take a step back.
Not quite true, you made this personal when you chose to start hurling abuse at people who dared to question the substance of this as a ‘campaign’. Lost a great deal of respect for you in the last 24 hours mate.
I think we are a disapointed……. a glamourous sucessful indian actress walks into a British show and only to be confronted by this racist nasty bullying furore!!! Its insane and outrageous. Not as insane as Jade et al ….does anybody know the saying a pig with a nose ring is still a pig. Im not being derogatory to animals of course!! Lets not give ignorance more news coverage and take a chill pill yaar….
I’m sorry Kulvinder. I don’t want this to turn into a real life reality debacle. I just don’t dislike the Asian community any more than I dislike the one I live in. Again, I wish you peace.
Meanwhile…
Women and Equality Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats Lorely Burt MP today welcomed the decision of Carphone Warehouse to suspend their sponsorship of celebrity big brother following allegations of racism towards Shilpa Shetty on the Channel 4 programme.
Commenting, Lorely Burt said,
“It is good to see Carphone warehouse taking the matter of racism very seriously, and I hope that Channel 4 will take the appropriate action to ensure that this does happen again.”
A record 30,000 people have made complaints to Ofcom over the alleged racist remarks.
“It is heartening to learn that so many people have been affronted by these remarks. While the Liberal Democrats believe strongly in freedom of speech, clearly this has touched a nerve, not only nationally but internationally.
the fact that loads of people will spend their time voting as to who should leave the big brother house is truly weird. who gives a shit? clearly a lot of people.
BIZARRE.
I’ve been too obsessed with this. I even dreamt about it last night. And along the way, somehow offended fellow posters. My last thought on the matter:
DON’T VOTE IN SHILPA
If she is to leave, she’ll leave with her dignity intact. Endemol don’t deserve our money, only our disgust
I’m going to boycott Channel 4 unless they redeem themselves
Well, maybe one more fix…
Peace to y’all xX
this is brilliant! I thought:
“Huh, if there was a white girl in the Indian Bigg Boss, what are her chances of not being called “the Gora”
Heh..
Bigg Boss being india’s version of Big Brother
Who gives a shit ?
Channel 4
Endemol
British Telecom
Minick Ltd (Votes via mobiles)
ITouch PLC (Votes via landlines)
Sunny
It would be useful if you make clear in your contribution on Sky that you are ‘freshy’ (whatever that means) and have little experience of what other Asians may be feeling.
Personally I’d like Kismet to be interviewed.
For me racism is much more potent when it comes from the powerful against a weaker community. Today’s Independent has struck the right tone on this. Who really suffer from racism are those that are least able to defend themselves.
Germaine Greer had it about right earlier, but of course things have now moved on.
I’d have Jade challenged on her bullying, but its the other two I should watch.
And people, challenge the snobbery being shown here too. How can anyone liken Jade to a pig and then go on to complain about her behaviour?
How can you talk about lack of brain-cells? Jade does not lack brain-cells. I’d say she is highly intelligent, how else has she accrued £8m?
And for Martin Bright to suggest these are the sorts that turn to fascism is out of order. Yes fascism may try to lure the disaffected, but it relies on the well-off. The New Statesman should know that.
The best outcome is for Jade and others to recognise what has become of them. And be clear that it was an aberration.
Last thing we need is a trio coming out totally embittered and becoming ‘pin-ups’ now for some seriously worrisome grouping.
I’m actually quite worried about Shilpa’s well-being. I’ve not seen it, but from what I’ve heard, it must be mentally torturing. All that poor lady does is cry all the time…
BB is shit but it is reality TV at its most vile… To censor it is to just censor the reality of what’s going on.
I don’t mind it continuing and people being shown for what they are blah blah blah and if Jade loses money I shall be even happier. I dunno what makes me angrier. All this bullying or the fact that Jade is richer than I’ll ever be just because she’s obnoxious.
But yea, I am quite worried about Shilpa.
I admire anyone who can come out of that unscathed. I certainly would have shoved a toilet brush up Jade’s bottom by now.
And thank goodness for a reasonable discussion. Barfi was doing my head in.
