How fairly do you think the Guardian handled "subspecies-gate"
- Thread starter Maurice E
- Start date
Exactly. This article sums it up.
“Did you see the thing on the news about their treatment of animals and animal welfare? Absolutely horrific. You can’t help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies.”
The holier-than-thou hacks at the Guardian took these forty words in the Weekend supplement and turned them into a thousand word headline article on page three of the main paper. They got a chappee at Love Music Hate Racism to be scandalised and morally affronted, and some mate of theirs who’s a music journalist to say nothing much.
The journalist, Alexandra Topping, failed to get a comment from anybody Chinese, neither a government representative nor a private individual. This was a serious and almost pathetic omission. It appears the Guardian deems it right to take offence on behalf of others - even though it can't get a quote to say those third parties are actually offended.
Yet Morrissey’s words were easy to decipher. He used extreme phrasing to highlight the specific problem of China and animal welfare. To explode it into something else, a racist comment, was cringingly small-minded and absurd: the sort of behaviour the Guardian would no doubt condemn in the News of the World.
It's all about selling papers.
Raphael Lambach
Well-Known Member
I found this article (in Portuguese) which Morrissey's said he's not gonna make any retraction. But I don't remember of reading 'bout that in anywhere.
http://virgula.uol.com.br/ver/notic...e-retratar-apos-chamar-chineses-de-subespecie
We could say that Guardian behaved like NME
http://virgula.uol.com.br/ver/notic...e-retratar-apos-chamar-chineses-de-subespecie
We could say that Guardian behaved like NME
I read this about the non retraction.....but not sure to whom the further statement was made?
Morrissey, 51, has since clarified his stance and defended his view in a further statement, saying he feels the Asian country - the largest in the world with an estimated population of 1.3 billion - is not a "caring nation" because of its track record in treating animals.
The statement read: "If anyone has seen the horrific and unwatchable footage of the Chinese cat and dog trade - animals skinned alive - then they could not possibly argue in favour of China as a caring nation.
"There are no animal protection laws in China and this results in the worst animal abuse and cruelty on the planet. It is indefensible."
Raphael Lambach
Well-Known Member
I don't know the source of this "non retraction statement" then, I am not sure if it's true.
Oh, it was to the Guardian I think. It was mentioned in the Alexandra Topping article. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/03/morrissey-china-subspecies-racism
Raphael Lambach
Well-Known Member
Exactly from that.
D
Dave
Guest
How is that quote racist?
Raphael Lambach
Well-Known Member
Great....
Theo
Active Member
That's not the racist quote, as you already knew....
troubleluvsme
giddyup
This is why I still love Theo.
platypus
New Member
I know, right?
D
Dave
Guest
Okay, I'm supposed to know what you meant, rather than going by the words you chose, even though you are purposely using quotes and making charges of racism. But Morrissey doesn't get any leeway from you for what may have been an offhand remark, when you had time to compose that message and go find the (apparently wrong) quote.
Moving on, how is the quote that you didn't use, when you mentioned a racist quote and posted that instead, racist?
Theo
Active Member
Stop being annoying. His racist remark was referred to in the very next sentence. You know, where you very intentionally decided to cut when quoting me. It's also mentioned a million other times in all these other threads, and I directly quoted it elsewhere in this thread. You're just trolling me, making me do a tedious reply to you. Sorry, I should have put "Morrissey said this in defense of his racist statement" before I posted that other quote. I'll go change it now so you can stop trolling me, okay?
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Theo
Active Member
There, Dave, ya happy? Still a troll....
D
Dave
Guest
You're late to the party trying to stir things up when most people are getting bored with it. I'm just looking for an explanation. How is a remark about China racist?
I really feel that the level of annoyance about this topic means it has run it's course so if you want to talk about who is trolling we can do that somewhere besides the main page.
I really feel that the level of annoyance about this topic means it has run it's course so if you want to talk about who is trolling we can do that somewhere besides the main page.
The angle of the article clearly is not fair in my opinion, if by fair we mean an attempt to include pros as well as contras. It simply lists previous controversial episodes, the effect of which is to make a case for "no smoke without fire". It omits mentioning several things that would have been very natural to include in a balanced piece, such as the fact that NME apologised over their whole front page for having interpreted many of the statements the Guardin simply refer as racist. Instead, extraordinarily, they just say that Morrissey sued them for it, as if the case was still open. The article amounts to simply listing accusations and the statements the accusations refer to.
It could only have been more slanted if it hadn't tried to pretend it wasn't. A despicable piece of writing, in my opinion.
cheers
dcn
Junior Member
Tracy, no need to backpedal. You were spot on with your original assessment noted above. Anyone that reads into that comment any sort of racism is looking for it. Tracy, you, I and a multitude of others realize he didn't mean every single Chinese person. It's a tad disingenuous to suggest otherwise. I'd go so far as to suggest they are indifferent to the suffering of the animals that he was clearly making the point of the comment. That I find sad.
Ella
New Member
No fewer than 17. I think they did their best to create a media shitstorm. To some degree, they've succeeded. Someone somewhere is gleefully spinning in his/her desk chair.
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