Ahhh celebrities, they go to posh parties, have spiffy chums and every single word they say is salivated over by the British public - even when it's said in private.Prince Harry records a private home video, calls one of his chums the "p-word" and all hell breaks loose. Carole Thatcher, in an off-air green room conversation makes a comedy remark about a tennis player who looks like a kids toy, it's reported and all hell breaks loose.
So, the p-word and the g-word obviously cause great offence, especially at the matronly BBC, great bastion of political correctness.
How is it then, that when the inevitable storm of protest hits BBC current affairs programmes, respected journalists and commentators bang on about Pakis and Gollywogs every other word.
"So (insert offended person's name here) is PAKI really a bad word. how do you feel about being called a PAKI?? PAKI PAKI GOLLYWOG PAKIWOG WOGGYPAK " (etc etc)
Now, I don't know about you, but that smacks of double standards. A comment made in private surroundings is pounced on yet immediately after the fact TV and radio use the terms without impunity - and no-one seems to mind!
This set me thinking, however, and if we start to avoid all slang terms and stereotypes where will we end up?
Allo Allo would be injurious to the French (and Germans for that matter), no more Last of the Summer Wine as it makes Yorkshire folk look like dim pensioners and Bread would be off the table as it portrays Liverpudlians as thieving, work-shy dole scroungers, and that's before you get to anything that's faintly edgy - it's "classic British comedy".
There needs to be a set of suitable standards but someone needs to come up with them quickly and they need to be consistent or our broadcasters will spend more time censoring shows then making them - it's time to wheel out the great cliche; It's political correctness gone mad! (except you can't say mad as it's offensive to people with mental health problems - see how far we can go?
Just a side observation, but it appears Carole Thatcher was reported by comedian Jo Brand who was disgusted at her use of the word gollywog. Odd really, as Brand, who commented at the time of the leak of the BNP's membership list that:"Now we know where to post the shit to" wasn't censured in any way shape or form.
Interestingly, Jermey Clarkson's just landed in hot water for referring to Gordon Brown as a "One-eyed Scottish idiot" - who knew you could get into bother for telling the truth :)
