Jeremy Clarkson suspended from the BBC...

paulads

ICBM said:

paulads said:

is it ok to assault someone if you think they might be going to assault you?

In some circumstances, yes. The law agrees with this.

paulads said:

is throwing a punch a reasonable response to someone throwing an egg?

Maybe not if you have longer to think about it, but it was still a provocation. The law agrees with this too.

I could be wrong but I think the police did investigate and decided not to take it any further. Although you also have to ask what were they doing allowing it to happen at all, considering it was a senior member of the government and the thrower *could* have had something more dangerous than an egg.

Not at all the same as punching someone in the course of a sustained unprovoked verbal and physical assault when the other person is not retaliating.

paulads said:

one got assaulted for providing a bite to eat and the other got assaulted for failing to provide a bite to eat

lol

i very much doubt Prescott's safety was ever under threat...he must have had security with him...

As for provocation...deciding to take the step towards physical violence at someone is obviously escalating things...so i'd assume Mr Prescott was fairly confident in what he was doing.

They do say that attack is the best form of defence...but that's more "grandstand" than "panorama"

The law is one thing...my point was about the standards that an employer finds acceptable...be it the Government, or the Electorate or a Broadcasting Corporation.

The issue of a sustained assault is interesting...the first punch is free, perhaps? 

And if i was going to assault someone i doubt i'd throw an egg across their bows except perhaps as a warning shot.

And it could indeed have been something more dangerous than an egg...a rotten egg, for example...or an EGGstremely well-disguised hand grenade...complete with yolk and everything.

have another smile...and cheers for the interesting exchange :-)

Heartfeltdawn

Fretwired said:

Top Gear doesn't need Jeremy Clarkson. It needs a woman ... says bellend who works for the Torygraph who has no idea what the appeal of Top Gear is .. three middled un-PC blokes cannot be replaced by some posh totty.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11499449/Jeremy-Clarkson-Top-Gear-doesnt-need-you.-It-needs-a-woman.html

Clarkson = Repton School student. Posh totty replaces posh totty. 

Heartfeltdawn

paulads said:

is throwing a punch a reasonable response to someone throwing an egg?

Yes. An attack with an egg is classed as common assault. 

paulads

Heartfeltdawn said:

paulads said:

is throwing a punch a reasonable response to someone throwing an egg?

Yes. An attack with an egg is classed as common assault. 

Would Clarkson have been sacked for throwing an egg at the producer, then?

richardhomer

paulads;576135" said:

Would Clarkson have been sacked for throwing an egg at the producer, then?

Depends on how many minutes it had been boiled for.

holnrew

Next week on the fretboard, find out how Mao wasn't a bad guy really.

XWulfhere

dissapointed they're not showing Tom and Jerry instead

Heartfeltdawn

holnrew said:

Next week on the fretboard, find out how Mao wasn't a bad guy really.

Ever seen Mao throwing eggs at people?

ICBM

Wulfhere said:

dissapointed they're not showing Tom and Jerry instead

Just like Top Gear, also somewhat politically incorrect in places.

But Tom & Jerry is funny.

Philly_Q

Wulfhere said:

dissapointed they're not showing Tom and Jerry instead

I'm amazed they're not showing a couple of episodes of the all-purpose standby programme.... Coast.

lloyd

Loobs;575125" said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_controversies

Read this.

What a trio of utter bellends. 

Just a bit of high jinx with the lads surely?

Or 3 cunts stuck in the 70's that think that shits acceptable, can only imagine the hilarious jokes that go on off camera if that's what went on in front of it.

Pretty shit that none of it got pulled up in any serious way-money more important than ethics I guess?

Typical British xenophobic attitude to anything different to us.....and saying it's all just a laugh is bollocks...that's what we said about love thy neighbour and Jim Davidson...

Anyone who watched and laughed at that shit or was an apologist can fuck off too....

holnrew

It's modern libertarianism, rich men have more rights than those who hold them up.

Adam_MD

holnrew;576695" said:

It's modern libertarianism, rich men have more rights than those who hold them up.

Rich people always have more rights, not just here but everywhere. It's just how it works.

