People disagreeing on the internet

As a fairly long-term inhabitant of the blogosphere, and still a close reader of other, like-minded blogs, I just can't stop myself from being fascinated by some of the exchanges that go on elsewhere. 

That said, I try not to stick my oar in these days.

But nevertheless, here goes...

Stonecrops - the cause of so much grief on the blogosphere today

There's a rumpus going on at Biased BBC tonight over this afternoon's Woman's Hour omnibus. 

Someone said something at Biased BBC. A 'troll' slagged her off for saying it. Claim and counter-claim have been flying about ever since. 

As far as I can see, the 'troll' is partly correct, but so is the original commenter, though neither can see it - or at least neither will admit to seeing it.

[And neither (it seems) can or will anyone else.]

Insults have been piling in, and the 'troll-baiting' cavalry have arrived in force - which always happens whenever a 'troll' seems to be winning the argument. 

And yet no one's quite arriving at the actual point - which only I, in my infinite wisdom [Mensa score of 199, even higher than Savile], can see...

...which, taken in the round, is the blogosphere in action, in all its manic glory.......and, censorious police forces-permitting, please may it continue for a very long time!!...

The original point was:

Womans hour, and the discussion is about plants, the interviewee says ‘well the climate is always changing and Essex is now the driest county in England” You can almost hear the glee in Jenny Murrays voice as she senses a global warming shoe in – and how long has it been like that – “since Victorian times” comes the response which really disappoints !

The 'troll' said it was Jane Garvey not Jenni Murray (correct) and that the commenter was making up the 'disappointment' thing (correct). The commenter, responding, then blamed the programme's credits for her being wrong about it being Jenni Murray (incorrect), but accused the 'troll' of missing the point of her comment (correct). The 'troll' accused the commenter of 'weaselling' over the presenter error (slightly unfair, because the commenter evidently thought she was right and hadn't had time to re-check) but the commenter insisted that the 'troll' was missing the point (correct) and was focusing on a side-issue instead (possibly).

The commenter's original 'BBC bias' point was clear though: that the Woman's Hour presenter (whoever it was - though it was Jane Garvey) had been pushing a 'global warming' agenda during an interview with a grower of succulents. (That's the point the 'troll' appears to have missed). 

And, listening to it for myself, I would say that the presenter did just what the commenter said - at least twice! - albeit implicitly. (Listen for yourselves from 53:57). 

As I read it, the interviewee picked up on the 'climate change' hint but didn't 'swallow the bait'/'notice the agenda' either time, and the interview then moved on as cheerfully as before.

Here's the fateful exchange:

Jane Garvey: But everything about the succulents in front of us smacks to me of strangeness and foreign climes...not, with the greatest respect to Chelmsford, it doesn't...it doesn't say 'Chelmsford'. 

Heather Cutmore: We do have our native succulents...

Jane Garvey (interrupting): Do we?

Heather Cutmore: Yes. We have sedums called stonecrops. Again that says they've come from a very stony, very dry area, and...

Jane Garvey (interrupting): So what does that tell you about what Britain used to be like if there really were succulents growing here?

Heather Cutmore: Climate's always been changing, even over the last 20-30,000 years, With this interglacial period the moment, we are turning into a drier time. And this part of Essex is now the driest county. And these plants reflect what we can achieve in our own gardens...

Jane Garvey: When you say the driest county...how long has it been the driest county?

Heather Cutmore: Historically, it's been since Victorian times very dry and we've been able to get away with growing succulents like these outside, as long as the compost they're growing in is really free-draining. What can kill off a succulent quicker than anything is to be cold and also wet. They much prefer to be cold and dry, as long as they have full sun and should be trouble free.

Hope everyone feels so much better for this!

Oddly, no one at Biased BBC discussed the main story on today's programme, "Make-up for women of colour":

"Women of colour"? Are they all American?