When on 25th March 2015, James May stated that the BBC's dropping of Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear was a "tragedy", he seemed to have lost all sense of proportion on the circumstances surrounding his colleague's sacking. Overshadowing the events of the future employment prospects of Mr. Clarkson this week was the news the day before of the German airliner crashing in the French Alps. With the loss of 150 souls, THAT is a tragedy. To subsequently learn that the Germanwings Airbus A320 was deliberately flown into the mountains by the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in an act of suicide on his part and, also, his cold-blooded murder of the other 149 innocent people on board, puts a whole new reflection on the word
tragic. Couple with that the events occurring in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria, the deforestation of the Amazon, global warming and the melting of the Polar ice caps, then Jeremy Clarkson being dropped from what has become a stale television show ranks as insignificant in the grand scale of things.
What has been interesting about the Simonstone Hall Hotel affair is the reaction of people from all walks of life to Clarkson's demise. The online petition to have him reinstated was signed by over 1 million "fans" of the Top Gear show. It would seem that the fact that the now ex-BBC television presenter had committed what may be seen in a court of law as a criminal offence by verbally and physically abusing a colleague at work had no influence on the petitioners sense of fair play - Jeremy Clarkson can do what he likes as long as he keeps them amused through his appearances on Top Gear it would seem is the message here. It also illustrates how cults arise and how dictatorships are allowed to thrive when the lawful rights of an individual are subjugated by the views of the mob.
 |
| David Cameron MP |
Many right-wing commentators lent their support to Jeremy Clarkson, believing the incident to be trivial. The fact that Oisin Tymon was the victim of a verbal tirade and physical assault by Clarkson seems to have passed them by. The Right Honourable David Cameron MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, seemed to openly support Jeremy Clarkson when the presenter was initially suspended from work when the news of his gross misconduct came to light. The Prime Minister's wife seemed to also lend her backing to Clarkson as she commented on the Witney MP's joke about their daughter going on hunger strike if Jeremy Clarkson was not reinstated to his position on Top Gear. This is quite illuminating, as it tells us that the Prime Minister of the UK and his wife, rather than using the incident as a means to educate their child on the rights and wrongs of someone assaulting a fellow employee at work, would prefer to focus on whether their child will actually carry out their threat to starve themselves until Clarkson is back on our television screens. Is this really a fit person to be at the head of the Government of the United Kingdom?
 |
| Chris Evans |
What is clear from this is that the BBC got it right. No-one, whoever they are, should be allowed to get away with abusing another person, whether at work or not. Top Gear was in need of a revamp before Jeremy Clarkson's tantrum at the North Yorkshire hotel, so it will be interesting to see how the BBC faces that challenge. Of all the petrol-heads out there in TV land best suited to head the show, my vote would go to Chris Evans.
When on 25th March 2015, James May stated that the BBC's dropping of Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear was a "tragedy", he seemed to have lost all sense of proportion on the circumstances surrounding his colleague's sacking. Overshadowing the events of the future employment prospects of Mr. Clarkson this week was the news the day before of the German airliner crashing in the French Alps. With the loss of 150 souls, THAT is a tragedy. To subsequently learn that the Germanwings Airbus A320 was deliberately flown into the mountains by the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz in an act of suicide on his part and, also, his cold-blooded murder of the other 149 innocent people on board, puts a whole new reflection on the word tragic. Couple with that the events occurring in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria, the deforestation of the Amazon, global warming and the melting of the Polar ice caps, then Jeremy Clarkson being dropped from what has become a stale television show ranks as insignificant in the grand scale of things. 
No comments:
Post a Comment