"One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Term of abuse?

Unerringly accurate description?

Insulting to the ocularly challenged?

Insulting to Scots?



Why should Clarksons latest rant be seen as offensive to blind people, surely if Gordon Brown has only one working eye, and is Scottish, and is arguably an idiot, there is no reason for the RNIB to take offense and say its denigrating to the blind for them to be assumed to be stupid? He wasn't calling all blind people stupid....just the one who happens to be trying to run the country?

Am I missing something, or is this just petty PC point scoring?

I suspect the real lesson is just to ignore Jeremy Clarkson's "colourful" random outburst. While he can be a bit entertaining in small doses, why anyone takes him seriously and gets their panties all twisted up about him is a mystery to me.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ish-idiot.html

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

I can't believe how much airtime this thing is getting I mean it's Jeremy Clarkson for god sake to people really expect him to be all cuddly and sensitive.

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

He's a d**k............

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At guess at least he apologized unlike the other idiot in the news this week, Carol Thatcher:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7868401.stm

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I am surprised he apologized....Frankly I'd say "one eyed" and "scottish" were fair adjectives used to describe the person in question, as he is scottish and has vision in only one eye. Idiot is clearly a matter of opinion of course.

I dont get why the RNIB took offense, unless they feel besmirched by the association with GB?


I think the negative associations with Golliwogs are clear enough now, and that it was bizarre that anyone media savvy would go there, and stupid not to apologise (although apologies dont seem to come easily to Thatchers in general), and its not the first time that path has been trodden, but when did "one eyed" become a term of abuse. Maybe I missed it:confused:

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That wouldn't surprise me, as any decent Scot doesn't want to be associated with him either!!!

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Clarkson or Brown:rofl:

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I agree it's all a bit ridiculous. I guess since he upset Prostitutes and Truck drivers a few weeks ago he been walking a fine line with the BBC bosses;)

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I have to say being a Scot I'm not fussed, I think Clarkston is an arsehole. I'm not a fan of Brown either, however the way Clarkston said it will wind some people up.

He could have just said that Brown was an Idiot, why he had to bring his nationality and disability into it I don't really know, unless he thinks that being part blind and Scottish is a way to degrade him.:huh:

Like I say doesn't bother me because I think that he is an arsehole, not "an English arsehole" just an arsehole.;)

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

I haven't read the article... but...

I think that it can be seen as offensive to blind people because the phrase was formulated as an insult, not as a benign description. It infers that having one eye is as negative as being an idiot.

Had JC had said, 'hard of hearing' instead of 'one-eyed' I would be offended as I am HoH and it's not a pleasant experience and it feels not very nice when it's used as an insult... though, I would also consider the source and move on.

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

I think you have to take into account who said it and where it was said

A) Clarkson - famous for upsetting people with his comments but thats why most people(me included) watch TopGear

B) Australia - famous for its prime mininster speaking his mind and saying " if you don't like it here get out " or words close to that

At the end of the day its Jeremy Clarkson doing what his does best - playing to an audience and upsetting a few people along the way

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Timely, arrived in my inbox today.



THIS REALLY SUMS UP WHAT WE ARE ALL THINKING. I WOULD SAY THERE WOULD EVEN BE SOME PAKISTANIS WHO WOULD AGREE WITH THIS.

Worth sharing: Subject: A Right Royal commentary....

Am I right in thinking that PAKI is short for Pakistani? Just an abbreviation?

Prince Harry calls a mate "Our little Paki friend" and is forced to apologise two years later. This guy was a mate of his for heaven's sake!

Am I right in thinking that "Brit" is short for British? Should the Sun Newspaper be forced to apologise every time it prints the word Brit or The Brits are coming? Is the word Brit offensive?

Is "Scot" Offensive? "The Scots are coming". Another Sun Newspaper Football Clash Headline classic.

What about Ozzie? Kiwi? Pommie? Limey? Where or when will this lunacy end? The Cornish call all holiday makers "Grockles" Anything wrong with that?

If a Pakistani called you "His Brit friend" Would you feel offended? Would you demand an apology on National TV?

Of course not.

