I was planning to write something about the Big Brother racism and bullying charges (well, why not? It has even made it to the floor of Parliament). However, I see that Ellee has prepared a well-argued article on it, so I won’t bother writing anything else. You can read her article here. There are lots of interesting comments, too. For another perspective, check out the excellent Morag. She has a few observations on BB and the state of our society.
The only thing I will say is that this is precisely what happens when pig-ignorant members of the British underclass come up against someone or something outside their extremely narrow scope of reference.
January 17th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Thank you Bel, I’m glad you mentioned the classs issue. It’s not racism so much as “ladettes”, or whatever you wish to call them, having nothing in common with a well mannered Bollywood star and behaving spitefully. The chances are they think they are being amusing.
I’d love to see her practise her black belt karate!
January 17th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
It’s on the 10 O’Clock news, too. I like to keep up with the news, but do I have to watch the BB thing? It would be so much more pleasant to spend the time watching the EU making decisions.
January 17th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Oh, and please check your link to Morag. Cheers.
January 17th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Thank you, Onyx Stone. Link fixed.
January 18th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Wow, Bel! Classism is as bad as racism. Replace:
“The only thing I will say is that this is precisely what happens when pig-ignorant members of the British underclass come up against someone or something outside their extremely narrow scope of reference.”
with
“The only thing I will say is that this is precisely what happens when pig-ignorant blacks come up against someone or something outside their extremely narrow scope of reference.”
What you said is exactly the same. You are claiming indiscriminantly that every member of the “British underclass” is “pig-ignorant” and has an “extremely narrow scope of reference” just because of the class they were born in. Of course some are/do. So are/do many middle and upper class people. So are/do many white, black and Asian people.
This post has shown a rather nasty truth. Say something racist and you’re condemned. Say something classist and you’re lauded. As I said at the beginning, classism is no better or worse than racism.
January 18th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Hi, Out From Under, I disagree, actually.
Is there anything in that statement that is incorrect? Are those girls not pig-ignorant? Are they not part of the British underclass? Have they not come up against someone with refinement and dignity? Have they not displayed their total lack of decency?
January 18th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Oh, and this argument about ‘replace XXX with black’ … I don’t think it’s a valid point. I wasn’t talking about black people, so I fail to see the need for the comparison.
You said:
You are claiming indiscriminantly that every member of the “British underclass” is “pig-ignorant”
I claimed no such thing. I said ‘The only thing I will say is that this is precisely what happens when pig-ignorant members of the British underclass’ … this is capable of only one interpretation, namely that there are pig ignorant people in the British underclass. It does not by any means mean that everyone in that underclass is pig-ignorant.
That said, I stand by my comments.
January 18th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
hmmmm as someone who has been the subject of racism and classism (in the reverse direction) I can see your point. However I think there is also a danger when these subjects are mentioned of people instantly pulling out stepladders and climbing on high horses without always examining the situation carefully. Nowhere has Bel said that all members of the British underclass are ignorant (pig or any other kind). I don’t know how up to speed you are on what is REALLY going on in the BB House rather than media snippets. The young ladies in question spend copious amounts of time gleefully talking about how common they themselves are and luxuriating in their ignorance - as in ‘I don’t know anything about this-or-that, and I don’t care that I don’t’. So therefore they have designated themselves as underclass (I am common). They have also designated themselves as ignorant (I don’t know this and I don’t care). So in this particular instance Bel is only repeating what she (or he) is observing. At least this is my take on the situation.
January 18th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Yes, Morag … that is where I was coming from on this.
January 19th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Out from Under; people are born black, they choose ignorance.
It can’t be denied with any element of plausibility that Jade Goody is Pig Ignorant.
Nor can it be denied that, in socio-economic terms, she was brought up in an underclass. Like you, i don’t see the existence of that underclass as something we should rejoice in as a society, but it is there all the same.
Jade Goody is the worst example of some elements of that class.
What is sad is that we as a asociety should choose to elevate such a person into a household name whose opinions are relevant. In America they have a word for Jade Goody; Trailertrash.
Big Brother is nasty, dumbed down, voyeuristic, bread and circuses drivel given as the lowest common denominator to boost ratings. It is driven by the real purpose of TV- to fill in the spaces between the advertisements.
The real question we should be asking as how did we let this ignorant TV driven culture sieze control of this country?
January 19th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Clearly these people are stupid and ignorant. They’re not members of the “underclass”. Wherever she may have come from Jade Goody has ‘earned’ (I use the term loosely) something like £8 million, which puts her in the overclass if anywhere. And Danielle Lloyd’s dad was apparently a bank manager. This isn’t about class, it’s about wilful stupidity. I can imagine people of any race or class being just as vile, it’s much harder to imagine anyone with an ounce of brain deciding to do it in front of 5 million people on TV.