Crash Bang Wallace
Libertarian political blog from Mark Wallace; political opinion, breaking news and exclusivesA Castaway complains about the sea
Posted on August 12, 2010Enoch Powell once said that a politician complaining about the media was like a sailor complaining about the sea. The same goes for those who go on reality TV and then complain about the exposure.
The Guardian has a remarkable article by one Ron Copsey, who was on the BBC’s Castaway 2000 ten years ago, dramatically titled “How Castaway made my life hell”.
To be fair to Mr Copsey, he does have one valid complaint, which was upheld in a successful libel case, that the production company fabricated a scene that made him appear to assault another castaway. They were wrong to do so, and he won compensation.
But what are his other objections?
That he, a gay man, had been put on the island with some Seventh Day Adventists “who would be likely to object to my sexuality”. This kind of clash is, of course, the point of a programme designed to explore social tensions in a microcosm.
That the producers “only seemed interested in squeezing every last frame out of the situation” – which is hardly surprising for a TV company – and did not provide on-site psychological counselling. When a show is called “Castaway” it should be pretty obvious that you will not be comforted in the bosom of modern civilisation.
Perhaps most absurd is his complaint that he lost his “anonymity”. What else did he expect when he signed up to go on a national TV show? He can hardly pretend that he volunteered for 12 months of BBC prime time broadcasting in order to keep his identity secret. (If he’d wanted privacy he could have signed up to be on Lily Allen’s BBC3 chat show…)
Amazingly, he now intends to work as a professional counsellor in the sector of “TV aftercare”. How much good will it do people making the same absurd complaints to be counselled that these are legitimate grievances? Reality TV is notorious as a haven for all manner of narcissists, and they need to be told to grow up and stop moaning, not encouraged to wallow in the dramatic misery they wilfully inflicted on themselves.
The Penny Drops
Posted on August 09, 2010Always at the white hot cutting edge of investigative journalism, the New Statesman have literally risked their lives by going undercover to the, erm, Young Britons’ Foundation hustings for Conservative Future Chairman. I know, talk about the Heroes of Telemark for the 21st Century.
The intrepid NS hack donning the camouflage cream and stab vest for the job was Laurie Penny who, it seems, went to a party for rightwingers in order to report back her shock that they were right wing.
I have an interest to confess, in that I was at the party in question so I can attest to the general conservative and right-libertarian bent of the evening (although I should state at this point that I was not “pink shirt”, the mystery man who asked her out on a date).
It’s easy to say in hindsight, but I recall being a bit suspicious of Laurie at the time – not least thanks to her claim to be an aspiring fashion journalist whilst dressed like an explosion in Jackson Pollock’s airing cupboard.
The question her article left me with, aside from whether the unattributed quotes in it are actually true, was why she failed to report on the only genuinely scandalous part of the evening. As has now been widely reported, one of the CF Chairman candidates, Ben Howlett, cited Gerry Adams as the most inspirational figure in Northern Irish politics.
That’s quite a shocking statement, particularly coming from a Conservative seeking office (albeit a CF office). Did Laurie miss it, or is it that such a view is not unusual in the New Statesman’s office?
Where is the love for Tory backbenchers?
Posted on July 28, 2010It’s a story we all recognise. A disaffected gang start causing trouble – smashing things up, daubing graffiti, hanging around threateningly on street corners.
Their motivation? Boredom, rejection, and the feeling that they have been left behind while others are getting ahead.
This isn’t a case study by Iain Duncan Smith or a socially just Guardian article, though. These aren’t gangland hoodies. They’re backbench Tory MPs.
From David Davis’ overheard remarks the other day, to the proposed founding of the Brokeback Club and even the gathering pace of the campaign to move the date of the AV referendum, the blues’ backbenches are increasingly on the warpath.
Why?
Talk to backbenchers and you’ll hear the same concerns time and again. They feel left out in the cold. The leadership doesn’t understand them or even dislikes “the Right” innately. Worst of all, they feel the Lib Dems are valued more than them.
Contrary to the common assumption this is not simply an ideological dispute. Many of these same MPs have been content to follow David Cameron’s leadership for the last three years despite plenty of large ideological divisions.
No, this is about respect, pride and the workings of the Government. Many backbenchers are left out, sidelined and (intentionally or unintentionally) snubbed.
The irony is that most of these problems could be avoided by applying to the Conservative Party itself many of the principles its leadership want to apply to the nation.
Here’s David Cameron in the Guardian last year presenting the localist agenda:
“If people know that their actions can make a real difference to their local communities, they’re far more motivated to get involved – and civic pride is revived. If local government is both more powerful and more accountable, we can start to restore the trust that’s been lost in our political system. It’s for these practical reasons that I am a confirmed localist, committed to turning Britain’s pyramid of power on its head.”
And yet if you so much as whisper the question “how centralised is the Party?” to a backbench MP, they’ll talk your ear off about quite how much power lies at the top. (Michael Crick has a handy list of centralising moves within the Conservative Party here.)
Another famous cornerstone of the leadership’s philosophy is understanding the deeper causes of antisocial behaviour and disaffection. Here’s a quote from the “hug a hoodie” speech:
“So when you see a child walking down the road, hoodie up, head down, moody, swaggering, dominating the pavement – think what has brought that child to that moment. If the first thing we have to do is understand what’s gone wrong, the second thing is to realise that putting things right is not just about law enforcement. It’s about the quality of the work we do with young people. It’s about relationships. It’s about trust.”
The same, fundamentally, goes for Conservative MPs.
Admittedly, they’re not happy slapping people in Central Lobby, though I can think of a few who might be tempted. But disaffection and distrust in politics is corrosive, something Blair and Brown proved in spades.
It’s not too late to fix this. These cracks don’t yet have the depth or permanence of those between John Major and “the Bastards“.
David Cameron once laid out a simple prescription for hoodies, that he now needs to apply to his own MPs:
“It is about love.”
Camping isn’t communist
markwallace | 6 Comments » Posted on July 15, 2010As anyone who has spent time on a campsite will tell you, it is not a socialist utopia. Who could possibly think that it is?
Well, someone does: the Guardian’s Aditya Chakrabortty. Drawing on the philosophies of G.A.Cohen he has laid out why he feels a weekend in a damp tent is the best way of living out Marx’s dream.
As someone who once spent two and a half months living in a tent (for good, professional reasons, I promise), I can confirm he is wrong – read my Comment is Free response here to find out why.