11/02/2008

Here's something to get outraged about!

Hello,
There I was round at my mothers leafing through the Daily Mail when I found myself somewhat surprisingly moved to tears by an article involving the antics of the Duchess of York and her offspring. Truly I started reading with a sneer and ended with a chastened whimper.

The programme follows Fergie and co going undercover to expose the appalling conditions the disabled are kept in ,in Turkish orphanages. I shall spare you the details here but suffice to say if animals were being treated in this way even the most unsentimental member of the Countryside Alliance would be distraught.

I was re-reading the article online because I couldn't believe it the first time and came across this quote from quite possibly the sanest Daily Mail reader alive;

'Thankyou for making us aware of this, I sincerely hope that Sarah and Beatrice between them can make some difference, it's awful to think that whilst us in the west are watching the x factor and crying moral outrage over Brand and Ross there are children and teenagers living like this, where are the 30,000 objections over these poor children? Goodness, it certainly brings home what is important.'

In that spirit I'd like to challenge all 30,000 of the retrospective Ross/Brand complainers to tune into the Tonight programme this week on 06/11/08 9pm ITV1 for a really offensive broadcast and devote the same time energy and outrage to doing something to help these abused, vulnerable disabled children and adults who unlike Andrew Sachs and Georgina Baillie have no one to speak up for them nor any means of defending themselves. Why don't all 30,000 of you up there on the moral high ground put your position to good use and make a complaint each to The Turkish Embassy about the barbaric, inexcusable and evil treatment of the disabled? The Embassy can be emailed here or written to at Turkish Embassy, 43 Belgrave Square, London, SW1X 8PA. Go on if you can spare the time for a wealthy actor and a well paid hooker then surely the defence of the genuinely abused won't be too much of a chore.

Before any bore starts I am aware that we do have problems in the UK and I support any attempt to solve those -hence why I do voluntary work and harass MPs, MSPs and councillors. It's just that on balance I regard mentally disabled children and adults left in dirty nappies eating their own shit in filthy run down hovels evil. I would also point out that Turkey are on course to join the EU and we show no signs of making an exit therefore our cash will be heading in that direction. That is on top of the money we bring to the country as tourists.

We've heard plenty from people who feel that being forced to pay the license fee should buy them the right not to be offended by the telly and wireless. Perhaps the same folk might care to get slightly outraged at our financial contribution to a society that tolerates state sponsorship of child cruelty and neglect.

Perhaps I'm being unduly pessimistic but I doubt the admin staff at the Turkish Embassy will be doing much overtime. If there is any comment on this programme it will be pointless debates about whether or not Fergie really cares about the issue at hand, is just doing it to get on telly or is trying to be Diana. Personally I couldn't care less what her motives are, though for the record I find it hard to believe any sane human being let alone a mother of two could witness such suffering and not be distressed by it. I'm no monarchist but if these titled baubles have any use at all it's bringing a bit of credibility and publicity to a cause -hence why most charities fall over themselves to secure royal patronage.

I'd prefer to see 60 million complaints but I'd settle for 30,000. I've emailed mine through and will be following it up with a letter. So once again I challenge the 30,000 righteous to set a good moral example to the nation.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

where are the 30,000 objections over these poor children?

To whom should they object? Might I suggest that license payers demand to know why there is no coverage of this issue by the BBC? Of course, this might have something to do with the fact that the BBC have recently made a number of journalists redundant, some of whom were probably foreign correspondents. But we know where their priorities lie, don't we?

Clairwil said...

Well I suggested above they object to The Turkish Embassy. I still think it's a good starting point.

Any human being paid six million a year is overpaid whether they make crank calls or not.

I should imagine the priority of the BBC staff is lining their own pockets and advancing their careers. As indeed it was before anyone fucked Ms Baillie. The BBC might at the higher levels be a bunch of fat cats but as blights on the consience go it's a bit lower on the list than horrifically abused children.

Anonymous said...

Well, that's a given. The connection between the two issues is that, over the past decade, current affairs coverage on the BBC has been cut to the bone, while spending on 'entertainment' has increased. The story of Turkish orphans would have once been investigated by a programme like panorama ( a programme, incidentally, that has been reduced to half hour on a Monday evening). Was it even covered at all on the BBC? I bet, even if it was, it was relegated to From Our Own Correspondent with the wonderful Kate Adie. (I'll bet she never got paid 6 million.)

Boycotting Turkey as a holiday destination would be a better move.