George Floyd/Black Lives Matter Protests

[Bairnardo]

Nice to see the Larbert young team moving with the times and future proofing their graffiti

[Bully Wee Villa]

It's a swear word as well as being racist. If the person had said "c**t", there's no way they would have repeated it, uncensored, on a  pre-watershed local news programme. They'd have said "used offensive language" or some such.

I've no idea why they didn't just say "used a racist term" or, if they must, "used the N word", in this instance.

Swear words banned unless they're racist swear words seems a bizarre double standard from the BBC.

Basically, if you can avoid using that word, avoid it. There was no reason why it had to be used here. It's local news, not a Quentin Tarantino film.

[Newbornbairn]

As I see it, there's two issues.

1) The BBC - after consulting with the family of the victim, reported in full the remarks made by the assailants in a racist attack. These remarks were witnessed by at least 15 people IIRC so there's no doubting the veracity. According to the BBC - 

Quote

 

in response to complaints about the use of the word, the BBC said: "The victim's family were anxious the incident should be seen and understood by the wider public.

"It's for this reason they asked us specifically to show the photos of this man's injuries and were also determined that we should report the racist language, in full, alleged to have been spoken by the occupants of the car."

 

I think people have become inured to euphemisms like "racist language" and "the 'n' word" so they chose to report in full to get across just how vile this attack was.

18000 people heard the word "n*******" and pished their frillies but to my mind it's no different to the media showing images of dead babies face down in the sand to illustrate the plight of refugees. That drew a lot of complaints too.

 

2) The second issue is a disk jockey taking offence, not at the words but at who said them. Specifically a white reporter. 

Quote

"But the BBC sanctioning the N-word being said on national television by a white person is something I can't rock with.

That's the road to having white reporters reporting on white issues and black reporters reporting on black issues. 

[Marshmallo]

You do realise that "reporting on black issues" is nowhere near the same as "saying n'gger on regional news prior to the watershed"?

[yoda]

36 minutes ago, pandarilla said:

I'm not trying to be clever. I'm trying to get to the heart of the argument behind it, which allows folk to educate and out-argue the folk who are questioning 'the rules'.

If you think the initial reaction to my post is the way to go to improve society and educate people then i think you've lost the plot. Humans, by their nature, want to question everything.

Pointing and laughing, and trying to pretend that these questions can't be asked is a terrible tactic.

But maybe you don't want to actually improve the situation? Maybe you just want to be secure that you're on the 'right-on' side, no matter if things get better or worse.

 

Cutting to the chase: you think you're right, and when someone has an opinion you don't like you ignore it and then brush them off as being nasty and laughing at you. You present a Spiked article, and when it is widely derided as being poorly researched and ill-informed bullshit, you take the huff. This Joe Rogan Lite approach of mindlessly questioning things without actually engaging isn't going to "improve the situation" either.

There's an element of self-declared liberal, left-leaning society, who seem to think that the rise of the right are entirely as a response to, erm, people on Twitter championing social justice. These people are very naive.

The crux of the issue is this: the BBC used the n-word, for no reason other than to shock viewers; a black Radio 1 DJ takes issue with this and resigns. A certain element of Twitter and tabloid media explodes in outrage over the fact that a black man might not actually like a serious journalist using the n-word for no reason other than to shock viewers. That's the story, and to dress it up as some sort of LOONY LEFT CULTURAL MARXISM misses the point in spectacular fashion.

[Juanhourjoe]

I don't think the BBC would be going for shock. And would no way have used the word if the family hadn't made the case for it.

It's a tricky one as the impact of having the full details, and not hiding it in a woolly euphemism is important to get the message out.

Although I can understand, it is traumatic to many in the black community. So can respect sidemans response to this.

[JMDP]

5 hours ago, JTS98 said:

I disagree with the complaints on this.

The people complaining seem to be going down a route where we just act as if the N-word doesn't exist. It was an important news story about a terrible event and the language used was in context and relevant to the story.  It was led in with a warning to viewers and it seems fair enough to me.

I'm not on board with the idea that the N-word can be used in rap music to make money, but not in a factual report about a racist attack.

It's used in rap music to make money, aye? I'm sure people like Wretch 32 and Akala are glad that their carefully considered lyrics and word choice have been reduced by perennially seething Hearts meltdown merchant JTS98 to a money making choice. 

[Gaz]

As has been said above, it's also a swear word. There is literally no way that if the person had been called a fucking n****r c**t the BBC would have said that, family's permission or not. I've no idea why they thought saying it was a good idea.

[ICTChris]

The process by which the BBC reached this decision is pretty easy to understand. Desperate for a story that could cut through on a current hot subject they thought putting this in would generate clicks, shares, views etc. Including one of the last taboo words gives the whole thing the veneer of shocking people out of their armchairs and into action, what sort of action I’m not sure.

