Jody McIntyre and the Descent of the BBC

 

Below we show an interview with Jody McIntyre, a disabled protestor who was attacked by the police. The interview borders on the comic as the interviewer seems to show their political leanings and seems to grapple with common sense. The clip shows the extent to which BBC reporting has descended and challenges the assertion that the Tory-Liberal government is ‘centre-right’. As before we see the police being politicised in times of social struggle. It’s interesting to note Jody’s assertion that the attack could have been part of a tactic to provoke and incite.

As Iain Mcwhirter has written: “The 2010 student uprising is the biggest show of popular discontent since the poll tax demonstrations twenty years ago.  The poll tax became law too, but not for long. Mass protests made the law unworkable, and its author, Margaret Thatcher, was brought down by her own cabinet in large part because of the unpopularity of the community charge.    The students can do the same.  They have lost the parliamentary battle, but won the argument.”

To make a complaint against Ben Brown go here: BBC Complaints.

The different approach to free higher education in Scotland should be seen as something to aspire to and fight for and we show solidarity with our friends in other parts of the UK as they fight for long established rights.

Both the SNP and the Scottish Green Party are now offering free membership to students.

Angus Robertson said: “From the 10th of December through to Christmas Day, all students wishing to join the SNP can do so for free. The shameful action by LibDem and Tory MPs at Westminster yesterday evening will hit students not just in England but will also have a detrimental effect to universities and students here in Scotland.” More here.

The Scottish Greens are doing the same, see more here. Patrick Harvie MSP sdaid:

Patrick Harvie MSP said:

“Their (Lib Dem) Ministers have abandoned their most prominent pledge to the public, and they are making future generations of students pay the price for an economic crisis they did not cause. This is an extraordinary breach of trust, and one that will not be forgiven.

“The protests today are not just about education, but are also a challenge to the Coalition’s ideological assault on the poorest in society.”

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  1. David McCann says:

    Absolutely shameful. Ben Brown was surely schooled at BBC Scotland, Pacific Quay, where being obnoxious, especially to Scottish Government ministers, has been honed to a fine art. Its time they were taken down a peg or two. But well done Jody for not being intimidated by this so called journalist, who should be questioning the Commissioner of Police, and not a brave man in a wheelchair.

  2. Davie Park says:

    Hmmm… not sure about this one. I’m not surprised to see a news interviewer playing devils advocate. It certainly gave Mr McIntyre a chance to get over his point of view – which he did very eloquently.
    However, when he tried to move the conversation to other issues, Palestine for example, he just gave viewers a chance to stereotype him (as well as coming across as a bit bumptious).
    Interesting to note that the interviewer implies that a necessary part of being a revolutionary is commiting acts of violence.

  3. Siôn Jones says:

    I thought that Jody McIntyre got by far the best of that encounter! Well done him!

  4. Doug Daniel says:

    That’s quite stunning. A supposed professional journalist – presumably well educated – actually trying to suggest that a man with cerebral palsy, in a wheelchair, could pose some sort of threat to the police. When he asked if Jody had been throwing things, it was hard to believe I wasn’t watching a Chris Morris news spoof.

    And that tells you a lot about the standard of journalism we are having to put up with these days. When he was writing down his questions, did he not think to himself “wait, am I really suggesting that a man who can’t move about unassisted can throw heavy objects at the police? What am I doing?” No thought process, just sticking to the script: police good, protesters bad. It’s this same mindless processes that permeate through every corner of Pacific Quay, where the script they all stick to is Union good, independence bad.

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