INCONTINENT INDIGNATION AND THE TALKING CHIMPANZEE
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| Rod Liddle,Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Cathy Newman Channel 4 News |
Before the furore over the Michael fabricant tweets, I
watched the channel 4 interview between Rod Liddle the Spectator columnist and
left baiter and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown adopting her trade mark posture of
sanctimonious indignation.[1] She was
joined in her indignation by the Channel 4 news presenter Cathy Newman, there
was no pretence of impartiality, Liddle was there to be prodded and goaded, and
prodded and goaded he was.
Once there were politicians and reporters, the politicians
opined and the reporters reported. Now we have the ‘commentariat,’ columnists
and pundits, purveyors of righteous indignation or ‘sound common sense,’ wheeled
out on every occasion to provide us with their wisdom and insight. Occasionally
they are accorded the title ‘expert.’ Like the priesthood of yesteryear they
explain the complexities of official doctrine or interpret the mood of the rest
of us, often described as ‘ordinary people.’ As opposed one assumes to
extraordinary people like themselves. Ms Alibhai-Brown is a member of this select group, in her case specialising in indignation, parading her feelings from television studio to television studio as if they represented a coherent philosophy of thought.
Mr Liddle on the other hand is the Spectator magazine version of the American ‘shock-jock,’ those radio talk show hosts who specialise in liberal baiting, throwing red meat to the rednecks and Tea Party activists who think that white conservative men are now a persecuted minority. Though to be fair to Mr Liddle he would qualify as a dangerous lefty intellectual amongst the Tea Party crowd.
With its heavily slanted run in to the interview Channel 4 announced that it had caught itself a real live reactionary to be berated and excoriated in a public denunciation of the heretic. Liddle need not have said anything, since Channel 4 was doing fine all on its own in making his point about the nature of the left liberal media. As it was Ms Newman did all she could to misrepresent Liddle’s statements and demonstrate her credentials as a pure hearted liberal; she was having no truck with this man. Thus:-
Ms Newman: “…you say in the book that you don’t like Islam.”
Mr Liddle: “Oh I’m not terribly keen on Islam, because it
seems to lend itself to a certain homophobia, I don’t agree with its views in most
Islamic States on apostasy and I don’t agree with its views towards women. That’s
why I’m not particularly keen on Islam.”
Ms Newman: “An entire religion, I mean you just dismiss an
entire religion!” She waves her hand theatrically bearing a suitably disapproving
grimace.
Now I challenge anyone reasonable person to interpret Mr
Liddle’s words in that manner. Ms Newman of course must assume this tone, to
adopt a more nuanced stance to Mr Liddle’s perfectly reasonable points might
leave her open to accusations of ‘Islamaphobia.’
As to Ms Alibhai-Brown she slowly melts into a pool of
incontinent indignation as the item descends into farce and playground name
calling. “I loath you Mr Liddle, I have no words to express how much I loathe
you…”
This pathetic display of non-exchange of views, of non-discussion,
a puddle of liberal bile offered up as deliberation is what is passes these
days for debate.
Then to cap it all enter Michael Fabricant, a Conservative
MP who tweets,- "I could never appear on a discussion prog with @y_alibhai
I would either end up with a brain haemorrhage or by punching her in the
throat."
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| Michael Fabricant The Talking Chimpanzee |
Now Mr Fabricant seems to have been elected as part of a bet,
the gist of which was that it would be possible to elect the equivalent of a
talking chimpanzee to parliament.* It seems that this witless buffoon harbours
a desire to punch people with whom he disagrees in the throat. What passes for
thought in this man’s brain doesn’t bare thinking about, though he seems
constantly anxious to display its nature to the whole world.
As for Ms Alibhai-Brown the comments of the witless imbecile
confirms her long held views about white men.
‘There is an
undercurrent of really horrible imperialism, racism and sexism in this story.
Here is a woman, like many women in the public space, getting above herself:
somebody needs to shut her up. Note that he said he wanted to smash my throat:
it is my voice he wants to shut off.’[2]
To be appalled at the virulent unpleasantness of Mr
Fabricant, does not mean accepting this self-important sanctimonious diatribe.
Respecting the Channel 4 segment there was no debate to silence, only a low
level incontinent whine.
As to the ghastly Mr Fabricant I hope he is being subjected
to the same level of virulent, sinister and disgusting trolling as Ms
Alibhai-Brown now appears to be being subjected. I would also say that someone should punch him
in the throat and see how he likes it, only it is the least important part of
his anatomy. Nothing of any value ever emerges from it.
*Though this seems a little unfair to chimpanzees who are thoughtful
and sophisticated animals, not terms you could apply to Mr Fabricant.
