Tuesday 31 July 2012

MailOnline edits, then removes, RightMinds post

On 28 July, MailOnline published an opinion piece by Rick Dewsbury about the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Under the headline The NHS did not deserve to be so disgracefully glorified in this bonanza of left-wing propaganda, Dewsbury said:

But it was the absurdly unrealistic scene – and indeed one that would spring from the kind of nonsensical targets and equality quotas we see in the NHS - showing a mixed-race middle-class family in a detached new-build suburban home, which was most symptomatic of the politically correct agenda in modern Britain.

This was supposed to be a representation of modern life in England but it is likely to be a challenge for the organisers to find an educated white middle-aged mother and black father living together with a happy family in such a set-up.

Almost, if not every, shot in the next sequence included an ethnic minority performer. The BBC presenter Hazel Irvine gushed about the importance of grime music (a form of awful electronic music popular among black youths) to east London. This multicultural equality agenda was so staged it was painful to watch.

Several hours later, the second and third paragraphs of that were changed to this:


This was supposed to be a representation of modern life in England but such set-ups are simply not the ‘norm’ in any part of the country. So why was it portrayed like this and given such prominence? If it was intended to be something that we can celebrate, that two people with different colour skin and different cultural heritages can live harmoniously together, then it deserves praise.

But what will be disturbing to many people is top-down political manipulation – whether consciously or unthinkingly – at a major sporting event.

MailOnline completely removed the article, without explanation, the following day.

(Hat-tip to John Walker, who took screenshots of the original and who wrote about it before it was edited.)

25 comments:

  1. The Mail may have deleted the Rick Dewsbury article but they still have the Jan Moir one from Monday about Sharon Davies' face and the cycling with the following section:

    "We got our first medal, courtesy of cyclist Lizzie Armitstead. What an utter darling. According to commentators, she had ‘fresh legs in good shape’, which she used to batter heroically through a torrential rainstorm, only to come second to some bitch from Holland."

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180878/Olympics-2012-Just-HAS-happened-Sharron-Davies-face-Asks-Jan-Moir.html#ixzz22CeVfNPC

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  2. "only to come second to some bitch from Holland."

    That's quite funny and almost self-aware! Jan Moir has actually risen in my estimation... to zero.

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  3. Maybe I don't live in "Modern England" but growing up in the 90s just outside North London, the kind of families depicted in the bit the Mail Hack has taken offense to were fairly commonplace, as were they in the town I went to University in and indeed the town I live in now. So maybe I don't live in the Mailite "Modern England" (not that I'd want to really) but some kind of Diverse Socialist Utopia... called Reality. Not only horrifically offensive, but the article says much about the sheltered universe the Mail assumes its readers live in (and its writers clearly inhabit).

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  4. Cardiff is not unknown for its mixed-race families. A lot of whom are middle class. Areas with long histories of the kind of integration that is anathema to Mail readers are more common than they would like to think.

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  5. Here is the original article:
    http://bit.ly/Pb4Gdq

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    Replies
    1. I was going to post that too - a great FREEZE PAGE copy of what the article ACTUALLY looked like, before editing, before removal:
      http://www.freezepage.com/1343493744VDGIBPHPUW

      Delete
  6. From the same article:

    "viewers dozed off to the procession of banana republics and far-flung destinations nobody has ever heard of or even cares for."

    What wit!

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  7. Removing the article and then replacing it with a ninja edit? It's almost as if they're... ashamed.

    But what could they possibly be ashamed of?

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  8. Lots of our Olympic athletes, pas and present, are from mixed race families. Step forward miss j ennis for one. What is that bloke on???

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  9. I hope, next time they ask Jess Ennis for an interview, she tells them exactly where they can go.

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  10. I expect this blog to get a lot more hits tonight.
    Congratulations to Jessica Ennis!

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  11. I hate to say there is a place for their idea of paradise, Northern Ireland. It's so far behind the times in terms of multiculturalism.
    I'm from there, so I know this to be true. My parents read the paper and it embarrasses me when they come to visit me in England. They spout utter nonsense about people of every minority they see. Blissfully unaware that the paper they find so 'informative' probably hates them too.

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  12. I'm white, I'm almost 32, I live in Dorset and I love grime. So that's the Mail fucked from the start.

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  13. Why do people keep buying this rag.

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  14. Does Dewsbury exist or is it a house byline used to troll?

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  15. Grime isn't a brand of music we as british should be bandwagoning as an artform to behold. 'A form of awful electronic music popular among black youths' is exactly what it is, and contribute massivily to the consious demenour our youth represent today. The Mail is an awfull publication at the best of times, yets its middle class veiws are those of the counties majority.

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    Replies
    1. Heaven forbid that "our youth represent a consious demenour". I hate to break it to you (actually no I don't) but young people have always listened to disagreeable music. The Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones, even The Beatles were blamed by the middle aged prudes for corrupting young minds. And The Daily Mail's views may be those of the "counties" majority, I couldn't really debate that with you until I know which county you're talking about.

      Delete
    2. http://pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Graffiti%20from%20Pompeii.htm

      The young have always, in some arbitrary way, displeased their elders. I can appreciate that grime is not to everyone's tastes - it's certainly not my thing - but should otherwise respectfully request that you grow the f-k up, Anon@02.43.

      Delete
  16. Hmmmm...
    We are that family. I am black british my husband is white british we have been together for 27 years with 2 amazing kids. We are educated professionals and if we have to be labelled 'middle class'.
    In my opinion this is the face of Britain and the Mail need to get their head out of the sand and see it.

    Mitzi!

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  17. RightMinds? More like OutofTheirTinyMinds! I belong to the type of family being described as not existing. Am I living in a parallel universe or is their 'Life on Mars"?

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  18. Being from the type of family he reckons doesn't exist, I felt compelled to write about it and did:
    http://newmumonline.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/mixed-race-britain-olympics-opening.html

    Liska

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  19. "...grime music [is] a form of awful electronic music popular among black youths." What a pompous twat. But then he does write for The Daily Heil. Having said that, I don't like grime music either - but as a fat middle-aged white male I really shouldn't like youth music! It would be a sad day for contemporary teenagers if I liked what they like, it's THEIR music, after all, NOT mine. Something the contemptible Rick Dewsbury conspicuously fails to understand.

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  20. My family doesn't exist then. I'm a white British, middle class female professional, degree educated, living in suburbia, partnered with mixed race British man, degree educated etc etc. We have been together 18 years and have 3 children. We don't feel unusual.

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  21. The Daily Mail, it really is like a snapshot of British life. In the 1950s.

    ReplyDelete

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