Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC licence fee

[practicaldreamer]

I pay a TV tax in the UK - its paid to fund the BBC and is an obligatory licence fee . Non payment has traditionally, as a last resort, been punishable by a prison sentence.

   Why the hell am I being forced to pay the wages of a man like Jeremy Clarkson ? The man is a reactionary bigot playground bully bore and now, it would seem, a racist to boot.

I'm sick of him. He's a pompous smug bloated twat. I want my money back.

I was once of the mind that the licence fee was needed to provide an impartial media, free from vested interest. But as time has gone on it has become clear the BBC is a puppet of the Government (remember Greg Dyke getting the push for daring to question the validity of the Iraq "weapons of mass destruction" BS) - and it seems to me that if The Guardian can function on advertising revenue and still maintain an impartiality that, quite honestly, puts the BBC to shame, then maybe there would be a good arguement for abolishing the licence fee altogether.

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[hilariousandco]

I'm not sure he is a racist to be honest. I did read one of his books a few years ago though and he said this:

Wog, Spastic. Queer. Nigger. Dwarf. Cripple. Fatty. Gimp. Mick. Mong. Poof. Coon. Gyppo. You can't really use these words anymore and yet, strangely, it is perfectly acceptable for those in the Hotel industries to pepper their conversation with the word Beverage.

Which I actually thought was quite funny. He got in trouble recently for the 'slope' joke too (which I also found mildly amusing), but I reckon they'll probably have to sack him now, but that'll be the end of Top Gear if they do.

But I don't agree with paying the licence fee and it should be scrapped.

[ozzymax]

Turn your TV off and read a book.

[jbrnt]

He is a TV personality. How he acts on Top Gear could be radically different to who he is (I doubt this too). The facts is, the series sells and people watch it. Who doesn't hate the TV licence? But what can we do about it?

Turn your TV off and read a book.

Even if your TV is off, you still need to buy the TV licence. As long as you have a device capable of TV program reception on the premises, it is mandatory

[hilariousandco]

He is a TV personality. How he acts on Top Gear could be radically different to who he is (I doubt this too). The facts is, the series sells and people watch it. Who doesn't hate the TV licence? But what can we do about it?

We can stop paying the licence or protest it for a start. And I don't think his TV persona is any different from the person he actually is. He's just not a PC person, but you kinda have to be nowadays if you want to work for the BBC.

[mikhael]

Yet another public body funded by another tax, lets face it, that's what the licence fee is in reality. The BBC can do what they want with the money and there is nothing we can do about it.

[Lethn]

Wtf? How do you even know he's saying 'nigger' all I heard was him mumbling ngnnr, oh well, I'm surprised the guardian even bothered picking this up.

I'm starting to think that Top Gear aren't actually racist and they're doing it to deliberately bait people like with the slope thing, does anybody remember that? They said the exact same 'racist' thing except they were doing it in a completely different context, does anybody remember the nigger sweets we had awhile back which immediately got a thread spammed awhile back? I wonder where it is now?

As others have said, there's nothing stopping you from turning off your television and just downloading what you want to watch instead, I do it myself.


..... Note to Self: When releasing manga make comments which out of context sound racist to get more free advertisement

[hilariousandco]

Wtf? How do you even know he's saying 'nigger' all I heard was him mumbling ngnnr, oh well, I'm surprised the guardian even bothered picking this up.

..... Note to Self: I'm a twat.

And what exactly do you think he was trying to say? It's quite obvious what he intended he just didn't do a good enough job of muffling it enough. http://youtu.be/nlQjdUWqBLE

[Lethn]

I hate slopes, they're annoying.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5hTp6X94vLQ/S_9YgmWRxNI/AAAAAAAAAIY/1O6iEXK4xpU/s1600/L1010772.JPG

Why, what did you think I was saying you stupid moron?

[cryptasm]

Clarkson is an absolute bellend, wouldn't mind if he got the sack.

[hilariousandco]

Clarkson is an absolute bellend, wouldn't mind if he got the sack.

James May tweeted something similar:  "Jeremy Clarkson is not a racist. He is a monumental bellend and many other things, but not a racist. I wouldn't work with one."

I'm not sure wether he'll actually get sacked. If it was anyone else they probably would but Top Gear is one of their biggest shows, but I don't know how many more times he can get in trouble for this sort of stuff.

