Jeremy Clarkson

Doodledog

There may well have been racial undertones and nuances, which is why I mentioned dog whistles upthread.

The fact remains, however, that knowing about all of the KKK's myriad atrocities is not necessary to an understanding that the comments were beyond the pale.

I wasn't referring in particular to Clarkson's comment, rather the more general reaction by the public to various insinuations of racism.

It might have been that JC though everyone watched GoT and knew what he was referring to - he appears to believe he speaks for 'everyone', maybe there were racial undertones - he's not averse to it - or maybe not. I've no idea.

There may well have been racial undertones and nuances, which is why I mentioned dog whistles upthread.

The fact remains, however, that knowing about all of the KKK's myriad atrocities is not necessary to an understanding that the comments were beyond the pale.

How can I voice my complaint? I'd like to.

(good to hear, sazz1). Be good to complain to his current employers.

Farzanah

Many of a “white privilege”, by which I mean living in a country where the majority of the population are white, for example, do not understand the day to day nuances by which racism is casually conveyed to those who are non white. There are also of course many instances of overt racism.

I guess there needs to be more awareness and understanding, and imagination of what it’s like to live the life as experienced by others.

It seems often to be taken for granted that if something is not overtly racist, it can’t be racist. I don’t believe that.

I guess there needs to be more awareness and understanding, and imagination of what it’s like to live the life as experienced by others.

And when those others tell us of their experiences they're met with a barrage of denials and accusations of 'playing the race card'. Those who listen and empathise are then regarded as "snowflakes"... "can't say anything these days without being accused of racism"... say those who generally have never experienced it.

Perhaps covert racism is too nuanced to grasp?

Many of a “white privilege”, by which I mean living in a country where the majority of the population are white, for example, do not understand the day to day nuances by which racism is casually conveyed to those who are non white. There are also of course many instances of overt racism.

I guess there needs to be more awareness and understanding, and imagination of what it’s like to live the life as experienced by others.

It seems often to be taken for granted that if something is not overtly racist, it can’t be racist. I don’t believe that.

Doodledog hits the nail on the head.

That's not really the point though. Whether Clarkson's comment referenced GoT, the KKK, the French Resistance or his own twisted imagination it was vile and misogynistic, and that is why he should be 'retired' from the public eye as soon as possible. I don't say that as a supporter of left or right politics, but as someone who is shocked that anyone can wish that on someone else and say so publicly in expectation of impunity.

... that's it - in a nutshell.

12k official complaints about this article atm which also includes 60 from MPs.
It was a disgusting thing to write

undercurrent of racist

racism

The point is this, in my opinion.

If someone insists that they don't see the racial undertones in something that is done, even when they have had it explained to them several times, it is realistic to think that they are being intentionally obtuse. If someone says that they are not aware of something just because they don't live in the country that is being discussed, perhaps they are being intentionally obtuse.

There does seem to be a belief that something is not racist unless the perpetrator uses overtly racist language, or that the entirety of what they say or write has to be racist for any part of can be considered racist. Mentioning other people, or referring in their diatribe on something that isn't itself racist, does not preclude the undercurrent of racist against a person of colour.

I don't believe that the scene in GoT was racist. I watched it live. It wasn't racist. 🤷🏼

The fact that this has to be explained in today's world is disappointing. No doubt I haven't explained it very well.

But unless racism is recognised, it will continue to happen

What worries me the most is that Meghan has recently admitted to feeling suicidal due to things said and done to her.
If this isn’t enough of a reason for the bullies to back off, then what is?
Clarkson is either an evil, idiotic, misogynistic pig or he has early stage dementia. I feel it is the former. The latter would be being too kind.

Doodledog I agree.

Whitewavemark2

After reading so many comments about my reference to the KKK, I think that perhaps I should apologise for making the assumption that those who lived through the period of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King and the groups that resisted the movement like the KKK, could not fail to have imbibed this period and were fully aware of the history of the black movement as a result.

I was wrong.

It explains a lot.

