An overdue rant about dumbing down...

This is a another subject that I am passionate about and I think that my feelings on the subject confirm my geriatric status.  It's the sort of thing that only seems to offend Grumpy Old Men & Women, and the younger generation appear to be the worst offenders.


The first subject of the rant is my beloved Strictly Come Dancing, and they have offended me on two counts.  Whilst it is nothing personal, and she does appear to be a very nice, fun person,  it does revolve around the appointment of Alesha Dixon as a judge.  Firstly, how exactly is she as qualified as Arlene Phillips to judge a dance competition?  She was a contestant herself not so long ago and is a popstar (of sorts) for goodness sake.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a big fan of Arlene's and I'm not jumping on the 'ageism' band wagon.  I don't care that she was replaced, but it was the quality of the replacement that upsets me.  If it had been Darcey Bussell then I would have had no complaint.  She is qualified to comment on and judge dancing...but a popstar ?!  My second gripe about this is if we assume for a moment that we can overlook the fact that Alesha is not a credible judge, what about her poor grasp of the English language? To hear comments like 'I fought you done really good' is like fingernails on a blackboard to me, and what sort of an example is it setting for the viewing public?    Sadly it's not just an isolated incident here and there.  Every time she opens her mouth to comment I can feel my toes curling in anticipation.  Unfortunately the arrival of Alesha Dixon has diminished the credibility of the show for me as they decided to forgo quality for the sake of a little garnish.


Moving on to my second subject this is also to do with the spoken word and, whilst widespread, seems particularly troublesome for anyone connected with football.  Tune in to MOTD and listen to pundits, commentators, managers and players all of whom appear to have the same affliction. Does 'they did fantastic' sound familiar ? Poor Fantastic, sounds painful !   They didn't 'do fantastic'.  Aaaarrrgggg ! Surely they did fantastically well.  I was shocked and dismayed to notice that it appears to have spread to The One Show, but then realised that the infection must have been carried from MOTD2 by Mr Adrian Chiles.  Are we already approaching  pandemic status ? Where will it all end, and is there any sign of a vaccine ?


I feel I must just state that I am not professing to be perfectly spoken, or write using perfect grammar but I do try.  I contend with a lack of sleep, lack of time and interference from Star to produce what I feel is an acceptable standard given my little exposure.  I do not have millions of people listening to me or reading my ramblings.  Those that do have an obligation to maintain the integrity of the English language.  Unless this happens I fear we will be unable to hold back the tide... and we will all be 'dumbed down'.


In the meantime, thank goodness for afternoon tea and cricket...

An overdue rant about dumbing down...

So what is behind the rise of the BNP ?

Just the mention of the BNP is highly emotive so before I go any further I feel the need to put it on the record that I am absolutely not a supporter of the BNP or any of the underlying values that it stands for.  I watched this weeks Question Time...the circus that was the appearance of Nick Griffin, Leader of the BNP and MEP and felt the need to blog about this.


I found the lead up to the progamme, the programme itself and the debate that  followed to be fascinating.  But I also think that 'the establishment' (the politicians and the media) made an error in the handling of the situation and missed an opportunity to show Mr Griffin for what he is.


Whatever you think of Mr Griffin and his policies he was bullied throughout the programme, which was also hijacked from it's normal format to provide a Griffin bashing forum.  My fear whilst watching this was that the average fair minded Brit would take offence at his treatment  - we have a natural affinity to the underdog.  Furthermore, I felt that given the limited opportunity he had to speak uninterrupted, we the viewers weren't given the opportunity to hear enough of his policies to get past the sanitised version that he was attempting to portray.


So what has been the impact of this ?  Sadly a Telegraph YouGov poll  taken hours after the programme has confirmed my fears.  The headline has been that 22% said they would consider voting BNP but this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Most worryingly 'More than half of those questioned said they agreed with the BNP, or thought that it “had a point” in wishing to “speak up for the interests of the indigenous, white British people ... which successive governments have done far too little to protect.”  (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6417906/One-in-four-would-consider-voting-BNP.html)


So what is the cause of this ?  And are we really becoming BNP supporters ?


I think the common view that these attitudes are borne out of a reaction to recent high levels of immigration is a smoke screen.  I'm sure there are rumblings about this but I don't believe it to be the main issue.  I believe that the main issue here is the sense of marginalisation being felt by, in particular, white, heterosexual men.  There are special interest groups for just about every section of society other than this one.  We have women's rights groups, we have the National Black Police Association and other similar organisations, we have Music of Black Origin awards, we have gay rights groups...the list is endless but we don't seem to have a white heterosexual men's group.  And can you imagine the outcry if there was one ?


The frustration that is leading to the BNPs increasing support is due, in my opinion, not to racism, but to a lack of fair play.  We must all be treated equally, not some sections of society being treated more equally than others.  If it's OK to wear a burkha it must be OK to wear a crucifix.   The English should be allowed to fly their flag in support of their sportsmen.  Our children should be allowed to enjoy nativity plays without them being banned for causing offence. Our children should be made aware of homosexuality but not force fed  through school stories and discussion.  There should be an end to women only shortlists in parliament.


We must all work to achieve our goals through hard work not 'hand outs' and 'leg ups'.  We must apply the same expectations and standards to all our fellow citizens regardless of race, creed, colour...  We should try and remember that we are all more similar than different.  Treat one another with kindness and humility and we can all cohabit these wonderful islands in harmony. To ignore these issues will surely only serve to push more voters into the BNP fold.


I'm sure this post will be stimulating debate in your mind so I would be interested to hear your views...  

So what is behind the rise of the BNP ?