I hate slopes, they're annoying.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5hTp6X94vLQ/S_9YgmWRxNI/AAAAAAAAAIY/1O6iEXK4xpU/s1600/L1010772.JPG

Why, what did you think I was saying you stupid moron?

What are you actually talking about?

[practicaldreamer]

Clarkson is an absolute bellend, wouldn't mind if he got the sack.

Come, come cryptasm - surely his rakish public schoolboy adolescent mastubatory up his own arse supercilious humour is well worth the £1,000,000 a year we all fork out on the bloke ?

   Jesus Christ, the PM only gets circa £150k per year

[hilariousandco]

Anyone see his pathetic apology? I guess he had to make it but it wasn't very sincere or believable and kinda laughable at several points: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8vnyP65SuA

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2619327/Clarkson-I-didnt-want-apologise-n-word-rhyme-BBC-theyve-told-Im-chance.html

Looks like he's on his final warning but I'm really surprised they've kept him and I expect there'll be a backlash. I guess Top Gear is just too valuable to them to let him go. I'm sure he'll be on his best behaviour now as he wont be able to afford losing his biggest paycheck.

[NLNico]

To be honest BBC has some great shows too. Human Planet, Planet Earth are truly amazing. And series like Have I Got News for You, QI, Little Britain, etc great humor IMO. Doctor Who, Sherlock also great series. Top Gear never got my interest though.

In Holland we mostly just have Dutch rip-offs from BBC/USA programs on the "government funded" channels. Then again, BBC def. has much more money.

[hilariousandco]

To be honest BBC has some great shows too. Human Planet, Planet Earth are truly amazing. And series like Have I Got News for You, QI, Little Britain, etc great humor IMO. Doctor Who, Sherlock also great series. Top Gear never got my interest though.

In Holland we mostly just have Dutch rip-offs from BBC/USA programs on the "government funded" channels. Then again, BBC def. has much more money.

I enjoy all of those shows out of the ones I've seen, but I also enjoy Top Gear and I have little to no interest in cars. I just find it a very entertaining show and I think a lot of other people do to. It's a very popular show worldwide and the BBC has even boasted about it being one of the most popular illegally downloaded TV shows haha.

[TrailingComet]

The licence issue has always resurfaced whenever one of the bbc fat cats steps into it
Clarkson is an egregious case of a pompous bully and fart

[hilariousandco]

http://youtu.be/WayBkPasR-M

"He's just a walking offence" - Chunkymark aka The Artist Taxi Driver's take on the situation. He always cracks me up.

[guybrushthreepwood]

The licence issue has always resurfaced whenever one of the bbc fat cats steps into it
Clarkson is an egregious case of a pompous bully and fart

I wonder if they'll ever stop the liscence fee? I really wish people would just boycott it en mass. That's the only way anything will ever change. They cant penalise everyone and if people just stopped paying it then they'll surely get the message, but as usual people don't really care and just pay it and get on with their lives.

[yatsey87]

The licence issue has always resurfaced whenever one of the bbc fat cats steps into it
Clarkson is an egregious case of a pompous bully and fart

I wonder if they'll ever stop the liscence fee? I really wish people would just boycott it en mass. That's the only way anything will ever change. They cant penalise everyone and if people just stopped paying it then they'll surely get the message, but as usual people don't really care and just pay it and get on with their lives.

I don't understand why we're forced to pay for the licence at all. They should just get their money from advertisements or privatise it instead. There just seems to be so many fuck ups with the BBC as of late and we foot the bill. Some of the salaries they pay people lark Clarkson are ridiculous.

[hilariousandco]

The licence issue has always resurfaced whenever one of the bbc fat cats steps into it
Clarkson is an egregious case of a pompous bully and fart

I wonder if they'll ever stop the liscence fee? I really wish people would just boycott it en mass. That's the only way anything will ever change. They cant penalise everyone and if people just stopped paying it then they'll surely get the message, but as usual people don't really care and just pay it and get on with their lives.

I don't understand why we're forced to pay for the licence at all. They should just get their money from advertisements or privatise it instead. There just seems to be so many fuck ups with the BBC as of late and we foot the bill. Some of the salaries they pay people lark Clarkson are ridiculous.

Both are valid options and I'd be happy if they both were acted on or implemented, but I can't see a point anytime soon where the license fee is scrapped, as much as I'd like it to. Most people don't seem to be happy with paying it, but don't care enough to not, but every time something like this happens the case gets brought up again to scrap it.