Saturday 15 March 2014

By the Bonnie, Bonnie banks of the BBC



It speaks volumes, I think, that Bonnie Greer was invited to give the first of this year's Lent Talks on Radio 4. 

That the BBC would choose someone like Bonnie Greer - a left-leaning, arts-orientated writer - to open this year's series is hardly surprising. (Even Feedback's Roger Bolton would have to admit that.) 

In fact, I'd go so far as to describe her as an entirely 'predictable choice' for the left-leaning, arts-orientated BBC. 

BTW, "left-leaning" and "arts-orientated" is certainly how I tend to think of Bonnie Greer. She, however, seems to think of herself, first and foremost, as "black".

What is it with some people and race? Bonnie Greer is absolutely obsessed by it. (Maybe Radio 4's More or Less should carry out a statistical analysis to settle the question, 'Who bangs on more about race, Bonnie Greer or Nick Griffin of the BNP?' The sharp money's surely on Bonnie.)

I will admit though, before listening, that I hoped that Bonnie might just move beyond her comfort zone (in a series called Lent Talks), and talk about something other than race for once.

I should have known better.

Race was there right from the start, and it continued all the way though her talk...race, black people, race, slavery, race, '12 Years a Slave', race, a (white) racist Scottish taxi driver, race, more race, black people, race, etc, etc....

Still, eventually, the religious stuff appeared and, yes, Jesus was a street fighter, a rabble-rouser, sticking it to The Power - Rome - and behaving exactly like a character in '12 Years a Slave'. 

Yep, it was the usual Bonnie Greer stuff, sadly. We've heard it from her so often before on the BBC, ...so, so often...so much so that, despite its moments of heightened language, it sounds over-familiar, faded, cliched and dull. (No offence.)

Oh dear. Will poor Bonnie Greer ever escape her comfort zone? 

Five more episodes of this series of Lent Talks remain. Let's see if the BBC can escape its own comfort zone over the course of the remaining episodes, and give us something fresh and inspiring instead.

1 comment:

  1. Well said Craig.
    I too recoiled at this Yankee race hustler getting her chance to step up to the Chicago auction block(now an Obama stencilled soapbox and community space) and spout what it is she spouts.
    I timed her execrable take on Lent...took her nearly twelve minutes before she mentioned The Bloke up on the cross, that I rather thought was the whole f***in point of Lent. Silly me-black feminista arts funded fake will always claim victimhood over some dead white male won`t she?
    Absolute disgrace-but the BBC have done this before for their ":Lent talks".
    Greers point(such as it was) was fatuous guilt tripping in ignorance and flummery...Bonnies been more than twelve years on the Democrats expats gravy train over here...and it`s about time she went back home to "heal" Detroit, or mop up Obamas tears over Chicago.
    Wonder if Ramadan will entail Bonnie telling Muslims about Kunta Kintes role in the Night Flight for Muhammad...and the black slaves of Islam are rather more than twelve years in their bondage and indenture...but Greer won`t be saying much about that now will she?
    Worrafake...can`t we have a shit swap with Piers Morgan, and send her packing?

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