So whats the difference between Clarkson and an idiot on Facebook?

It seems that BBC has received more than 21,000 (and growing)complaints over Jeremy Clarkson's remarks that striking public sector workers should be shot. However it seems slow to respond and it is somewhat typical that it reporters and try to point out the fact that Clarkson somehow made positive about the strike .before hiss crass remarks. Though it was largely on his ability to drive through London unhibited by other traffic.

Mr Clarkson said he had not intended for the comments on The One Show to be taken seriously and was "happy to apologise" if offence had been caused. Though to my mind it was less tan convincing rather like a smirking schoolboy who has been forced to apologise for his behavior but clearly is quite pleased with himself.

We have to ask to what extent Clarkson remarks were planned well in advance of the programme going on the air and to what extent those producing the One Show were aware of what he was going to say. I cab't believe there no run through with guests. So are the BBC complacent in the remarks?

The other point is it seems that live you are allowed to get away with such appalling behavior on Television but to do so on the New Social Media is unacceptable as the case of Plaid Councillor Neil McEvoy shows.

But  if you were to look at the fact that Clarkson appears to be inciting people to violence afainst others . What exactly is the difference between a number of stupid young men who were imprisoned for calling people to riot.

Jordan Blackshaw, 20, set up an "event" called Smash Down in Northwich Town for the night of 8 August on the social networking site but no one apart from the police, who were monitoring the page, turned up at the pre-arranged meeting point outside a McDonalds restaurant. Blackshaw was promptly arrested.

Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, of Latchford, Warrington, used his Facebook account in the early hours of 9 August to design a web page entitled The Warrington Riots. The court was told it caused a wave of panic in the town. When he woke up the following morning with a hangover, he removed the page and apologised, saying it had been a joke. His message was distributed to 400 Facebook contacts, but no rioting broke out as a result.

Less people saw these postings  than Clarkson appearance  indeed he had more complaints than those who saw the Facebook pages for which the two were imprisoned.

So being a working class idiot who makes a stupid remark (and they were stupid) gets the full force of the law against you whilst being a TV personality is treated in some quarters as  eccentric humour.

I'm not calling for Clarkson to be imprisoned but its about time the BBC stood up to him and told him that his behavior was unacceptable to behave himself or find employment else where.( Though how many Final "Final Warnings" has he had?)

 

Valeys Mam gets it right when she points out that he has a DVD or a book or a programme to publicise so may be he is canny

The rest of us can show our disapproval by not buying his musings on DVD or print and to stop watchinf Top Gear entirely a massive drop in viewing figures may just may just give the BBC bossed some backbone.