Sunday 30 December 2018

Identity Politics


Chidera Eggerue

Yesterday  morning's Today was guest-edited by a blogger. 

No, it wasn't me or Sue. It was Chidera Eggerue - a fashion blogger 'best known' for the #SaggyBoobsMatter hashtag. 

Chidera's choices were 'very BBC', and ranged widely across the whole narrow spectrum of identity politics, from transgender issues to body politics, from race-related matters to yet more race-related matters. 

It was a very 'non-binary', race-obsessed morning at Today yesterday, and listening to it felt like receiving a hyper-concentrated dose of BBC Radio 4's present-day identity-politics-rife weekly output in just one serving.

Even under the editorship of Sarah Sands, it's very hard to imagine the BBC ever giving a Today guest-editorship to someone whose purpose was the reverse of Chidera's - e.g. a social conservative strongly opposed to identity politics and other such present-day fads and follies over sexuality and race.

Similarly, it's also 'very BBC' that the present crop of Today guest editors has tilted so massively in the PC direction. They've consisted of a veteran BBC presenter (who visited a school to extol multiculturalism), a Muslim writer (who talked about Muslims, Pakistan, refugees and women), a tech entrepreneur (who talked about climate change), an actress (who talked about refugees and violence against women), plus, of course, Chidera and her saggy boobs and her identity politics.  

As Fedup2 observed at B-BBC, it's even more 'BBC' that New Year's Eve will finally see 'the balance' - the token right-winger to 'prove' the BBC's commitment to impartiality. This year it's the historian Andrew Roberts. (Will he ask for a section on Napoleon?)

Anyhow, the highlight of yesterday's Today was Martha Kearney's interview with the Chief Constable of Sussex. It has to be said that the Chief Constable of Sussex didn't cover himself with glory. Many people's favourite low-point of the interview was where he said that some of the drone sightings at Gatwick may have been police drones looking for other drones.

So in honour of the Chief Constable of Sussex - and because we need a laugh - here's Buster Keaton:

2 comments:

  1. The whole of the Today’s festive season of guest editors has been horrendous. Each year I hope (usually in vain) that having guest editors will bring a new [different] slant or focus from the one usually presented throughout the rest of the year. This time it has been a re-enforcement job on an unbelievable scale. I feel that there is only one word for it – and that word is propaganda.

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  2. The Sun has picked it all up ..mentions Aitkin's book as well
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/opinion/8088403/bbcs-new-saggy-boobs-campaign-radio-4-lefties/#comments

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