The Judge RANTS!
Date: 13/11/16
We Shall Remember?
Two of the great satirists of the twentieth century, J.B. Morton (Beachcomber in the Daily Express, before it was bought by a porn-merchant) and Tom Lehrer both gave up writing it because what is laughingly known as 'the real world' had not merely caught up, but had overtaken them and zoomed off like some existential BMW driver into the distance.
Every day, we are given fresh collateral for confirming those two great men's view.
I simply cannot believe (except, of course, that the empirical evidence requires recognition) that this happened on BBC Television this morning:
One can imagine the discussion which must have gone on between the assembled Jonathans and Emmas on the production team which led to this:
"Who can we have as a guest on Andy's show next Sunday?"
"Well, the far-right is a sexy subject at the moment, what with Brexit and Trump..."
"Yeah, we tried to get Trump, but his people said that he was too busy drawing up plans to invade Canada."
"Is Nigel free?"
"Nah, he's over there advising Trump."
"Well, we could get Marine Le Pen. She's French, of course, but apparently she speaks English."
"But isn't her party...y'know...racist, Islamophobic and anti-semitic?"
"Well, maybe a touch..."
"But it's Remembrance Sunday; I've just remembered. It'd be a bit...insensitive, wouldn't it?"
"Doesn't matter! It'll make great TV!"
And so we have it: on the day when we are - with various degrees of volition - required to remember the war dead of the last century, the State Broadcaster - immediately prior to the televising of the main official ceremony of remembrance in London - broadcasts an interview with the leader of the most prominent neo-Fascist party in western Europe. I didn't watch, but I suspect that Marr - as much a marionette of the Establishment as his two lamentable successors, Robinson and Kuenssberg - didn't ask that really significant question, viz.:
"Mademoiselle Le Pen, given that today we commemorate the deaths of those who fought a war to destroy a régime based on race-hatred and homophobia backed with cheap populism and media support, why do you want to turn Europe back to those times?"
And question came there none.
(If you want something far more appropriate to the day, I once again warmly recommend the ever-estimable Philip Challinor).
