Two days ago, driving into London, listening to the radio, the BBC no less, and the phone-in was about the news that Sarkozy and the French government want to ban the wearing of the niqab. How I feel about that is one thing, and maybe I will come to it, but of more immediate annoyance was the stupidity with which this BBC radio phone-in was handled. I honestly could not believe what I was hearing. They only had Muslim people on defending the wearing of the niqab, and while I was listening, only men as well. Maybe no women called about it, but I just can't believe that such a coincidental affirmation of "our" media's current agenda actually occurred. That fucking toad Nicky Campbell would have been rubbing his hands together with glee if so.
This wasn't my real issue, though. My main problem is just the casual acceptance that all this discussion of Islam is somehow acceptable because of the terrorist attacks in the last few years. Nicky Campbell practically asserted this view. He is paid by us, and he is espousing this view that ever since 9/11 every aspect of Islamic culture is now up for debate and scrutiny. It's bullshit. The two things are not related... I mean, when I was younger, people weren't discussing whether certain Catholic practices should be banned because of the threat of the IRA. Catholicism wasn't constantly being discussed as this "otherness" that was an inherent, insidious threat to British culture. If the IRA can be distinguished from Catholicism as a whole, why does our media insist on perpetrating this drip feed that Islam and terrorism go hand in hand. They are doing the same with Islam and the oppression of women. Who is complaining about Nun's habits? Not Sarkozy, that's for sure. And not Nicky Campbell.
Am I just so naive as to want a media that doesn't push a racist, jingoistic pro Judeo-Christian agenda? Is that too much to ask for, especially from an organization that we all pay for, whatever our religion? Fucking religion. Fucking BBC. Fucking Nicky fucking Campbell. Fuck... (walks off kicking stones)
