Ben Gracewood, explaining why he took a stand and quit his Breakfast TV gig rather than ‘condone racism’:
So when I read this morning that a Breakfast presenter [Paul Henry] has made yet another trolling statement (this time barely veiled racism), I decided I’ve had enough. Previously I’ve had to be circumspect about my responses to his statements, but I’m fucking sick of it. I love our multicultural, vibrant country to death, and anyone who would like to foment racism simply for a laugh or to get more viewers can take a jump.
For the record: I think Paul is an intelligent guy who does an incredibly difficult job making up crap to say for 2.5 hours every morning, with producers talking in his ear. This makes his comments even more abhorrent in my mind: I believe it’s premeditated.
Ben Gracewood's blog - the comments are worth reading as a straw poll (click)
“I do not wish to appear to condone his perspectives by my inaction.”
Yes, he seems to understand this:
Paul Henry went too far this time. He and his main co-host Pippa Wetzell are intelligent people, and they put together an excellent TV show. However sometimes Paul is entertaining, sometimes he is downright rude and sometimes in the eyes of many he crosses the line – that’s what gets viewers and an audience. His comments on our nations Governor General and one of our finest citizens crossed the line to me and were completely and utterly disgraceful. Ben Gracewood has voted with his feet.
I have blogged my opinion on Paul Henry and “shock jocks” and support for Sir Anand Satyanand on my website here: http://www.davidwhitburn.com/2010/10/paul-henry-nzs-shock-jock-goes-too-far-this-time/
Here’s hoping Paul Henry takes a couple of weeks out to reflect on what he said, where he is going with comments like this, and discusses closely with TVNZ and in particular the Breakfast producers what he can and can’t say. We shouldn’t be so PC as to not have the odd laugh, but as a nation of immigrants (a friend with a BA in New Zealand Maori history once told me the Maori people were thought to have first settled around 1200AD just over 800 years ago, so technically they too are not truly “indigenous people” under the UN definition), lets celebrate the cultural beauty and ethnic diversification we are truly blessed with – particularly in Auckland.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts David.
After watching the mashup on the NZ Herald website,
(http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1502728&gallery_id=114354)
I have to say I judged him pretty harshly. I don’t watch Breakfast TV, but have seen his ‘straight’ act on Close-Up etc.
His laughing-at-my-own-hilarious-jokes-who’s-a-clever-bully-boy-then? schtick and pursuit of offensive garbage in the face of pleading by his co-workers to not denigrate people leaves me cold.
Yeah, “I’m anti-PC” isn’t a license to be a dick. – P