Friday 8 May 2009

Gaunt defends free speech - but only for some

Jon Gaunt has got little more than self-interest on his mind with his latest ranting column attacking Jacqui Smith for adding American shock-jock Michael Savageto a list of people banned from the UK.

A profile in the Telegraph reveals he's said: "Get Aids and die, you pig," the American radio "shock jock" told a purportedly homosexual man who once badmouthed his teeth. He has plenty more vitriol to go around. Latinos "breed like rabbits" , Muslims "need deporting" and as for autistic children, "in 99 per cent of cases it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out".

Savage has said he planned to sue over the banning, despite saying in 2006 he thought all Muslims should be banned from the US. Does he think they should all sue him?

Although claiming it's a free speech issue, why would Jon Gaunt want to defend a loudmouth, intolerant, right-wing radio presenter? Oh, wait...

He rather gives it away when he mentions that: 'Even DJs like me can be sacked for calling a councillor who wants to ban smokers from adopting a “health fascist”'. In fact this is a blatant lie - the direct quote of 'health fascist' should in fact be 'health Nazi'. Although clearly it's beyond the wit of Gaunty to know that fascist and Nazi are not interchangeable insults.

But when the infamous Luton protests happened Gaunty was suggesting they should not have been allowed. He wrote of Gillian Parker: 'As chief constable of the Bedfordshire force, her act of appeasement [just to add another Nazi reference] to Muslim fanatics by allowing them to demonstrate and ruin what should have been a proud day for the people of Luton was an insult to the brave men and women she is meant to lead.'

In his latest column he writes: 'In a mature democracy, all voices and opinions should be debated.' But that only appears to be for anti-Muslim opinions like his and Savage's.

'Now, more than ever, it is time for us to stand up and fight again — for the right for every true Brit to say what he thinks, when he thinks it.' Notice the use of 'us' and 'true Brit' as if there are people - and we know who he is thinking of - who aren't 'one of us' or 'true Brits'. Perhaps if his paper reported on today's survey on how Muslims feel loyal to the UK, he might learn something.

3 comments:

  1. " 'Even DJs like me can be sacked for calling a councillor who wants to ban smokers from adopting a “health fascist”'. In fact this is a blatant lie - the direct quote of 'health fascist' should in fact be 'health Nazi'"

    You're being too generous, surely? I thought he was sacked because he simply branded the councillor 'A Nazi'. He only claimed that he meant to say 'Health Nazi' later, when it was clear he was in trouble.

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  2. According to the Guardian's report on today's Ofcom judgment, he called Michael Stark a "Nazi", a "health Nazi", and an "ignorant pig".

    Ofcom have censured Gaunt for being 'persistently bullying and hectoring' - hardly a censure at all as that is his modus operandi.

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  3. If Winston Churchill had to deal with the PC climate of fear that is prevalent today, the UK would just be another province in the Third Reich. Stop the insanity, support free speech.

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