BAIBS Monday 04/11/13

I try and keep both this blog and the show light hearted but every now and then something crops up that can't be ignored. This morning was one such occasion and I'll be honest it's peed me right off!

It's that time of year when narrow minded sheep get all protective about Christmas and someone posted on facebook this morning a headline from a paper stating 'Council ban Christmas so as not to offend Muslims.' It's ludicrous nonsense and blatantly untrue. It didn't mention which paper had printed it though the typeface did look very Daily Mailish. Sadly far too many people buy into this bullshit and the despicable BNP prey on just such stories. I refused to let it pass and posted the following status on the breakfast show's page:

If you're gonna post crap about Christmas being banned cos it offends Muslims please get the f**k off my friends list and come back when you've got an education

I then received a text from my boss at Sine asking me to soften it a bit as he was fending off a twitter complaint about it and the show's facebook page does come under the Sine FM banner. I removed any hint of swearing but left the status up and proceeded to find the twitter complaint. The tweet was from Radio Watcher and said is this the kind of message a community radio station should be putting out? 

I tweeted them myself asking if it was the content or the language they'd took offence at and got the reply that they'd not took offence and that it was just a question. To me that reads 'I'm gonna stay right here on the fence, didn't think there'd be any follow up to it and this is a real cop out'.

Anyway I tweeted back that I stood by my statement and as a community radio station surely it is our duty to be vocal about narrow minded bigots, to encourage community and to at least try and educate. I got no reply to that but I'll be honest it had got me riled and was preying on my mind all throughout the second half of the show. 

I appreciate that while anything I say or write is obviously my own view I do have a duty to Sine Fm not to offend. But if, albeit maybe not in the most articulate of ways, speaking out against bigots and racism is unacceptable then we have a very major problem on our hands. I should say that my bosses at Sine fully backed the sentiment of the post but I should be aware of how people view certain things and any anger I'm feeling is not directed at Sine FM at all 

I can't describe how much this has got to me. I'm gonna have a couple of days mulling.

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'

Laters

SS

Playlist Monday 04/11/13

The Mighty Ship - The Housemartins

Fictional State - To Kill A King

Walk - Foo Fighters

She Bangs The Drums - The Stone Roses

Rise - PIL

Drinkin' My Whisky - Slug The Nightwatchman

Honky Tonk Woman - The Rolling Stones

Good Enough - Dodgy

Teenage Kicks - The Undertones

American Dream - Beast

Someone's Looking At You - The Boomtown Rats

The Love Cats - The Cure

Good Morning Britain - Aztec Camera ft. Mick Jones

Jump - Van Halen

Cure - The Missing Pages (Happy Birthday Kieran)

Goodbye Life - Famous Villains

Since Yesterday - Strawberry Switchblade

Elysium - Section 60

When Doves Cry - Prince

Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac

After Hours - We Are Scientists

Antarctica - Sound Of Guns

Kid - The Pretenders

Black And White Town - Doves

I See You, You See Me - The Magic Numbers

Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols

Are You In Love With A Notion - The Courteeners

Layla - Derek And The Dominoes

The Great Leap Forward - Billy Bragg (for Radio Watcher)

Sparky's Dream - Teenage Fanclub

The Cutter - Echo And The Bunnymen

The Bartender And The Thief - Stereophonics

Faces - Ratells

Another Nail In My Heart - Squeeze

Cool For Cats - Squeeze

Ma And Pa - Fishbone

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want - The Smiths

Egyptian Reggae - Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers