Top Gear racist remark (again)

[bluesjnr]

Guys, guys. It's not racist at all to try to work casual references to dire anti-black racial slurs into your show about cars if you just make sure to never hire any black people to work on filming or editing it. It's just like how multiplying two negative numbers gives you back a positive one--make sure you don't do an odd number of grossly racist things on set and you're fine.

Has the production team of Top Gear been known to "never hire any black people to work on filming or editing". Can you elaborate on this accusation and tell me where you sourced it from?

 

[colander]

Has the production team of Top Gear been known to "never hire any black people to work on filming or editing". Can you elaborate on this accusation and tell me where you sourced it from?

Do you know any black people? If so, try showing them this clip and seeing how funny they think it is. I think you may find that they're rather less able than you are to see the humor in this frankly inexplicable "joke".

Is it not prohibited to create a hostile working environment for one's employees in the UK? I dare say watching the show's head continually try to get away with casually scripting the worst racial slurs in the English language into a show that is ostensibly about cars would grate on me after a while if I was a member of the group being targeted. Further, if this is the kind of material this Clarkson fellow feels comfortable trying out on camera, I rather doubt he's very careful about the language he uses when the mikes are off.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

I never fail to be surprised at just how low the threshold of outrage and high the moral ground is here amongst us sceptics.

I'm not outraged, I'm amused. You see, there's this sort of smug superiority I get whilst watching or listening to British TV and radio programming. Of the Americans-are-so-racist-but-we're-not kind. Yet, here's a guy who had made multiple racist jokes and people keep defending him. It's not quite schadenfreude, but close.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Neither Edison or Einstein made the top 10, which is the correct comparison to the UK list.

And by "half a scientist" I meant it was unsure whether Franklin was there for science or politics (although I would bet on the latter)

Nah, science. Most americans know more about the "kite on a string" bit than about his actual work as an accomplished diplomat.

 

[angrysoba]

I didn't know they were. Do you think it will make a difference what the actual wording in the script is? I'm once again simply not clear on what the importance is of this detail.


As I said above, I suspect they wrote two versions of the joke, one where bluff, crass, thoughtless Clarkson gets halfway through the rhyme and realises in horror he can't say the next bit so he mumbles it. The other where bluff, crass, thoughless Clarkson crashes on through the rhyme and everyone thinks for a moment he's going to say the n-word before he defuses the situation with "teacher".

He has said that he writes the script. Likely the producer co-writes and the other presenters contribute their parts, but I don't know the details.

Perhaps he wrote "improvise here" or perhaps "mutter this line" or any other possibility. I'm not sure what difference it makes as we can see what he actually did do. Seems he didn't do a good enough job of it, but then he's not really an actor.

You were the one who said he was working to a script. I'm curious as to whether he actually wrote down the n-word.

 

[angrysoba]

I never fail to be surprised at just how low the threshold of outrage and high the moral ground is here amongst us sceptics.

Ha ha! I know. Who gets offended by the n-word? Only girly-men I suspect.

Anyway, it is not that I am particularly offended. I am just intrigued that a video showing him use the n-word has had Clarkson react angrily about the Mirror going "way too far" when they were just stating a fact. Then looks of strokey beard interpretations suggest that Clarkson mumbled, but did not say, or use the n-word. He used it without using it, etc...

 

[angrysoba]

3 takes wouldn't be bad for many actors!

For what it's worth I think your assessment of the situation is pretty likely.

So much fuss for something they decided NOT to broadcast because the mumbled bit sounded, in context of the well known verse and thus well known word, too much LIKE that word. Isn't that them doing the right thing? 'Hmm we like being edgy and we hate overly PC attitudes but that's just not acceptable so let's replace it'.

Genuinely don't understand the fuss. If they'd chosen to broadcast it, then yes, because the context was too strong and it was too obvious the word they were alluding to, I could understand some outrage but they decided it was inappropriate - isn't that a good thing?

Also Clarkson has strongly expressed his objection to the term - and he's not usually apologetic about offending people.

My only point here is that he used the word and denies it. And that sceptics here have gone against the evidence and are claiming he is right that the Mirror has "gone way too far"! It's hilarious.

And for the record, I am not particularly squeamish about such words; I have an avatar of Flashman for gawd's sake, but if someone had asked George MacDonald Fraser why he used the n-word and he denied it and said the person saying he had had "gone too far" then I would think GMF was lying.

 

[Noztradamus]

What I'm getting is alluding to "******" by mumbling in context is so bad because everybody will know what you meant, while alluding to it by saying "N-word" is acceptable because...

 

[colander]

What I'm getting is alluding to "******" by mumbling in context is so bad because everybody will know what you meant, while alluding to it by saying "N-word" is acceptable because...

Gee yeah that's a real stumper there except do you think it might be related to the fact that, unlike Mr. Clarkson, they're not using the word for the sole purpose of aggravating people who'd prefer not to see egregious racial slurs casually used as smirky jokes on national public television? It's just a guess, though!

 

[colander]

My only point here is that he used the word and denies it. And that sceptics here have gone against the evidence and are claiming he is right that the Mirror has "gone way too far"! It's hilarious.

Wasn't the footage in question recorded some time ago? He may honestly have not remembered that session until someone showed it to him. It's probably quite difficult for him to keep track of which slurs he's tried out using on his show and which ones he hasn't got around to yet.

I wonder who leaked it.

 

[angrysoba]

Wasn't the footage in question recorded some time ago? He may honestly have not remembered that session until someone showed it to him. It's probably quite difficult for him to keep track of which slurs he's tried out using on his show and which ones he hasn't got around to yet.

I wonder who leaked it.

Anyway, while he definitely didn't use it, because he said he didn't, and while the Mirror has gone too far this time, he has apologized and begged forgiveness for the thing he didn't do. So I think we should let him off, agree he didn't use the word and forgive him even though he didn't use it. After all, as he said to the Sun:

"I wish to God my attempts to cover up that word were better," he said.

But, uh-oh! What's this?

Lawyers are to write to Barack Obama and the ambassadors of every country in which Top Gear airs asking them if the BBC motoring series should continue to be broadcast, following Jeremy Clarkson's mumbled use of the N-word.

Lawrence Davies, director of law firm Equal Justice, branded Top Gear as "racist" and told MediaGuardian his firm did not accept the apology Clarkson has made.

I wonder what the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama is going to say about Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear.

We shall have to make do with the words of assorted British politicians for now.

Harriet Harman says:

In a Twitter post Ms Harman said: "Anybody who uses the N-word in public or private in whatever context has no place in the British Broadcasting Corporation."

Her opinion is wrong, though.

Education Secretary Michael Gove urged the corporation not to axe Clarkson because he had been "clear in his apology".

He's also wrong, but in a different way.

 

[zooterkin]

Anyway, while he definitely didn't use it, because he said he didn't, and while the Mirror has gone too far this time, he has apologized and begged forgiveness for the thing he didn't do. So I think we should let him off, agree he didn't use the word and forgive him even though he didn't use it. After all, as he said to the Sun:

Because sometimes it's easier to make this sort of nonsense go away by admitting to something you didn't actually do.

But, uh-oh! What's this?

Someone looking for publicity, by the look of it, and who doesn't seem to know what happened, since even the mumbled version wasn't broadcast as part of Top Gear.

I wonder what the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama is going to say about Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear.

Nothing at all, if he has any sense of proportion.

 

[zooterkin]

Gee yeah that's a real stumper there except do you think it might be related to the fact that, unlike Mr. Clarkson, they're not using the word for the sole purpose of aggravating people who'd prefer not to see egregious racial slurs casually used as smirky jokes on national public television? It's just a guess, though!

Do you honestly think that the rhyme was chosen primarily because it contained the word in question?

 

[bluesjnr]

Do you know any black people? If so, try showing them this clip and seeing how funny they think it is. I think you may find that they're rather less able than you are to see the humor in this frankly inexplicable "joke".

You failed to answer my question regarding your assertion and instead posed a ridiculous question to me. I don't know any black people and they are very scarce where I live (there are none) so I can't engage in your social experiment. Would you care to answer my question now?