WOOOAAAHHH
sorry, i thought i’d finished with racism bully hoo haa for the day but just scene sky news reporting that shilpa has now taken back her words about feeling racially discrimanted/harrassed…
NOW DO YOU THINK THE FACT THAT THE POLICE STARTED AN INVESTIGATION TODAY HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS …
her body language was , well i dont wnat to be unkind, but it didn’t seem geniune to me…
i understand the law would find endemol & channel 4 culpable if this case was ever progressed via courts …
im not ONE for conspiracry theories, but this story is starting to smell a little …
alternatively, having expereIEnced racism myself, it is easy to fall into a denial mentality, AFTER ALL who wants to accept that they are hated for their race origins …
anyway turn your tv’s guys on, & make up your own minds …
jagdeep thanks for your nice words, maybe USA is not such a good idea, but Canada seems nice …but i am NOT STAYING TO RAISE A FAMILY IN THIS DEPRESSING COUNTRY WHERE RACISM JUST KEEPS MUTATING LIKE THE AIDS VIRUS TO FIGHT ANY CURES… I’M SLINGING MY HOOK ASAP, HAVE JUST DOWNLOADED IMMIGRATION PAPERS FROM THE NET ….
JADE CALLS SHILPA ‘POPPADOM’
In scenes shown on Channel 4 tonight, Jade is asked to explain the nickname she used for the Bollywood star.
She says that while talking to Danielle she wanted to use an Indian name and the only word she could think of was an Indian food.
She says: “You know, when I actually thought about it, I know it’s not a racist thing. I thought about it for a long time. It’s not racist. You know people say things in anger.
“She tries to challenge me. She tries to challenge my beliefs.”
In the Diary Room, Big Brother asked Jade about the conversation with Danielle, in which she referred to Shilpa as Shilpa Poppadom.
Jade said: “Shilpa Poppadom. I explained that for the other two trying to get her name out.
“Her name is not Shilpa Harry or Shilpa Tweed or Shilpa Mackintosh, she is Indian, so will have an Indian name. No racial anything.
“She is Indian, thinking of an Indian name and only thing I could think of was Indian food. Wasn’t racial at all. It was not to offend any Indian out there.
“Everyone knows I don’t like her. She don’t like me. What I said about her was not meant in a racial way - it’s not acceptable if done in that way. Mine wasn’t done in that way.”
Dissenter
This is getting so stupid. I am now seriously worried, all those kids that will now be called Popadom.
Lets get Shilpa out of there for the sake of the country.
I am voting to get Shilpa out! Never voted before, and never voting again.
NAAAAAA UUUUUU CAAAAANT CUT OFF UR NOSE 2 SPITE UR FACE …..
VOTE THE KEBAB FLASHER OUT INSTEAD …
& START A CAMPAIGN TO BOYCOTT HER PERFORM CALLED SHHHH & HER EXERCISE VIDEOS, ESPECIALLY AS IT HAS JUST BEEN REVEALED BY THE SUN THAT SHE ACTUALLY LOST WAIT BY LIPOSUCTION & NOT EXERCISE ….
VOTE OUT THE BULLIES …..
Oh the Poppadam Preach headlines tomorrow…
Heh, you guys are going psychotic. Truly amusing. What about Big Brother with Kismet, Kulvinder, Refresh and Parmjit in the room? Who will kill who first?
I’M A LOVER NOT A KILLER
Altho I think C4/Endemol created the initial conditions in the house in order to promote maximium confrontation — they’re supreme experts at psychological manipulation and exploitation — this whole thing has taken on an absolute life of its own. No way could the BB folks have predicted the intensity of the furor, and almost hysteria, that has accompanied Jade and co’s bullying campaign; especially when you consider it could put the future of the show at risk. I don’t think all publicity is necessarily good publicity and hopefully this will be damaging to the whole BB project in the end because I’ve always felt really uncomfortable about it anyway. I hope it ends Jade’s reign as 26th most influential Heat celebrity or whatever the fuck, destroys Danielle’s career (I’m pretty sure it won’t) at its inception … and whoever the fuck the other ugly one is. Oh yeah, and I hate that fucking Dermot O’Leary and his totally insincere Mr Affability persona. To quote Leo Sayer, fuck off big brother.
Parmjit
OK OK I won’t vote, but please drop the CAPS.
[But do remember you can't use terms like 'cutting your nose off to spite your face', at the same time download emigration papers 'cos you can't cope with what's going on in the Big Brother house].
Sunny no fair! I want Jagdeep ‘on my side’, as they say on the show.
And where are the female contestants for me to lech on damn you?