I am aware of the KKK, and of the history of the Civil Rights movement, but I don't have an encyclopaedic knowledge of every atrocity they committed. I'm not sure what that 'explains' about me, or anyone else in that position.

That's not really the point though. Whether Clarkson's comment referenced GoT, the KKK, the French Resistance or his own twisted imagination it was vile and misogynistic, and that is why he should be 'retired' from the public eye as soon as possible. I don't say that as a supporter of left or right politics, but as someone who is shocked that anyone can wish that on someone else and say so publicly in expectation of impunity.

Whether or not people know the KKK (or other) history of the practice, surely the vast majority of people find the idea abhorrent. Unfortunately, there are some nutjobs around with vile views, who will see justification because somebody famous has suggested it.

Kryptonite

The Sun newspaper has a reading age of 8 years old. I believe it is the most popular paper in the UK. Must be easy to influence its readers.

I thought people looked at rather than read The Sun.

Kryptonite

The Sun newspaper has a reading age of 8 years old. I believe it is the most popular paper in the UK. Must be easy to influence its readers.

...in 2015, the OECD conducted its Survey of Adult Skills, known as PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies). This survey found that 16.4% (or 1 in 6) of adults in England, and 17.9% (or 1 in 5) adults in Northern Ireland, have literacy levels at or below Level 1, which is considered to be 'very poor literacy skills'.

So if one in five have poor literacy skills - that means the majority are literate.

However, those stats ignore what I call 'native intelligence'. People might have low level reading and writing skills but still possess a sense of right-from-wrong and have an 'understanding' of 'life' that they cannot necessarily communicate. They can separate fact from fiction even if they are not wholly educated in either. In other words, the genuinely ignorant are few.

I have a friend who has very poor literacy skills, but my goodness, her common sense practicality and realism outshines many who think they are superior to her.

Yes, they do all get solved in the end in books, films and on tv, don't they, Kryptonite. We can all sleep easy in our beds after watching them.

Callistemon21 It is strange how popular murder stories have always been, especially with women. It is something to do with being safe in your own home while you read/watch/listen to scary, grisly stories and knowing that good will prevail over evil and the the baddies will always get their just deserts in the end. People believed, for example, that Sherlock Holmes would always come to the rescue, and this made them feel secure despite all the turmoil going on in real life. Personally, I can't watch anything gruesome or violent at all.

It was a foul comment and will probably end Clarkson's broadcasting career.

But I don't believe it to be racist; it harks back to medieval religious penance, when sinners were paraded through the streets as punishment. Richard 111 caused Jane Shore, his brother's mistress, to be paraded in a thin white shift as public penance, and I think Game of Thrones was in part based on the Plantagenets.

Kate1949

You can know about the KKK and not be aware of every single atrocity they committed.

I agree.

We cannot be expected to know every detail of every atrocity committed against humanity over the years and, as I said previously, many Gransnetters may not have been born then or were young children at the height of its last wave of terror.

You don't need to know every detail of atrocities to condemn them.

The Sun newspaper has a reading age of 8 years old. I believe it is the most popular paper in the UK. Must be easy to influence its readers.

You can know about the KKK and not be aware of every single atrocity they committed.

Blinko

I find JC mildly amusing, clever and sometimes offensive - probably to get a reaction. But these recent remarks are truly horrible.

What kind of person even thinks that way, let alone commits it to print in a national newspaper? Lying awake thinking of throwing excrement at someone? What???

Someone who watches Game of Thrones and has difficulty separating fact from fiction?
He won't be the only one out there.

Should Game of Thrones be banned because some scenes have racist connotations even if disguised? Violence and humiliation of women?

Do such fantasy series and films incite such thoughts and even actions in some people?

Murder is sanitised these days on television and in books - enjoyable, amusing murder dramas on tv, a book list online suggesting that titles were "Cozy Murder Mysteries"

There is no such thing as a "cosy murder".

If you claim not to know what the KKK were up to because you don't live in America, I wouldn't say you were a thicko.

Intentionally oblivious, I'd say.

Iam A superior world view is right. Assuming the rest of us are uneducated thickos.

He should be sacked from whatever work he is doing atm.