'Complaints from both sides' fans will love this. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of a BBC-co-hosted event in Edinburgh in November because the BBC has invited Steve Bannon to participate. And 'passionate' Nicola has subsequently been twittering her displeasure about it all:
I believe passionately in free speech but as Scottish First Minister I have to make balanced judgments - and I will not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far right, racist views. I regret that the BBC has put me and others in this position. The email the BBC sent to my office justifying Bannon’s inclusion described him as a ‘powerful and influential figure...promoting an anti-elite movement.’ This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalisation.
As it's Saturday night and we all love to let our hair down, Neil Oliver-style naturally, I bring you, live from Killiecrankie in fair Perth and Kinross, some splendid Twitter comments on the subject. Enjoy!
- The BBC, continually scared of being accused of any left-leaning bias, has now gone as far as inviting Steve Bannon to events. Expecting to see white supremacists on Question Time and ultranationalist militias invited onto Newsnight any day now.
- The BBC aren’t even trying to hide their right wing bias anymore. I guess this is what happens when you top load the executive with Conservatives. They are complicit in the rise of facism (sic) and they can whistle for their fee now #boycottthebbc.
- I used to think the BBC was unfairly accused of bias, but I am mystified by ubiquity of Farage (repeatedly rejected parliamentary candidate), Bannon & Gorka (too extreme even for the Trump administration), among others. Would Goebbels ever be off the BBC if this were the 1930s?
- A win-win for the BBC Bias propaganda machine, normalising racism and branding Nicola Sturgeon as against free speech. If she attended the headline would be Nat's and the far right! How low has msm gone.
- The BBC have finally gone full fascist.
- Absolute disgust for BBC Scotland inviting this right wing fascist to beamed (sic) into our homes. Scotland has no need to hear the garbage this guy spews out. Whats (sic) the political reasoning behind this rubbish (sic). Is is the BBC Bias supported by your political masters the Toxic Tories (sic).
Ain't Twitter great?
"I believe passionately in free speech but...." How often do we hear that these days? Free speech doesn't work like that.
ReplyDeleteThis is how it is supposed to work:
"I believe passionately in free speech and that means I am going to have numerous uncomfortable moments as I am obliged to listen to opinions I find offensive, despicable, or repulsive."
BTW No one can do Neil Oliver style unless they can do the forelock flick while walking forward towards a camera close to a cliff edge in a 30MPH wind and speaking intelligibly about Dark Ages history. :)
ReplyDeleteIs it okay now to resort to similar hysterical hyperbole and refer to anybody on the left as a communist - or even better a Stalinist?
ReplyDeleteIs it hysterical hyperbole to describe Corbyn, McDonnell, Seumas Milne and Olly Robbins as Communists or Stalinists? No, but the BBC won't let you.
DeleteSeumus Milne is indeed a Stalinist!
DeleteI have to say Nicola Sturgeon must have very little confidence in her side of the argument. Maybe she is afraid that Bannon might bring up the subject of all those NHS failures in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteThat is funny. Militias! I don't know when I last heard the word never mind any actual incarnation of it. And 'facism': I noticed Hurley Burley using that spelling in his twitter. Weird. What's that about?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, a definition of fascism:
Fascism: Fascism, political ideology and mass movement that dominated central, southern, and eastern Europe between 1919 and 1945 and was *characterized by extreme militant nationalism*, hatred of communism and socialism, contempt for democracy, and belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites.
*Remind you of anybody?
Where do we see extreme militant nationalism, Mrs S? Watch out. It can be deadly, not least to its proponents.
...and what does N in SNP stand for.
DeleteIt is an interesting question that the SNP never answer, why do you want Freedom from the UK only to give it up to the EU?
ReplyDeleteIs Sturgeon projecting...at times the SNP have been more than just nationalist:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/711752/snp-links-adolf-hitler-fascism-revealed-political-anthology-james-mitchell-gerry-hassan
On a par with "We respect the results of the referendum but..."
ReplyDelete