In the current climate

[Marc Meakin]

I thought as an old person , I wanted to start a thread about how crazy the world is today with regards offending people or being offended , especially on social media.
Alastair Stewart has had to resign fro ITN for quoting Shakespeare which he often does ( Google it ,I'm not spoonfeeding you ) to illustrate a point.
Unfortunately the person he addressed is ' a person of colour ' and took offence saying it was racist.
This would not have happened years ago it would have been brushed aside.
Another thing that worries me is MeToo#.
I fully understand that a lot of men of power have been abusing that power to manipulate and abuse women.
But an offshoot of that means it must be almost impossible for a man to make s move on a woman he is attracted to.
I just watched an episode of Curb (Sky Comedy Channel ) where Larry David is compelled to video making out with his date for fear of repercussions.
As usual society goes from one extreme to another.
I remember when corporal punishment ended , mainly due to a minority of sadists.
Now teachers , not only have little authority , they are even prevented from comforting a crying child who has fallen over.
Rant over

[Jon O'Neill]

How could we possibly function in this extreme society, where teachers aren't allowed to beat the shit out of a child, or comfort them? How are fictional men supposed to live with the sceptre of sexual assault accusations looming large over their heads every time they want to sexually assault someone? Are we seriously expected to be able to disagree with black people now, without resorting to centuries-old racist tropes?

You've been triggered by a combination of things that didn't happen.

You say Alistair Stewart had to resign... but did he?
You say that it's impossible for a man to make a move on a woman he is attracted to... but is it?
You say teachers are prevented from comforting a crying child who has fallen over... but are they?

[Marc Meakin]

How could we possibly function in this extreme society, where teachers aren't allowed to beat the shit out of a child, or comfort them? How are fictional men supposed to live with the sceptre of sexual assault accusations looming large over their heads every time they want to sexually assault someone? Are we seriously expected to be able to disagree with black people now, without resorting to centuries-old racist tropes?

You've been triggered by a combination of things that didn't happen.

You say Alistair Stewart had to resign... but did he?
You say that it's impossible for a man to make a move on a woman he is attracted to... but is it?
You say teachers are prevented from comforting a crying child who has fallen over... but are they?

The last one is true as I know a teacher who was censured for this.
I lived through corporal punishment when I was publicly ' slippered ' in primary school as some wag had put the teachers math test book in my desk.
One year later , after it ended a teacher was blinded by a ball bearing thrown by a pupil.
Extremes , I know but definitely a pendulum swing.
I won't open the can of worms by suggesting a correlation of unruly children ( post code gangs ) and the lack of non verbal discipline in schools/ the home.


I was being flippant about MeToo# as it is a legitimate cause but the off shoot had made it confusing for a decent young man entering the world of relationships.

I don't know the full facts about whether Alaister Stewart resigned for fear of getting sacked or not.
What I do know however is his Shakespeare quote has often been used by him to shut down someone who is wrong and this guy has used the race card to get back at him.
It's appalling that he did this , it pissed on the genuine racist situations that happen and need calling out, that is still prevalent and not just white on black neither.


I will add in the ridiculousness of not being allowed to film YOUR child at s swimming gala as you might be a paedophile.
Kids not being allowed to play out for fear of paedos so they stay in their rooms and play video games online and potentially get groomed by the same type of paedo they stayed at home to avoid.

[Gavin Chipper]

I don't know the exact context for the Alastair Stewart thing but if he was just quoting Shakespeare with no intention of referring to a black man as an ape and if he has used that quote previously (which would be evidence in his favour), he should refuse to resign and fight it. What has he got to gain by resigning? It's not like it's happened quietly so attention isn't drawn to it. It's weird that he resigned if he has no guilt.

[Fiona T]

I don't imagine Alistair Stewart meant it in a racist context - he'd be crazy to have posted it if he did - but that doesn't mean it was not offensive. He would be very aware of the racist associations if he'd thought about it, so presumably didn't think about it - as he said a misjudgement.

He's acknowledged that, and either resigned or been asked to resign. Whether he should have is open to debate, but the tweet was offensive and to pillory the recipient of the tweet for his resignation is wrong.

[James Haughton]

In your posts, you have railed against the 'so-called' demonisation of Alastair Stewart and others because of how their 'innocent' words and actions have been misconstrued by members of the public. Therefore, I find it ironic at best, and quite sinister at worst, that you have chosen to completely misrepresent what happened on Twitter between Alastair Stewart and Martin Shapland. As is shown in this thread by Martin:

https://twitter.com/MShapland/status/12 ... 8132148224

and this other thread from a third party to the WHOLE exchange:

https://twitter.com/KateMaltby/status/1 ... 2082230277

what Alastair did was much worse than unwittingly send a Shakespeare quote that contained the word 'ape' to a black man. He knew it could be seen as offensive in reply to another person's tweet, yet did not seem to care. Furthermore, he went beyond that, using his public Twitter to call Martin thick, question whether he had been to university, and seemingly organise a pile-on. I believe Martin's statement is very magnanimous and balanced, and nowhere does it suggest he was out to ruin Alastair's career unjustly.

As to your other points, you have provided no evidence whatsoever to suggest that they are burning injustices in the world. For example, you worry how men will be able to navigate the world of relationships. How about respecting someone's decision and space if they reject your offer of a date, continue respecting their space if they go out with you, listen to them if they tell you that they are uncomfortable with something and stop doing it, and waiting for them to consent to kissing, having sex or whatever? On the other hand, there is very clear evidence of gender pay disparity, appallingly low rates of convictions and even reports of rape and sexual assault, increasing number of hate attacks against the BAME and LGBTQ+ communities, and a lack of representation at the upper echelons of businesses or on TV, for instance.

[Marc Meakin]

It's interesting to see how many of his journalistic colleagues have backed him up .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51307706

People of colour outside of his journalistic community have backed him up.
A lot of my friends and members of my family who have been subjected to racists behaviour and insults throughout their lives are appalled that the race card is being used in this way

[Gavin Chipper]

I don't imagine Alistair Stewart meant it in a racist context - he'd be crazy to have posted it if he did - but that doesn't mean it was not offensive. He would be very aware of the racist associations if he'd thought about it, so presumably didn't think about it - as he said a misjudgement.

He's acknowledged that, and either resigned or been asked to resign. Whether he should have is open to debate, but the tweet was offensive and to pillory the recipient of the tweet for his resignation is wrong.

Well, things are only offensive if people find them offensive - I don't think it's really an objective thing. But if it was just a mistake, it was certainly a clumsy one.

But it does seem that there's more to this anyway from what James has posted. I mean, Alastair Stewart isn't exactly someone I find myself rooting for with his awful Dictionary Corner appearances, and two (I'm pretty sure) drink driving offences, but I wouldn't condemn him purely on that basis. However, I don't think his resignation was purely down to him making an innocent mistake and nothing more.