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John Humphreys seemingly mocking..........

(25 Posts)
j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 19:17:48

..........George Osborne over him shedding a few tears at MT's funeral.

I missed this in the week but caught Radio 4's Feedback this afternoon. So many listeners not pleased. With good reason I think.

Really unnecessary.

absent Fri 26-Apr-13 19:28:54

John Humphreys "accused" him of "weeping". Weeping means shedding tears. There is a picture of George Osborne with a tear running down his face. Perhaps the question is was that the only tear, while the definition says tears in the plural, or did another one follow. What good reason? For goodness sake…

Ana Fri 26-Apr-13 19:31:27

Did you actually read the link, absent? confused

absent Fri 26-Apr-13 19:34:17

Of course, Ana. I never comment on a post with a link without looking at it. George Osborne shed tears – that's weeping. What is the problem and why is it mockery?

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:46:27

I think mockery of public figures is a useful and healthy tool for a democracy to have and I'm glad Humphreys uses it.... IF he did. Quizzing someone about tears is not necessarily mockery though. From what the article says, Osborne coped admirably.

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:47:22

Besides, what has Osborne to be ashamed about? Nothing wrong with shedding tears on moving occasions.

j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 19:48:07

It was a personal thing. Not something he would have wanted referred to at all.

Yes, GO coped admirably.

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:48:22

Bloody outrage brigade hmm

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:48:57

Rubbish. Why wouldn't he want it talked about?

j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 19:48:59

Bloody non-sensitive to other people's feelings brigade! hmm

j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 19:50:35

He wept. At a funeral. It was a thing personal only to him. Not something the nation needed to hear him questioned about.

Oh, don't bother. You are perhaps incapable of understanding this. smile

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:50:40

Nonsense! I just don't think anyone needs to get all soppy about an MP crying. What's all the fuss about? Why is it a problem to talk about it? It isn't.

I wouldn't mind someone asking me about tears at a funeral. Why should I? Why would anyone?

j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 19:51:43

He's a politician. He goes on radio programmes to talk about politics.

Like I say, don't bother.

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:52:03

Funerals are public, especially that one. He wasn't crying for Thatcher but because of the momentousness of the moment. This is what funerals are for.

j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 19:53:06

No one is getting "all soppy" anyway. A number of people were puzzled and a bit cross.

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:53:31

I understand that a lot of fuss is being made about tears at a funeral, and I think it's very silly, especially as the man in question wasn't bothered about it.

j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 19:53:34

That's not the point! hmm

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 19:54:00

Well, I guess I'm just tired of people getting cross about trivia.

j08 Fri 26-Apr-13 20:01:05

I'm not sure it is trivia. John Humphreys is a probably well paid presenter on a radio station that I help fund. I think it's ok to expect a bit of common decency, not to say sensitivity, from him.

But we can agree to disagree.

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 20:04:08

I back off when people mention "common decency". I only have the uncommon kind.

annodomini Fri 26-Apr-13 20:17:10

Who cares anyway?

Bags Fri 26-Apr-13 20:25:30

"seemingly mocking" means he probably wasn't mocking anyway.

nanaej Fri 26-Apr-13 21:23:12

There is civil war in Syria, about 2.7million out of work in UK, measles epidemic developing in Wales,

A man weeping/ shedding a tear, crying at a funeral of a person he probably admired but did not know intimately is not major news and is relatively trivial!

However he is also a high profile politician and politicians have occasionally been known to take advantage of public situations... maybe Humphrey's wanted to give GO the chance to clarify the genuineness of his sadness and rebut any suggestion that he was being opportunistic and trying to temper the image of him as an unfeeling and arrogant politician..

nanaej Fri 26-Apr-13 21:24:11

There is civil war in Syria, about 2.7million out of work in UK, measles epidemic developing in Wales,

A man weeping/ shedding a tear, crying at a funeral of a person he probably admired but did not know intimately is not major news and is relatively trivial!

However he is also a high profile politician and politicians have occasionally been known to take advantage of public situations... maybe Humphrey wanted to give GO the chance to clarify the genuineness of his sadness and rebut any suggestion that he was being opportunistic and trying to temper the image of him as an unfeeling and arrogant politician..

j08 Sat 27-Apr-13 08:15:29

I doubt whether he was crying for Maggie Thatcher. Funerals can often touch upon previous sad events in a person's life. No doubt this was happening with George. Cruel to dwell on it on air.

I'm glad listeners didn't just accept it but took the trouble to protest.