One of the presenters of the highly-rated BBC show 'Top Gear' has reportedly been found to have mumbled the word 'nigger' in some out takes of an episode several years ago when reciting the children's rhyme 'Eenie, meenie, miney, moe..'...
He has recorded what appears to be a genuine and sincere apology, which has quite predictably, not placated his critics...
....the fact that he supposedly mumbled it twice, before completely changing it on the third take seems to suggest he is NOT a racist, that he WAS aware that that particular word is now verbotten, and that he had tried to make sure that neither of those takes made it to air...
Of course if he had wanted to avoid the controversy entirely he could have simply just not mumbled that word at all, and used something else...
On this occasion, and because like it or not the word 'nigger' is in the original rhyme - for fucks sake I grew up saying it along with millions of other small British children - I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt...
But his earlier 'slope' remark that also generated more than a little justifiable outrage, was completely out of order. Top Gear producers have subsequently admitted that they KNEW that 'slope' was a racist term, but that they were using it in a "light-hearted" manner...Ah, so that makes it alright you see?
Not so much.
To sum up, Clarkson is a deliberately confrontational, self-important, obnoxious, knuckle-dragging, 20th century throwback conservative...but i don't believe he is a racist. I think he is simply a Grade-A moron.
And I don't think he should be punished for that.
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