Samgb

Heartfeltdawn said:

Cirrus said:

Thing is, I actually really like Top Gear, and the 'Jezza' character I know from the show (remember, we only know a character put on for the Cameras!) entertains me greatly. I'm dissapointed all this happened because I enjoy the show a lot! Personally I'd love to live in a world where amusing middle aged men could walk about making puns about slopes and the n-word and get in a barmy with a collegue before they both laugh it off and mend it all with a few pints together. But we don't live in that world yet - people like Clarkson, whether they like it or not, do influence how people out there in the real world think and act. They have, whether they like it or not, some responsibility in shaping how society thinks.

I'd love to live in a world where everyone was emotionally and mentally strong enough, with healthy enough egos and a secure and confident place is society, that Clarkson could walk down the street hurling abuse at, say, black people or mexicans or truck drivers while people of every race and character could watch on and laugh at the absurdity of his comedic stylings. But we don't live in that world, and opinions of that nature can hit home in damaging ways.

Which is why, when someone launches an unprovoked assault at a coworker, I think it's important that they face the consequences regardless of how "important" they are - both in the interests of fairness, and because of the message it sends. I think that just because a decision may seem to have 'political' ramifications (Bloody left wing namby BBC firing outspoken Tory etc), that doesn't mean it's not also the right decision based purely on the facts at hand.

Hear hear. 

I like Top Gear. I like Clarkson and May. The final 3 or 4 series have been shite. The BBC did the right thing. 

Fixed that for you!

Samgb

richardhomer said:

paulads;576135" said:

Would Clarkson have been sacked for throwing an egg at the producer, then?

Depends on how many minutes it had been boiled for.

Is a soft one more offensive than a hard one?

Samgb

Samgb said:

richardhomer said:

paulads;576135" said:

Would Clarkson have been sacked for throwing an egg at the producer, then?

Depends on how many minutes it had been boiled for.

Is a soft one more offensive than a hard one?

Er...let me rephrase that...

richardhomer

^ I think I'd rather have a soft one....

koneguitarist

lloyd said:

Loobs;575125" said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_controversies

Read this.

What a trio of utter bellends. 

Just a bit of high jinx with the lads surely?

Or 3 cunts stuck in the 70's that think that shits acceptable, can only imagine the hilarious jokes that go on off camera if that's what went on in front of it.

Pretty shit that none of it got pulled up in any serious way-money more important than ethics I guess?

Typical British xenophobic attitude to anything different to us.....and saying it's all just a laugh is bollocks...that's what we said about love thy neighbour and Jim Davidson...

Anyone who watched and laughed at that shit or was an apologist can fuck off too....

I laughed like hell at it at the time, you are obviously a youngster brought up in a different time. Take a look back at Love thy Neighbour etc, it's all on YouTube and tell me who always came off worse? It was funny and of a time, trouble is we have forgotten what humour is all about. Making people laugh and forgetting their shit jobs, strikes etc. top gear was entertainment, some will say they did not find it funny, like some prefer Michael McIntyre to Billy Connoly or Tommy Cooper to Lee Evans, but it always had a lot of people tune in. I am in no way a petrol head but I watched it. Did you not have a remote or something?

Heartfeltdawn

koneguitarist said:

I laughed like hell at it at the time, you are obviously a youngster brought up in a different time. Take a look back at Love thy Neighbour etc, it's all on YouTube and tell me who always came off worse? It was funny and of a time, trouble is we have forgotten what humour is all about. Making people laugh and forgetting their shit jobs, strikes etc.

The problem isn't that people forgot what humour is all about. It's that lots of white chaps never knew what racism was about.

boogieman

Heartfeltdawn;576816" said:

The problem isn't that people forgot what humour is all about. It's that lots of white chaps never knew what racism was about.

True that. I had Jamaican neighbours from when I was 8. Never thought there was anything offensive about my friends saying that they were monkeys and ate Chappie dog food, it was just accepted wisdom at the time (early 60s). It was only when I became friends with the neighbour's kid and realised how stupid these remarks were that I challenged anyone over it. Even then I was treated as some sort of oddball, softy, liberal twat.