Cotton candy correspondents
It kinda irritates me when news is reported with holes in it, to avoid causing offence to some cosseted group or another.
Case in point: Nupur Sharma's recent suspension from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, for derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad. Her comments aren't reported anywhere in the mainstream media, even in broad terms, presumably for fear of upsetting those benevolent Muslims.*
As a consequence, we in the free west
receive a censored, baby-talk version of the news. (grumpy)
And it's cropped up again, this time in a report on Lizzo's controversial lyrics to her latest release, Grrrls, which has upset disability advocates. Rather than fearlessly reporting the full story without fear or favour
, the BBC's Mark Savage sups deep on his soy latte, while meekly referring only to an ableist slur
.
Grrrls, which was released last week, originally contained a derogatory term for a form of cerebral palsy known as spastic diplegia, in the first verse.
Mark Savage, BBC music correspondent, BBC News
We can see what it's about and where it's going, so why be so coy? Just be straight and honest, while at the same time recognising the unintentional offensiveness of the original lyric. But, no, nanny knows best.
Sooner or later, the world's most trusted international news broadcaster
™,** and other similarly-grovelling mainstream news outlets, will be reduced to only reporting happy stories, so that no one need be offended. And we'll all live in a land of cotton wool and soothing ambient sounds. At least among those mainstream media outlets, anyway.
And, for those who're still none-the-wiser, the unword
is spaz
, sampled from a 1986 Beastie Boys single, Girls. At least they could spell.
Honestly, Lizzo, if you don't want to offend the dinky butthurts in future, you'd be better off stealing lyrics from less controversial artists. Barbra Streisand and Nat King Cole spring to mind. (pipe)
* During a heated, televised debate, Sharma noted that one of Muhammad's wives was six-years-old when they married, and nine-years-old when the marriage was consummated. The implication is clear.
Naveen Kumar Jindal, who has since been expelled from the Blow Job Party, later doubled-down with a since-deleted tweet:
नबी के दुलारो से पूछना चाहता हूँ कि तुम्हारा नबी 53 वर्ष की आयु में 6 वर्ष की छोटी बच्ची आयशा के साथ शादी करता है फिर 56 वर्ष की आयु में 9 वर्ष की आयशा के साथ संबंध बनाता है…
क्या वह संबंध बलात्कार की श्रेणी में नहीं आता..?
Naveen Kumar Jindal, Wackypeedeeya
I want to ask those with affection for the Prophet that at the age of 53, he married a 6-year-old girl Aisha and then at the age of 56, he consummated that relationship with 9-year-old Aisha…does such relationship not come under the category of rape?
Naveen Kumar Jindal, Wackypeedeeya
Whether these allegations against the prophet are true, either in fact or without context, is a matter of academic interpretation. And, given that he died almost 1400 years ago, it's not as if anyone can ask him. But Muslims are not particularly broad-minded when it comes to questioning the sanctity of their prophet. After all, Islam is the religion of peace and love, and anyone who questions it will be put to death.
** According to a statement made by the BBC, in February last year: The BBC is the world's most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favour.
Without fear or favour? Other than the fear of, and favour to, dinky butthurts, that is.