So, it looks as if Gordon Brown has really slammed the last nail into the coffin of his Labour Prime Ministerial election campaign. He’s climbed to the top of a bell tower in his best urban camouflage, fixed his sniper rifle together and shot his campaign in the face. And himself, in the foot.
But what is it that Gordon did to deserve his current status as tabloid pariah? Did he compliment Nick Griffin on his new haircut? Did he say Bin Laden is ‘Okay once you get to know him’? Instead of kissing babies, did he flat out call them ugly gremlins, right in their mothers’ shocked gobs?
No, Gordon did none of those things. Rather, he made an accurate analysis of an encounter he’d had with an elderly woman from Rochdale, saying it was a disaster, asking why he’d been put to speak to her and, most shockingly of all, calling her a ‘bigot’.
[picappgallerysingle id="8651975"]
Now before I begin to spit-shine Brown’s shoes with my Brown nose, I’d like to quickly remind you what a bigot is, not to insult your intelligence, just to be sure. A bigot is someone who is so staunchly prejudiced in their opinion and belief that they will not listen to any other information being presented to them. So when Gordon Brown called this lady, Gillian Duffy, 65, a bigot, he could have been speaking about the multitude of issues that she presented, that Brown countered.
The crux of all this though is, of course, Gillian’s mention of the Immigration System. If you listen carefully, I’m assuming that she’s about to say; “You can’t talk about immigration without (being branded a racist.)†However as soon as the word ‘Immigration’ slips delicately off of her tongue, she darts around, looking at all the cameras and microphones surrounding her, and she stays quiet.
After that she asks the immortal question: “All these Eastern Europeans coming in, I mean, where are they all flocking from?“ Hmm, tricky one there, I’m going to hazard a guess and say Peru, though. Recent statistics show that while 500,000 immigrants were accepted last year, 300,000 Brits left for pastures new in mainland Europe.
[picappgallerysingle id="8652081"]
I don’t think Gillian’s a bad person, I don’t think Gordon Brown’s a bad person. I think subsequent witch hunts on both sides are doing the world no favours and in reality it all boils down to the real common enemy: the media.
I sat there watching ITV news tonight, and there were three, three, separate reports on this story. One of the event, one of the commentators giving their obtuse and irrelevant input, and one of Gillian’s shocked face as she’s told the man she spent grilling for 5 minutes like a sandwich toaster has called her… Not even a nasty name, just a name.
The newspaper headlines are comprised of dull puns and knee jerk reactions, and it all gets swept up in a massive maelstrom of idiotic over hyped nonsense. Dull and self involved opinion pieces scattered across all the papers and, certainly, the internet.
I realise the sheer irony in that statement, but really, it’s true. My input doesn’t matter in the great scheme of things. No one’s does, not if you’re not important. I’m not even voting Labour and I feel compelled to write something about the sheer absurdity in which this minor fault has been treated.
On Twitter, shortly after this event, one of the top ‘trending topics’ was “GordAn Brownâ€.
What can you do, eh?
Joe Bishop.