Del Trotter refers to "The Paki Shop" in one episode of Only Fools and Horses. (Now overdubbed for UK Gold with the offending word taken out). (The episode when they build a nuclear fall out shelter). Should Sir David Jason now apologise? Should the writer John Sullivan apologise? Should the BBC apologise?

What about the Fuzzywuzzies? "Dads Army"

What about "You stupid Kraut"? Fawlty Towers . Both still being broadcast regularly with no overdub.

The Idiots are at it again trying to stir up racial hatred. It's just madness surely?

I'm happy being a BRIT, BRITISH, ENGLISH, POMMIE, LIMEY or whatever. I don't care a fig. I only care when I'm called a racist.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEARS "BRIT AWARDS" ON THE TV. LUCKILY, THANKS TO THE ZEALOTS, RACISTS AND BIGOTS THERE WILL NEVER BE A "PAKI AWARDS". Oh no indeed, because all the Pakis will be at The Brit Awards. And us Brits won't mind at all will we?

There's something rotten in the barrel and nobody in government or local politics has the guts to stand up and say "GROW UP THE LOT OF YOU".

If you agree then pass this on. If not then you still have the democratic right to delete it. (Well for the time being anyway).

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Both!

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It's all PC gone completely off the rails - none of this apology nonsense when I were little un but that weren't yesterday.........

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Here here :D

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Context is all. Arguing "Paki" is a truncation rather than a term of abuse is clearly a hiding to nothing. Calling a friend "my Paki friend" in private when you know he's OK with it is rather different to calling a random stranger a Paki I suspect, and its clear to me at least that Paki is more often than not going to cause offence the same way the "n" word will. But was he OK with it? Surely there is great pressure to "grin and bear it" when a prince of the realm is concerned, rather than twatting him like he probably deserved.


But for the RNIB to take offence at calling GB "one eyed" still seems a bit oversensitive, but taking on board what HWP said, I suppose Im not really in a position to appreciate the slur.

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Here, here! Really well said.

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What's the difference between being called a one-eyed Scottish idiot, and a one-eyed Scottish Prime Minister? They're both describing a visually-impaired person of Scottish ancestry (both of which are true so therefore not slander or libel) and neither of which makes him unfit to hold public office as commented on in the article. The word 'idiot' does that.

I think Gordon Brown did a fairly good job as Chancellor of the Exchequer but makes a lousy Prime Minister.

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Do you really think that the RNIB is being oversensitive? If you were an organization that dealt with a segment of society that experiences a lot of shit in life because of their disability, what would you do?

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Sticks and stones and all that.

Their remit is to make a huge noise about every issue touching upon those they "represent" otherwise they have no purpose in life.

Storm in a teacup if you ask me:p

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Sorry to sound unsympathetic but in my opinion it is just the RNIB jumping on the PC bandwagon & using the opportunity to get a bit of free press, Clarkson makes a living being outspoken and a bit controversial, no one takes him seriously, and as a one eyed half deaf geordie, I did not take any offense from what he said. If he had said he was an idiot because he was one eyed and scottish that is different, but he was saying he thought he was an idiot that was one eyed and scottish. Nothing offensive there

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I hope that one day you or someone you love suffers a disability, only so to give you an opportunity to grow some humanity...

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bunch of ****ing idiots

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

If I didnt think that I wouldn't have said it.

I think they do themselves a bit of a disservice in taking it so seriously because, as you said, "consider the source". They come over to me now as an overtly sensitive, humourless bunch who have taken a throwaway comment out of context, which reflects badly on an organisation that otherwise no doubt do much worthy work on behalf of those with vision problems.

I think there were probably better ways for them to go. I wasnt even fully aware of GBs eye thing, maybe they could have taken a more casual line and thanked JC for making more people aware that vision problems are no impedement to taking the highest office in the land?

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Can you automatically tell the difference between a pakistani and an indian?

I think this is why the term 'Paki' became racial as you or I or most people in the UK can not tell the difference and very little of us actually understand the differences in their culture.

Paki in reference to a pakistani probably isn't offensive...whereas paki to an indian is.

