UK: Ministry of FeelGood Makes a Ruling
22nd February 2012
Liam Aitchison, 16, was found dead in a derelict building in the Steinish area of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in November.
His death was later raised during a newspaper review section on the Wright Stuff show.
He put on a Scottish accent and said ”there’s been another murder”, copying a phrase from TV detective show Taggart, while talking about the teenager’s death with guest Charlie Baker in December last year.
His remarks prompted 2,358 complaints to Ofcom from viewers of the broadcast on December 6.
A statement issued on behalf of Liam’s family at the time said the comments were ”very upsetting”, ”insulting” and ”insensitive”.
To begin with, it wasn’t a news show, it was a talk show, and these Sensitive Souls need to get over themselves. If they don’t like the way the guy does his show, don’t watch. Eventually his ratings will go down enough that he’ll be canned — if enough people agree with them. If not, too bad; don’t watch it.
The more important point, however, is that however much this might be a matter between the guy who made the remarks and his employer, it is most certainly no legitimate business of a government agency.
The reason it’s worth thinking about is, that Britain is about a year farther down the path to cultural toiletry than we are, and if something stupid is happening in Britain, we have a limited amount of warning before it shows up on our shores.