The Jeremy Clarkson saga...

[Cohiba Stevie]

Thought i would ask what a few of our members thought of the situation...

He has been suspended from his post as top gear presenter with filming and airing of the show suspended also. This follows an alleged incident where he tried to punch a producer for not having hot food laid on for the end of a days filming. It has been referred to as a 'fracas'

Two things are boggling my mind:

1. 840,000 people have signed a petition to have him reinstated

2. The word 'fracas' has been the most searched word explanation on google following the news report.

The man is a knob, but i love top gear. Despite his 'knobiness' for me he is the show itself, at this point the cars come second...

How many chances has he had already?

Thoughts?

[CaptainQuintero]

All staged to pump up ratings and hype I think. Just like the show, everything controversial is carefully scripted and assessed by producers before airing.

Jonathan Ross was dumped from the bbc after that over radio prank thing, if any of the things Clarkson had said or done over the years had been on his own volition he would have been gone a long time ago.

[Cohiba Stevie]

Very good point CQ.

It was actually the russel brand and jonathon ross incident that sprung to mind when i first heard about this, but when i think about it that was definitley worse.

[polarbear]

Considering Top Gear makes more money for the BBC than the rest of their shows combined, I doubt we've seen the last of Clarkson

[riazp]

they claim they have cancelled the last three episodes of this season...but i highly doubt that clarckson wont be back...

[AndrewNR]

Clarkson is a bastion of hope, a beakin of light. He's a man of the people and a voice of yesteryear. He's antics, tongue in cheek larikanism and racist jibes are all but white washed and sterilized from todays politically correct society. I for one commend the man for having the peace of mind to be himself in a world where we are all to carefully told to be politically correct while we allow racial and religious minorities run riot. Wether or not I agree with what the man has to say I often get a giggle and commend him for saying it. If we only support the opinions of people who we agree with or don't offend then we're going to be very soon living in a cigarless, loveless, joyless world.

[mrsgucia]

All staged to pump up ratings and hype I think. Just like the show, everything controversial is carefully scripted and assessed by producers before airing.

Jonathan Ross was dumped from the bbc after that over radio prank thing, if any of the things Clarkson had said or done over the years had been on his own volition he would have been gone a long time ago.

Agreed , looks all staged...but still fun.

[JohnS]

Jeremy Clarkson's personality is what makes Top Gear so successful, hence, whether these incidents are staged or not, the show wouldn't be what it is without him. You'd think though that producers of the show would go before Clarkson does.

[Ken Gargett]

Clarkson is a bastion of hope, a beakin of light. He's a man of the people and a voice of yesteryear. He's antics, tongue in cheek larikanism and racist jibes are all but white washed and sterilized from todays politically correct society. I for one commend the man for having the peace of mind to be himself in a world where we are all to carefully told to be politically correct while we allow racial and religious minorities run riot. Wether or not I agree with what the man has to say I often get a giggle and commend him for saying it. If we only support the opinions of people who we agree with or don't offend then we're going to be very soon living in a cigarless, loveless, joyless world.

you do realise you are saying you support racism? because clarkson, as funny an entertaining as he often is, is also deeply and offensively racist.

if a racist is the beacon of light or bastion of hope then civilisation is pretty much seriously stuffed, to put it as nicely as i possibly can.

i'm no fonder of PC crap than anyone, but are there no limits? clarkson's problem is that, while he is often extremely funny when he touches the line, he neither knows nor cares where the line is. all very entertaining to look on and encourage him but less funny when you are the victim of some fairly vile racism, i would imagine.