Sunnydemol just doesn’t cut it
Sunny
“What about Big Brother with Kismet, Kulvinder, Refresh and Parmjit in the room? Who will kill who first?”
No one will die - we will come out as one. All for One and One for All.
OOOHHHH REFRESH!
Y DID YA HAV 2 SAY THAT …
NOW MY HEAD IS STARTING TO HURT …
GONNA HAVE TO GO & GET SOME MASALA SPICE DESI TEA & RAS MALI NOW…
SUNNY … GOOD LUCK ON C4 TONIGHT… KICK ASS …
““What about Big Brother with Kismet, Kulvinder, Refresh and Parmjit in the room? Who will kill who first?””
As long as the room is a pub, we’ll get along just fine
Does anyone else think that BB is displaying racism as though it belongs to the Chavs - but C4 are displaying middle class racism for allowing, enabling, excuing, debating whether jade is racist or not. C4 are racist - Jade is a Chav taking the flak.
I thought the basic premise of offensive behavour is whether the other person is offended. And here we are as a nation saying oh that isn’t racist or this is racist.
well actually racism is more than calling someone a Paki or a Nigger. We all know this. At least we can agree on one thing - ordinary white people who aren’t racist are waking up to Chav racism .
With all due respect to other picklers, Asians taking the piss out of accents isn’t the same thing as jade doing THAT on TV. It’s a power thing. You will feel worse if a white person mimics your accent compared with an Asian teasing - simply because with another Asian you are symbolically on equal terms, with another white person, you are not. Structually you are placed in less equal terms in this country - as the statistics might show.
Anyone who’s gone to school here in the UK in inner cities wouldn’t met a Jade Gooddy - and Kismet is right to say now it will give future jade Goodys more liscece to carry on.
And if El Cid and Big Bad Bert Preast came along?
What about Bickair and OP? A match made in heaven
El Cid
You would be more than welcome. Bickair, OP, Bert Preast and Amir too.
As long as Amir doesn’t have access to Google and Amazon we’ll be fine.
WHAT ABOUT THE WOMEN?
We need women
I need woman
“WHAT ABOUT THE WOMEN?”
I presume you would like them there to add a female perspective on things, for that I do believe Bickhair and OP would do a decent job.
>> jagdeep thanks for your nice words, maybe USA is not such a good idea, but Canada seems nice …but i am NOT STAYING TO RAISE A FAMILY IN THIS DEPRESSING COUNTRY WHERE RACISM JUST KEEPS MUTATING
You need to get a backbone, or you won’t survive anywhere. The US and Canada have their share of racists, and so does India. In fact, it is shameful that dalits are better treated in the West than in rural India. The stories that have come out recentely from India are just horrifying.
I give my respect to Shilpa.
She said it was not racism.
To forgive and forget is the mark of a wise lady.
The mark of a cultured lady.
How many of us can truly do this?
Not many me thinks.
3~’
Tahir,
Good point on C4 setting up Jade to take the flak. She is not exactly and unknown quantity and Endemol would surely have anticipated just this kind of response. I gather that they make quite a point about having psychologists examine contestants beforehand and OK them to take the heat (presumably because they will need some sort of defence if someone ends up sticking a breadknife into another contestant).
She is their chav de jour, their circus geek, their sin-eater. As one or two others have mentioned, it’s of a piece with the current Little Britain/Jimmy Carr/ ain’t we post-ironic snobbery which infests the media these days. What is the difference betwen this and Bum Fights? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bum_Fights)
>> You will feel worse if a white person mimics your accent compared with an Asian teasing - simply because with another Asian you are symbolically on equal terms, with another white person, you are not. Structually you are placed in less equal terms in this country - as the statistics might show.
Someone with no class like Jade and who resorts to childish name-calling has little stand in this country, no matter if she is white and you think that her opinion has more power because of that.
not unless me, katy or chairwoman are in there with anas!
“goy” isn’t rude, at least not by itself. there are some really far ruder words, like “shiksa” which require no context at all and i come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who uses it in my hearing.
i didn’t know “gora” was rude. i’ve been using it for years with my asian mates. they didn’t seem to mind. surely it depends on the context? what’s next, is “desi” going to be rude? and can i not call people “pendu” any more? or “ullu”? and i’ve never called anyone “banchut”, although it’s a good word to yell in traffic. and my friend muhammad refers to my car as a “desimobile” (it’s a beat-up nissan primera) although to be fair since i found out he had spent time driving a minicab and he turns up at my door i always tell him i didn’t order one, hur hur hur. but i digress.
kismet, you’d have a much easier time if you weren’t quite so rude, i think. it obviously rubs people up the wrong way and although you probably don’t mean anything by it, it’s sometimes hard to tell.
