Balance within the BBC

[oddoneout]

"There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s ... "

Language which included reference to forcible removal of Jews to another country. Madagascar in 1930s Germany, Rwanda for similarly unwanted people in 2023 UK.

Meanwhile, an interesting twist? https://www.theguardian.com/politics...bbc-complaints

[Ein Heldenleben]

Language which included reference to forcible removal of Jews to another country. Madagascar in 1930s Germany, Rwanda for similarly unwanted people in 2023 UK.

Meanwhile, an interesting twist? https://www.theguardian.com/politics...bbc-complaints

For those that are interested it’s almost certainly a breach of the BBC’s copyright. The Home Office can’t claim fair dealing.

[RichardB]

All this reminds me of Prof Chomsky's sage words: "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate."

[vinteuil]

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.... following from RichardB's apt quote from Chomsky -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality

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[french frank]

And there's also Hanlon's razor. In general we do home in on what we feel is important, what we feel we have the competence to deal with.

Much enjoyed this observation from The Guardian's Archie Bland:

'There’s a great BBC ad that sets out the case for its importance as a universal public broadcaster: “The BBC is something that belongs to all of us,” it rousingly concludes ... The agony of the current row is that in an alleged attempt to demonstrate commitment to that principle, the BBC’s leadership has instead shown that i) it has very senior presenters who really dislike the government, and ii) that the Conservatives have successfully insinuated their own representatives into its senior leadership.'

Then, says Bland, there's Lord Sugar tweeting about Mick Lynch. Perhaps his lordship should, erm, take an early bath? (Don't miss the comments beneath his tweet!)

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.... following from RichardB's apt quote from Chomsky -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality

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All this reminds me of Prof Chomsky's sage words: "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate."

[LHC]

Only in the 30s?

And if that is so, all the more reason why she should know better than to mimic their dehumanising rhetoric!

She has also refused to apologise for her language even when she was confronted by a holocaust survivor, who I suspect has a much better understanding of what the Nazis did than Braverman or Lineker

"The home secretary has said she will not apologise for her language, after a Holocaust survivor criticised her for describing migrants as an "invasion".

Joan Salter, 83, confronted Suella Braverman during a meeting in her Fareham constituency on Friday.

She said the home secretary's rhetoric reminded her of the language the Nazis used to justify murdering her family.

But Ms Braverman said her language demonstrated the "scale of the problem" with illegal migration.

In footage of the exchange, provided by the charity Freedom from Torture, Ms Salter said: "When I hear you using words against refugees like 'swarms' and an 'invasion', I am reminded of the language used to dehumanise and justify the murder of my family and millions of others.

"Why do you find the need to use that kind of language?"

Ms Braverman thanked Ms Salter for her question and said she "shared a huge amount of concern and sympathy" over the "challenge" of illegal immigration.

She said her own parents were not born in Britain and "owe everything to this country".

However, she added: "There is a huge problem that we have right now when it comes to illegal migration, the scale of which we have not known before.

"I won't apologise for the language that I have used to demonstrate the scale of the problem."

And is others have pointed out, there is no 'invasion' and we take far fewer immigrants than other EU nations. The UNHCR has also criticised the Tories' rhetoric around immigration in the same terms, so Lineker is in very good company in recognising the similarities in Braverman's language and that used by the National Socialists in the 30s.

[Bryn]

Only in the 30s?

And if that is so, all the more reason why she should know better than to mimic their dehumanising rhetoric!

Quite! Her grinning evasiveness, when interviewed by Nick Robinson, spoke volumes regarding her lack of understanding of the essence of Lineker's criticism of her inflammatory language.

[Maclintick]

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.... following from RichardB's apt quote from Chomsky -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_triviality

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...The Lineker Affair also provides a perfect example of Godwin's Law...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

Recently, MP Andrew Bridgen miraculously scored a triple hit with his enthusiastic embrace of Godwin, Hanlon, and outing himself as a perfect exemplar of the Dunning-Kruger Effect...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect

https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/national/23243449.bridgen-stripped-tory-whip-utterly-unacceptable-covid-vaccine-comments/

[Maclintick]

Quite! Her grinning evasiveness, when interviewed by Nick Robinson, spoke volumes regarding her lack of understanding of the essence of Lineker's criticism of her inflammatory language.

The parallels with Germany in the 30s drawn by Gary Lineker are brought into starker relief when one considers that the inflammatory language deployed by Braverman and others in her party, egged on by the far-right tabloids, has fuelled coordinated attacks on migrants such as those in Liverpool and Rotherham.

[french frank]

'Ms Braverman thanked Ms Salter for her question and said she "shared a huge amount of concern and sympathy" over the "challenge" of illegal immigration.'

She has a huge amount of concern and sympathy ... for the challenge posed by illegal immigration. And here endeth the concern and sympathy.

[eighthobstruction]

The parallels with Germany in the 30s drawn by Gary Lineker are brought into starker relief when one considers that the inflammatory language deployed by Braverman and others in her party, egged on by the far-right tabloids, has fuelled coordinated attacks on migrants such as those in Liverpool and Rotherham.

[DracoM]

The parallels with Germany in the 30s drawn by Gary Lineker are brought into starker relief when one considers that the inflammatory language deployed by Braverman and others in her party, egged on by the far-right tabloids, has fuelled coordinated attacks on migrants such as those in Liverpool and Rotherham.

[Maclintick]

On the broader question of BBC balance, the relationship between the Corporation and the government of the day -- and as EH commented in an earlier post, this applies to both the current Tory and previous New Labour administrations -- is accurately summed up in an aphorisim coined by Teddy Roosevelt, which hung on the wall of the office of Richard Nixon's chief counsel Charles ('Chuck') Colson -- "When you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow".

[vinteuil]

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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/mar/13/gary-linekers-treatment-exposes-fact-that-image-of-warm-fuzzy-bbc-was-always-a-lie

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[gradus]

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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2023/mar/13/gary-linekers-treatment-exposes-fact-that-image-of-warm-fuzzy-bbc-was-always-a-lie

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The article recycles criticisms heard before. It would be more interesting had it suggested a better system of protecting broadcasting impartiality.