"racial and religious minorities may well run riot" - something i don't necessarily disagree with - but surely you do not combat that with racism. has that ever worked?

as for this latest kerfuffle, if i understand correctly it is simply an off-air scuffle with someone from the production staff because he didn't get a hot meal.

on one hand, pretty much utterly irrelevant to viewers. on the other, suggests someone who has become unbearably self-important and a complete tosser. sounds like krudd screaming at an airline stewardess because he couldn't get what he wanted.

i used to thoroughly enjoy top gear (and i am the least 'car person' you could meet) but i have not watched it for a few years. not because of clarkson but rather because after watching james may when he was teamed with oz clarke on some wine programs, i thought he was such a monumental ponce that i can't bear watching him.

to be honest, if it was not for clarkson, hammond and may would have long sunk without trace. they look like sad little schoolboys slobbering along behind the school bully, desparate for him to like them, doing/saying whatever will amuse him and get his approval and knowing they are nothing without him.

interesting to see comments by steve coogan, another british comedian.

on hammond, "Richard has his tongue so far down the back of Jeremy's trousers he could forge a career as the back end of a pantomime horse".

on the show itself, "a licence for any halfwit to vent the prejudices they'd been keeping in the closet since Love Thy Neighbour was taken off the air".

pretty much summed it up.

[AndrewNR]

I support satire Ken, Acts of racism of course not. I'm happy to smirk or giggle at a racist jibe in any direction and I'm not going to be on the bandwagon pointing a finger about it if it comes too close to home. Dosn't mean I think anybody needs to sit at the back of the bus or shouldn't work on a Sunday but can play the kid fiddle til Monday morning.

It's only a matter of time before mainstream is so filled with glazed opinions and white washed views of the world the only time you'll ever hear anything contrary is the extremists and that's a bloody shame. Everyone's so precious, so offended nowadays and they all need compensation or forgiveness/punishment. Can't we just have a laugh and get back on with living?

[Mr Cholmondley Warner]

Growing up in the UK in the 80's and reciting the infamous eeny, meeny....poem, I find the massive PC/racism shift over the past 30 years as intriguing. I used to work with an extremely old-school chemist that used to refer to the solution to a difficult problem as the 'n' in the wood pile! I'm actually a bit bemused that I have to write it as such not to offend. I miss frank and blunt expression.

[CaptainQuintero]

Probably black people aren't overly happy about being referred to as slaves/less than human which the N word essentially means.

Jewish people probably wouldn't be overly happy if they were referred to as 'Gas camp fodder' either regardless of if it is jest or not.

Same thing.

I don't get why treating people with a bit of humility and respect as default is a big deal really.

The political correctness movement is a different thing entirely as far as I understand it.

[backslide]

Probably black people aren't overly happy about being referred to as slaves/less than human which the N word essentially means.

Jewish people probably wouldn't be overly happy if they were referred to as 'Gas camp fodder' either regardless of if it is jest or not.

Same thing.

I don't get why treating people with a bit of humility and respect as default is a big deal really.

The political correctness movement is a different thing entirely as far as I understand it.

I'm not sure if you're in the US or not but, a good segment of the black population refers to themselves as the N word. If they call themselves that it shouldn't be a surprise if others feel like they can do the same.

[khomeinist]

That is a fairly amazing assertion. If you can't see the difference between various contextual usages of this word, you might want to spend more time associating with a more diverse group of 'segments.'

[Dispence]

I'm not sure if you're in the US or not but, a good segment of the black population refers to themselves as the N word. If they call themselves that it shouldn't be a surprise if others feel like they can do the same.

On this vein... I can get upset at something I've done or forgot and call myself an idiot (or a million other things) but if someone else starts calling me that every day to my face it feels a lot different. Especially if it's said out of spite.

Thoughts on this:

1. The N-Word is one of the most contentious words in the English language. There are not too many situations where it's permitted to be said (especially if one isn't black). Many black comedians and musicians have come out to get people to STOP using this word... If you want to say it around your friends and family in the comfort of your own home that's one thing (that I don't condone) but this word should be put in it's grave. Hip-hop artists thought they could take the "power" out of this word by "owning it". Taking it back. It doesn't make it any less egregious.

2. Where Clarkson is from (in the UK) it is actually ILLEGAL to use this word. There are anti-racism laws and one can be prosecuted. Just ask John Terry and the five Chelsea fans who kept the black French man from getting on their Metro car. They have all been (or will be prosecuted). In the case of the Chelsea fans, they weren't even on British soil when they committed the infraction and they are still charged under UK laws. (This begs the question - are all Chelsea fans inherently racist?)

