If you have something to say, then you should say it. I believe that wholeheartedly. I'm a proponent of free speech, and hold particular sway with the words of Voltaire, in that "I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write."
There are of course opinions I disagree with. I don't need however to stamp down on peoples access to voice these opinions. I am capable of holding my own in discourse, and getting my point across, and also compromising where there is a compromise to be found. I know sometimes as well, that I will be the one who expresses an opinion that others disagree with, that might not be popular, but I'll stand by it. I won't hide behind pseudonyms like some childish cyber warrior, I'll say what I have to and be damned for it if needs be. Which brings me to the crux of this particular rant.
Last month, the BBC appointed Cerrie Burnell to host 'Do and Discover' on the CBeebies channel. Cerrie is an actress who's enjoyed success both on TV and the stage prior to her appointment, so her credentials cannot be called ino question. What has been called into question however, is if she is suitable to be on children's TV.
Cerrie's problem it seems, is that she was born with just one arm. Obviously this has not hampered her drive, ambition or talent, as she has strived to forge a career, but what it has hampered is peoples conceptions.
On the BBC forum there have been posts suggesting that Cerrie might scare children, even one who worried that it would cause their child to have nightmares and could have "possibly caused sleep problems," for the kid. There has also been the cynical suggestion that appointment was only borne from political correctness, and done to show the Beeb in a good light.
Not content with airing their concerns there however, there have been nine official complaints made to the BBC. That's nine people who found themselves so incensed that they had to actively get in touch with the channel, presumably with the end aim of removing Ms. Burnell from her job, after all, if that wasn't their intent, what was?
I've always believed that as viewers, as consumers of the media we have a choice what we watch, which is why for the large part, I disagree with people complaining about things on the telly that don't appeal to their individual tastes. In this case then, the parents should simply have stopped their children watching the programme. It would of course then become their responsibility to explain why, and I've no doubt them telling their children "You can't watch it, she's only got one arm," would have been out of the question as it would have highlighted the foolishness of their stance.
This to me is beyond appalling. Society today is supposed to be understanding of affliction, of disability, and of so many other things that go into making the human race a varied and intriguing bunch. How can people declared fit to bring up children, think it's fit to hold such prejudicial views. What is it that has scared their children, and more importantly, what is it that has scared them?
In this case, I don't believe there will have been many children who have been that affected by this, if at all any. We often forget that children are a hell of a lot more resilient than we'd like to give them credit for. Even if they were scared, then we should remember kids get scared of a lot of things. A sensible parent will explain to their child the irrationality of their fear. They will attempt to ease it, to confront it, rather than remove it and let it lie dormant. This is what these parents have so gloriously failed to do. They have failed in their repsonsibility to their children, in their duties as parents.
What should happen now however, is that these parents should take credit for their complaints. The BBC should be given the power to list the names of every complainant that gets in touch, starting with these nine half wits. If they have the gumption to try and get a woman sacked for nothing more than being disabled, then they should be willing to stand up and take the flack for their shortsightedness and their militant discrimination.
Either that, or they should be forced to watch the Paralympics. That should cause enough fear in them to enduce a good sized heart attack.
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