Thats the way i feel anyway.

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

I have a disability. When coming to terms with it, the last thing I cared about was some calling me names about it. When I came to terms with it, the last thing I cared about was whether people call me names about it. I just the names thing as a method to select those I choose to engage in conversation with.

What I mean is that, if I was blind, I wouldn't care that others chose to identify me as being blind.

I didn't hear Brown complaining about what Clarkson said, if he had, that would be a matter between him and Clarkson. I personally hate it when others take exception on behalf of others, that is the reason why I hate the PC brigade. In other words, if a Scottish, one-eyed idiot complained, no issue with that, but if an English two-eyed clever person complained, who are they to complain?

Each to their own.

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As a side issue, My Google spell checker seems to allow "becasue" for "because"?:confused: No wonder I have to edit so many of my posts!

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blame the tool and not the user ;)...mods today

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Now now, dont go tarring all the other mods just cos I cant keep a coherent post together without going back and changing it three times;)

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

That's not allowed, as you have to take into account how the tool would feel to be so labelled:rofl:

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

To me, Jeremy Clarkson is the ultimate man child..... when watching Top Gear I usually ff thorugh the Clarkson solo bits and focus on the other parts. He really is insufferable and his love of fast cars with no regard for the environmental impact of it all can get tiresome quickly (in the same way that earnest green do gooders can be annoying quickly.

In the same vein as Gordon Ramsay he's probably a pussy cat at home (no scuttlebut on Clarkson and any outside dalliances).

This is the funniest thing I've read by Clarkson

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/dri...cle2361393.ece

His description of Ottawa and the bland cars available from the car hire inventory are quite good.

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Ruby:)

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As in Public School Pr**k!!!....and always will be!:cool:

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Clarkson for Prime Minister I say!!!!

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The Daily Mash have the correct take on the story as far as I'm concerned.

Jeremy Clarkson was factually correct, it was claimed last night

:)

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Isn't that derogatory towards those that attend Public School:rofl:

It's not OK for Clarkson to say such things but it is for you:confused:

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

LOL, I think hes got it about right.


I guess I should keep an eye out for tenure positions in the Department of Semantics:)

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Not wanting to offend hwp but the story goes like this - a lad I knew when I was in Cyprus had lost an eye through an injury playing rugby and he is welsh, so a one eyed welshman he is. He used to have a habit of dropping his false eye in your pint when you weren't looking or he would roll his eye along the floor to where a group of people would be sitting and then go and ask for his eye back:rofl::rofl: he had us in stitches everynight. There are plenty of people out there who use their disability as an advantage and the likes of the RNIB etc. Do a good job. Very soon if the BBC aren't careful we will be watching it in one colour and that's grey. I don't trust politicians so they're all idiots, they squabble like children and still screw the country up. Clarkson's controversial because he wants to be and I find him funny. Guess I'm going to hell for this one!!:D

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I am amazed by the comments here. Imagine you have one eye, that you have been denied jobs, opportunities because of it. How would that make you feel when you see something like this? I hate it when people make jokes about being deaf or stupid, deaf and dumb. When they mouth words to me without any sound, making a joke of my daily struggle to communicate. Making a joke of my life.

This kind of behaviour is very insulting and perpetuates the myth that people with disabilities are less than someone who is "whole".

Of course the RNIB is right to pick him up on it. Its not "PC correctness gone mad". What a lame excuse that phrase is for crass insensitivity.

Good for you having a disability you have "come to terms with" don't you feel anything for those that are struggling to be accepted? Or is it a case of "I'm all right Jack"?

If you lot think its acceptable to call people names based on a disability then in my book you are insensitive, unfeeling, lacking in empathy.

Re: "One eyed scottish idiot"
 

Do you have any idea what people think, feel when they are on their own and have finished playing the buffoon for you? My father had a glass eye. He made jokes about it but he was hurt by the discrimination he felt.

Public faces are different to private ones and when faced with a room full of people who think its ok to mock you, what do you do?? There's no way you can win in that situation.

Stop and think FFS. These are people's lives you are messing with, just so you can have an easy laugh.