In the news

Yep, agree.

I wanted to say the same thing. We'll have headlines saying "ANGRY Protestors want to BAN Fawlty Towers for NON-PC language". Hooray, the issue of systematic racism boiled down to a trivial culture war non-issue that turns popular opinion against you. I wish people had learned from the backfiring XR train stunt.

Fucking Earth is a big ball of shite covered in dickheads

It's also worth remembering that no one involved in BLM has asked, or is really bothered by the TV shows being taken down, it's a distraction if anything, their goals are much broader. Most of this is being done because white people in charge feel it could be a bit dodgy and they feel uncomfortable about it and it shows them to be doing something, even if that something isn't really helpful. There's also the position that it winds up people who are in support of BLMs actual goals but distracting them with their beloved Fawlty towers being removed gives the right wing press something to dig in to, and changes the conversation from what's important, to stuff that really isn't.

I agree that things like TV series are marginal, should be addressed in some way at some point (although with satirical comedy it's often a bit of a problem that to be hard-hitting it will be partly tasteless and it will be prone to being misunderstood where the writer's sympathies lie; just look at the way in which the 'don't mention the war' sketch has often been misunderstood as being a joke on the Germans and not on Basil Fawlty), but are currently a distraction and not at all a priority if the campaign(s) want(s) to keep momentum.

I read the other day that people had drawn up a list of about 80 statues that need to have something done with them. I'd say forget statues at the moment; the Bristol action was a good, mould-breaking moment, but the worst thing that can happen now is if it's endlessly repeated and made routine. It is important symbolism that it happened, but it's been done and now it's time for something else. I don't know what this will be (proper institutional change, e.g. the Metropolitan Police perhaps), but if they just try to fight battles about statues it'll all run into the sand quickly. I'm sure there are already people doing other, better things, so hopefully they will get heard in the press, and the image- and sensation-minded press (including the section of the press that is probably already thinking of ways of killing it all off again) won't get the chance to spin it all off into distractions.

Reading this I do wonder if there is an element of sweeping it under the carpet from the creators in a way. To keep something available to people but opening out with an explanation would be very much standing up and accepting you were wrong. However, if they remove the program completely they have a small amount of 'that program has a lot of issues' but then it is quickly gone and they can move on with their lives and effectively ignore it themselves. In the example of Little Britain say, if the BBC were to remove it from everything then it's just gone, and in a weeks time that's it. The creators, those involved elsewhere and the people who were in charge of commissioning it never really stand up and accept that they have done something wrong, and don't have to cringe every time they see a clip they created or were involved with have such a note at the start. They just sit back and continue tweeting about their new children's book.

Just an aside, who wanted the programmes removed. This wasn’t covered on any news I heard.