Some people will have already heard about Kilroy-Silk's little problem - for those who haven't, he said some nasty (but true) generalizations about current Arab states, and got in a bit of trouble over it.
it seems Kilroy-Silk is not a very nice human being - funniest comment to date on the issue comes from his secretary, who said "[Kilroy-Silk] is not a racist at all - he employs a black driver". Oh, well, that's okay then! Regardless, his comments may well get him jailed for up to seven years. Even if nothing comes of that, he's been removed from the air. Meanwhile, the BBC still has Tom Paulin as a regular contributor - a man who said of "Brooklyn-born Jewish settlers" that "They should be shot dead," he says forcefully. "I think they are Nazis, racists, I feel nothing but hatred for them."
Right. Well, at least he wasn't advocating violence or something. In other related news, the police are investigating the Bishop of Chester, because he said:
"Some people who are primarily homosexual can reorient themselves. I would encourage them to consider that as an option, but I would not set myself up as a medical specialist on the subject - that's in the area of psychiatric health."
You may disagree with the Bishop's views - and I certainly don't agree with him - but police action seems exessive. Still, it's just an investigation, unlike a pro-hunting writer (and Telegraph columnist) who was arrested and held in a cell on suspicion of "stirring up racial hatered" after saying that the "rural minority" should have the same protections as other minorities such as blacks, Muslims, and gays. Again, you may not agree that people living in the countryside constitute a minority that requires or deserves the same protections as the other minorities listed above, but...
Good to see Britain is on the ball protecting us from these doubleplus ungood thoughtcrimes. Where would we be if people could wander around criticizing favored groups?
It doesn't take a great deal to string these incidents together, and get a disturbing pattern. If the 20th century should have taught us one thing, it's that the problem with government power is that sooner or later it will be used in a way you do not like. I wonder if those who applaud Kilroy-Silks fall from grace will be as happy when it's someone whom they agree with on the receiving end? For make no mistake, sooner or later, it will be...
Posted by cody at January 11, 2004 04:48 PM | TrackBack