*claps for unity’s comment above about “because you’re stupid, not because you’re white”*
i think the outrage from across the country ought to show everyone that everyone’s as appalled by this as they ought to be. in banana-world, that would show that the general population in the UK finds racism offensive. that ought to be the end of it. and i think that’ll be pointed out the next time there’s a hindu-muslim riot.
according to the times today (they interviewed shilpa’s mum) she’s a black belt in karate. perhaps if she broke a brick in half it might shut them up.
my last words: don’t watch the bloody show. watch something else, or better still read a book or get an early night with a consenting partner.
my even further last words, even if CPW have pulled out of sponsorship, they’re still making money out of it unless they donate their cut of the premium-rate voting to anti-racist charities.
b’shalom
bananabrain
I want Anas to go BB.
(Geordie accent)
Its 3.55 am in the BB house and Anas has been talking about I/P for 45 minutes.
“Its 5.55 am and Anas is still banging on about I/P.”
The show should go on - it’s there to reflect the attitudes of contestants. Channel 4 should put a disclaimer in before episodes are aired to show they don’t condone racism.
Setting Jade up as the scapegoat is ridiculous - she’s an insecure bully - it’s the other three who’ve come up with the racist statements, not her.
I think it’s a sad reflection on British society that anyone could use so many Oxo cubes in a single dish.
Get over yourselves ffs, there is no racism going on here and you are so quick to play on it in order to promote sympathy. Who gives a flying if some pond life made a comment about some rich Asian pondlife.
As someone said before “He without sin cast the first stone” all thats happening here is human nature and theres much more serious issues going on in the world without so much publicity surrounding a show for people with shallow lives.
Don & Tahir,
Excellent points. I very much doubt the producers were totally surprised by Jade’s behaviour given their history and the psychological tests before hand.
Disgusted as I am by Jade and Co’s antics, I do feel a tiny bit of pity for them. There’s something quite repulsive about the exploitation of stupid people for entertainment. I have serious concerns for their personal safety on leaving the house, in addition to their ability to cope with being such hate figures.
Whatever their faults, they haven’t murdered anyone and don’t deserve to have their lives ruined for being thick and obnoxious. Channel Four have allowed this to go way too far and whilst I realise it goes against the spirit of the game a bit, they should have pulled them up days ago, for their own safety if nothing else.
The manner in which Jade and Co. have expressed their contempt for Shilpa Shetty is absolutely and unequivocally disgraceful.
Yes, it IS racist [*except* for the mimicking and caricaturing of her Indian accent, which would fall under the category of “cultural bigotry.”]
But more importantly, it is a stark and sinister example of spitefulness and thuggish harrying. This, in my opinion, ismore deserving of opprobrium than the hackneyed racist clichés.
Jade Goody, to quote Nietzsche, is among the “botched and the bangled.” And, to forestall any possible misunderstanding, I SAY that as a man of working-class blood and heritage.
Amir
‘The Perfume Shop has also said it is withdrawing Jade’s perfume from its shops’
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a41813/ch4s-duncan-speaks-about-bb-row.html
Jade is not someone I would want to be around. I do wonder however if people are going overboard with the chav, pond life, white trash remarks. The easiest scapegoat is a genuine culprit. Because of how some people are it is easy to overlook other obscenities which are lobbed at them their negatives act as a smoke screen for our own.
B’brain,
Shiksa is offensive? Hell, I thought it was the feminine of goy. I just looked it up and apparently it is derived from the Hebrew term sheketz, which means either “detestable”, “loathed” or “blemish,” Shows how much I know. Back when I was a teenage volunteer on Kibbutz Megido we would often start a day’s grapefruit picking with a rousing chorus of ‘To be a farmer’s goy …’
I appreciate the point about power differentials, but in my time I have been known as the local khawadja or the local b’landa or the local farang and probably other stuff I chose to regard as descriptive rather than perjorative. Had I shown that I found those terms hurtful I am certain almost all of those using them would have felt mortified.
The decision as to whether or not a term is offensive is 100% in the hands of those to whom it is applied.