I'm a huge Top Gear fan and agree that the show couldn't exist without Clarkson. I'm sick of making excuses for him though. Kind of like an old grandparent who still uses racist epithets (because they don't know better). Well they should, and we all should.

[Dozerhead]

I'm not sure at what point treating people with dignity and respect has gotten mixed up with 'political correctness'? And why is treating people that way a bad thing? And I'm also not sure there is such a strong need exists for some people to run people down based on the color of their skin or some other difference? Insecurity? Ignorance? It's like we have to lump everybody into one big catergory and condemn them as a whole.

To be clear, I'm not referring to social media trolls who seem to serve no other purpose than to feign moral outrage over the latest viral craze. I'm referring to something much deeper and uglier than that.

[wabashcr]

As entertaining as I find Clarkson on Top Gear, I'm tired of his act. He seems to be a miserable, racist berk, and it's time for the BBC to cut ties with him. If that means the end of Top Gear, so be it. This is not political correctness run amok, rather an insufferable, lousy excuse for a human being unwilling to show even the smallest bit of respect for anyone around him.

That said, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him.

[Philski]

(This begs the question - are all Chelsea fans inherently racist?)

Quite an amusing comment in the context of this thread.

[jfettlol]

i bid him farewell. as much as i like topgear, he IS and always WILL be a racist piece of shiz. being american, he's shunned us once too many times, as well as asians and others. it's ok to have an opinion, but we can tell how he really feels.

[Ken Gargett]

I support satire Ken, Acts of racism of course not. I'm happy to smirk or giggle at a racist jibe in any direction and I'm not going to be on the bandwagon pointing a finger about it if it comes too close to home. Dosn't mean I think anybody needs to sit at the back of the bus or shouldn't work on a Sunday but can play the kid fiddle til Monday morning.

It's only a matter of time before mainstream is so filled with glazed opinions and white washed views of the world the only time you'll ever hear anything contrary is the extremists and that's a bloody shame. Everyone's so precious, so offended nowadays and they all need compensation or forgiveness/punishment. Can't we just have a laugh and get back on with living?

i think i understand what you are trying to say but i don't buy it.

i think you are mixing up the extremism issue - not the same thing. just because someone is offended by something that doesn't offend you doesn't make them an extremist.

for me, just because someone doesn't wear the white hood or try and enforce segregation, doesn't mean they are not a racist.

racism is like pregnancy. you are or you are not. you can't be just a little bit.

[Rushman]

I don't get why treating people with a bit of humility and respect as default is a big deal really.

The political correctness movement is a different thing entirely as far as I understand it.

Precisely sir. One has nothing to do with the other.

As far as Clarkson is concerned, I do enjoy Top Gear very much, and must have been buried under a rock to not be aware of his apparently outlandish behavior. But in this world there are consequences to your actions and if that means BBC truly cuts ties with him (which I doubt as the almighty dollar, or pound sterling in this case) rules supreme).

[Dispence]

Quite an amusing comment in the context of this thread.

I was hoping someone would catch that....

[Fosgate]

I always liked his attitude. Kind of straight out of the late 70's and 80's with a rebel yell and non conformist attitude. It's almost like Archie Bunker got a car show. If Top Gear looses him I would see the program folding quickly just as 2 1/2 men did without Charlie Sheen.

Oh and just like the "Save the Whale" Campaign

http://teespring.com/save-clarkson-limited-editio

[AndrewNR]

I think with more time and patients and perhaps the same drink in our glasses Ken we could find a happy middle-ground of understanding on this. There are no white hoods under my bed but I'm just as happy to laugh at a joke in good humor at the guys wearing them as the guys they victimize, I'm not supporting or condoning either, And I'm not about to join a rally and tell tales or jokes in a way that purposely or directly defames or harms a person or group of people.. But ****.. If a joke about a minority or stereotype or even a majority nails it.. I'm laughing.

[riazp]

Apparently in his weekly column in the sun he quit and th show is all but done...

http://fullthrottle.newdaily.info/jeremy-clarkson-quits-top-gear-show-cancelled-for-good/