Twitter exploded this morning. (Ed - you don't say?)
Michael Gove made a tasteless joke on Today and Nick Robinson tweeted about it.
The Govester has since apologised...
... though calls for him to drowned as a witch or burned alive in a huge wicker man on the outskirts of Brighton are continuing apace.
(Both punishments are far too good for him in my opinion. For this kind of 'joke' only hanging, drawing and quartering will suffice.)
(Both punishments are far too good for him in my opinion. For this kind of 'joke' only hanging, drawing and quartering will suffice.)
Meanwhile, Nick Robinson has been getting it in the neck too, merely for tweeting about it. He's not apologising though (surprise, surprise!):
And, as Dan Hodges, says, why should he?
Ah, the crazy world of Twitter! Yes, stick with blogs folks!!
Now, I rather suspect that Nick's reasons for tweeting that crack of Michael Gove's weren't entirely pure and that he was possibly mischief-making somewhat in that he must have known that a Twitter Apocalypse would ensue and descend upon Mr Gove for it. He probably didn't guess, however, that he'd end up getting swept up by the unforgiving storm as well. Oh well, how sad, never mind!
Anyhow, Nick's obviously recovering from his experience and is now re-tweeting things like this:
I'm not sure...wouldn't being hanged in chains over a castle wall be more appropriate for a first offence? However, I suppose we have to assume Mr Gove is a serial offender even if there is no evidence. His wife does work for the Mail, so that is probably evidence enough.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, how many years will George HW Bush have to serve in a UK prison if it emerges his hands wandered whilst over in London back in the glory days?
Pretty good gag.
ReplyDeleteWhat if it had been told some years ago by a woman with experience of Weinstein's predation ?
You know, as a warning to potential prey that under the surface of that fluffy bathrobe and double chin, just behind the fern, is a horny crocodile.
Or to give it another context, what if the gag had been told today by Frankie Boyle ? Does it become funny if an edgy comedian does it ?
Here's a flavour of BBC thinking on the matter from one of the most high-profile BBC tweeters (though she's not known much beyond Twitter):
Delete"If making a joke about Weinstein's victims even occurs in your head as a joke, it possibly means you don't understand sexual assault and rape to be a serious matter in the first place."
https://twitter.com/juliamacfarlane/status/924205977842438144
Hugh Sykes merely gives it a "Yuk" and Katty Kay a "Really??".
We could spend a pleasant hour dissecting Govey's Gag to establish its offence level, but I'd rather not without a beer in front of me.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to score fairly highly in the satirical gag department and covers 3 levels in one hyphenated sentence. Jimmy Carr will doff his hat.
In private of course.
I was laughing only a couple of days ago at this gag:
Delete"After my wife died, I couldn't even look at another woman for 10 years. But now that I'm out of jail, I can honestly say it was worth it."
I now realise the error of my ways. I shouldn't have laughed. I wasn't thinking in the right way about violence against woman. Murdering your wife is no laughing matter. I should have reported whoever told that joke to the police, and handed myself in as well for laughing at it.
If you could just let me know who instigated the joke, I can finish filling out this form and pop it in the post. Thanks.
DeleteHere's the Guardian's account.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/oct/28/michael-gove-apologises-clumsy-harvey-weinstein-joke-today-show
The list of people quoted as disgusted just makes me want to buy Gove a drink!
Why do these people apologise ? Either say it or don't, you know what's coming.
Nice articles today Craig & Sue, thanks.