It’s complete bollocks though. You don’t need to include it to shock people, everyone with half a brain understands that it’s extremely unpleasant and shocking to be called that word when you are black. There’s a mode of thinking among the media and commentators that people need to be lead or educated or have their awareness raised when actually most peoples preferred method to have facts presented to them. A report of someone being run over and having racist abuse shouted at them doesn’t need a recording of it to be understandable.

[Brother Blades]

Has the link to the news report been pasted?

[placidcasual]

Am I allowed to sing along to the wu-tang clan?

[NotThePars]

11 minutes ago, placidcasual said:

Am I allowed to sing along to the wu-tang clan?

Substitute that famous word we all know and love for "neebur" and you're good

[JMDP]

Still absolutely gone at the thought of Wretch 32 writing:

"N***** tried to minus my pluses just to divide my people
Who go from stepping on roaches to stepping by The Beatles
It's progression at its finest
They say my weakness is kindness
I killed 'em with success, cause it's timeless
Every verse is a verse from the chapter of writing
The Writing's on the Wall, we know who Destiny's Child is
King Kendrick or Jermaine Cole
Or are you saying "King Wretched" or "Jermaine's Cold"?
I'm trying to lay The Blueprint and give you Reasonable Doubt
So when you Watch the Throne, they can see me Change Clothes"

Or Akala writing:

"How many millions dead at the bottom of the ocean?
Thrown overboard like property stolen
Or jumped overboard rather than be sold on
A mother with her baby in arms, hold on
What awaited was not just enslavement
But a genocidal impulse craving
They committed unspeakable abuses
To make a n**** from an African human
Took a woman ready to give birth
Tied her limbs to four posts held firm
In a main square made every slave watch"

 

Then both of them sitting back and thinking "well, slipped the n-word in there, the money is going to start rolling in now". 

I honestly don't know if I've ever seen a worse take on this website and I've read a lot of Kincy's posts on the politics forum. 

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Personally I'm absolutely fucking gobsmacked at Pandarilla indulging in yet another bout of attention-seeking contrarian trolling tbh.

[Marshmallo]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53715814

The lads will be on soon telling us that this "sets a worrying precedent"

[pandarilla]

 
Cutting to the chase: you think you're right, and when someone has an opinion you don't like you ignore it and then brush them off as being nasty and laughing at you. You present a Spiked article, and when it is widely derided as being poorly researched and ill-informed bullshit, you take the huff. This Joe Rogan Lite approach of mindlessly questioning things without actually engaging isn't going to "improve the situation" either.
There's an element of self-declared liberal, left-leaning society, who seem to think that the rise of the right are entirely as a response to, erm, people on Twitter championing social justice. These people are very naive.
The crux of the issue is this: the BBC used the n-word, for no reason other than to shock viewers; a black Radio 1 DJ takes issue with this and resigns. A certain element of Twitter and tabloid media explodes in outrage over the fact that a black man might not actually like a serious journalist using the n-word for no reason other than to shock viewers. That's the story, and to dress it up as some sort of LOONY LEFT CULTURAL MARXISM misses the point in spectacular fashion.

I was posting because i was undecided on whether the bbc were right or wrong - and i made that clear.

My instinct was that they were right because i focused on the fact that the family were wanting this to be highlighted, and i still don't think the reporter was trying to do anything dodgy here.

Like I've said already, i initially thought the complaints were about a social media clip of the attack being used (actual footage). I was wrong about that, and if it was just the reporter using the word themselves to highlight the crime then i think the bbc is wrong not to have apologised.

But that's why i posted it in the first place, because i wanted to find out the details of the whole thing.

Personally I'm absolutely fucking gobsmacked at Pandarilla indulging in yet another bout of attention-seeking contrarian trolling tbh.

Massively wide of the mark, but if it makes you happy to think that anyone questioning anything is trolling then knock yourself out. There's literally nothing more i can do.

I'm genuinely interested in these issues, and like to look at both sides of the argument. I'm finding that's increasingly difficult, but i can live with that.

I've got no doubt of my left wing credentials. I'm a volunteer for common weal, who are actively trying to promote left wing policies in Scotland.

If a few daft lads on the internet think I'm something else then that's their issue.

[Sergeant Wilson]

2 hours ago, NotThePars said:

Substitute that famous word we all know and love for "neebur" and you're good

Or

 

[Gaz]

1 hour ago, pandarilla said:

My instinct was that they were right because i focused on the fact that the family were wanting this to be highlighted, and i still don't think the reporter was trying to do anything dodgy here.

If the person had been called a "black b*****d" and the family wanted that to be highlighted, should the BBC have repeated it?

[Newbornbairn]

4 minutes ago, Gaz said:

If the person had been called a "black b*****d" and the family wanted that to be highlighted, should the BBC have repeated it?

Like this - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47117177 you mean?

[Gaz]

3 minutes ago, NewBornBairn said:

Like this - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47117177 you mean?

Not really the same though, is it? Neeson isn't a BBC employee.

Also on that page you linked the word "b*****d" is bleeped out.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Gaz