BBC may have to sack Clarkson

BBC News - Sack Jeremy Clarkson over strike comments, Unison urges

I hope they do sack him what a cheek!!

 

I'm no fan of Clarkson, Hydrogen; I think he's a treetreetree. His remarks were tasteless (isn't that what he does?) but I don't think they were meant to be taken entirely at face value. And anyway, despite the fact that I'd gladly see him disappear from our screens, I suppose I do defend his right to be offensive. We're in danger of descending into a media mush in which no one must dare say anything for fear of the consequences. The only thing which can be expressed openly is a sort of empty, meaningless sentimentality - the 'aren't I a good person?' school of presentation.

PS I wonder if the Unison members who were so upset about all this were the same ones who were out spending yesterday? It was a bumper day on the high street, apparently!

 

I can see the axle on the bandwagon is going to take a loading. The guy is a twonk, he will remain a twonk. Just build a bridge and get over it. Cheers, Tony.

 

... who has a new book & a new DVD out & hasn't been in the news recently...

 

He had a good airing in the papers a few months ago after his dear wife sacked him

 

I'm no fan of the man, but here is the link to the World At One..............

BBC iPlayer - World at One: 01/12/2011

Fast forward to 38 minutes 45secs and it will give you the context of the comments (I never watch the One Show, but I heard all about the "comment"). Once you get the full(ish) facts as opposed to the media edit it starts to look like a stitch up. If you google it, you will only get the edited version.

To be honest, I was far more offended by the comments of the "Trust Fund Wally" saying "we're all in this together"!

I'm more interested in Clarksons comments about people jumping under trains - can anyone fill me in?

 

I'm not an avid viewer of the One Show, but it happened to be jabbering on in the background when Clarkson was on. I have a feeling that most of the show's viewers are the passive kind, who just forgot to turn the tv off. Anyway, the people-jumping-under-trains stuff concerned the fact that his train journeys were regularly held up because of people ending it all by jumping onto the line at Reading. (I don't know why Reading should be particularly prone to this sort of thing; I'm just reporting what I heard.) Clarkson said stopping the train after such an event was pointless, because it wasn't going to help the victim. Instead, the driver should simply plough on towards his destination, presumably still with bits of dead person stuck to the engine. I took it as one of his usual taste-free jokes, although I will admit to sniggering a bit. I do have a bit of a problem with people who end it all in this way. Why can they not slink off to Beachy Head or something? Why mess up everyone else's day?

 

Thank you ClaraLou!

Have you been to Reading?

I met him once professionally and to be fair he was courteous and not at all the big "I am". It's just professionally, he is doing nothing new - it's just formulaic. But I do get the impression that he may just believe in free speech almost as much as he believes in self promotion.

Storm in a teacup that is making the union leaders look rather silly.

 

Yes, I agree. What a dull boring World it would be if no-one ever said anything a bit controversial because they were scared of upsetting someone!! Personally I think Jeremy Clarkson is hilarious and long may he continue to be so!!!:yess:

Val

 

Yes he is clever and amusing, but it's a shame that like J Ross before him, he spoils it by going too far, just because he can.

I'm all for freedom of speech and what he said may have been intended to be light -hearted banter, but it was pretty unpleasant.

 

Just heard it on the news on Radio 4 - I can't be offended by that.
It's a very different thing from the ilk of John Irving.

I fact, what I find worse is that Cammo and Milliband stood in front of the microphone and condemned it - proof if ever we need it that we live in an age of reactive (and not proactive) politics.

 

Clarkson (a) said the strike was great because you could get around London easily and it felt like the seventies all over again and (b) that, to balance opinion - as he felt he should do, since he was on the BBC - the strikers should be shot. I worry a little about the brainpower of anyone who took the latter statement at face value. It is tasteless stuff, but that is what Clarkson is paid to do. For the BBC to get huffy after the event is a bit like the Corporation hiring someone with Tourette's Syndrome and then feigning shock at the resulting language.

 

Well, I've never been a Clarkson fan but I'm warming to him by the moment. It's a wonder he didn't say that the strikers' entrails should be fed to stray dogs. Gorblimey! I wonder how some of these sensitive Unison flowers would cope in a less benign society. Will a simple apology be enough for them, do you think? Or is a public flogging in order?

 

He speaks his mind and speaks from his heart .... and for that reason, I commend him

he done the same with gordon brown

he is entitled to his opinion, however, I don't agree with all that he says

and I don't see anyone demanding that the government resigns? .... i remember watching the election debates and somehow, what was said and promised is not what's happening?