Is it not prohibited to create a hostile working environment for one's employees in the UK? I dare say watching the show's head continually try to get away with casually scripting the worst racial slurs in the English language into a show that is ostensibly about cars would grate on me after a while if I was a member of the group being targeted. Further, if this is the kind of material this Clarkson fellow feels comfortable trying out on camera, I rather doubt he's very careful about the language he uses when the mikes are off.

Taking into account that no employee has claimed a hostile working environment exists (unless you know better as you are awfully well informed about the machinations and inner workings of Top Gear) one can only assume that things are not quite as bad as you would wish in order to shore up your premise.

 

[bluesjnr]

Ha ha! I know. Who gets offended by the n-word? Only girly-men I suspect.

Your hatred of gays has been noted and don't try and weasel out of it by saying it's only a joke. Why did you use that word? Don't you know it's offensive?

Your casual use of homophobic slurs and crass attempts to paint homosexuals as easily offended disgust me. From this moment on you will be forever known as a homophobe.

The proof of my assertion is right there in the quote.

When I think about it, it's just as well you are not famous because I can see the furore now. You should go back to the first post and replace Clarksons name with yours.

If you report this post it will show that you are trying to hide your prejudice and will only serve to bolster my outrage and moral indignation at your unthinking homophobic tendencies.

 

[angrysoba]

Your hatred of gays has been noted and don't try and weasel out of it by saying it's only a joke. Why did you use that word? Don't you know it's offensive?

Your casual use of homophobic slurs and crass attempts to paint homosexuals as easily offended disgust me. From this moment on you will be forever known as a homophobe.

The proof of my assertion is right there in the quote.

When I think about it, it's just as well you are not famous because I can see the furore now. You should go back to the first post and replace Clarksons name with yours.

If you report this post it will show that you are trying to hide your prejudice and will only serve to bolster my outrage and moral indignation at your unthinking homophobic tendencies.

I certainly used the word, just as Clarkson used the n-word. I have made no assumptions about why he used the word, though, so I am not sure why you spent so long writing that tedious yawn-worthy attempt at parody.

 

[bluesjnr]

I'm not outraged, I'm amused. You see, there's this sort of smug superiority I get whilst watching or listening to British TV and radio programming. Of the Americans-are-so-racist-but-we're-not kind. Yet, here's a guy who had made multiple racist jokes and people keep defending him. It's not quite schadenfreude, but close.

I am British and probably watch a lot more British TV than you and can't recall one single programme that dealt with American racism whilst claiming that Brits are not.

Your claim is nonsense. Britain has an endemic and institutionalised racist problem and I don't know one single Brit that would say otherwise. Here's a couple of starters for you.

Notting Hill Riots

From the BBC no less - A long history of race riots.

Instead of feeling superior maybe you should educate yourself.

 

[bluesjnr]

I certainly used the word, just as Clarkson used the n-word. I have made no assumptions about why he used the word, though, so I am not sure why you spent so long writing that tedious yawn-worthy attempt at parody.

Not much of an apology. Glad you got the point though.

 

[angrysoba]

Not much of an apology. Glad you got the point though.

What was your "point"?

 

[ddt]

As a 47 year old I can confirm that the original was in use in County Durham in the late 1970's despite attempts to use tiger instead.

I never understood the tiger version, why would a tiger squeal ? Why wouldn't a tiger just maul anyone who attempted to grab its toe ? Even as a 10 year old, my experience with cats taught me it was complete bunk .

LOL. That the text doesn't make sense at all (here's the Dutch version) was the least I noticed as a child. The most important thing I noticed as a child is that, as the rhyme has a fixed number of syllables, you can predict where you end, and thus skew the results by starting at an appropriate place. That was long before I heard of the Josephus problem.

But boy, do you Brits have a problem with the old version of the text. Anyone over 50 or so who learned and internalized that version in their childhood and innocuously blurts it out can be branded a racist, if I'm to believe some of the comments here.

As to Jeremy Clarkson, I stay out of the discussion. I see Top Gear maybe one or two times a year, tops. And I didn't know "slope" was a racial slur to begin with, nor that Eeny meeny miny moe originally contained the N-word.