Dancing on graves is what journalists do

21 October 2009

There’s no need for Jan Moir to apologise for speculating about the death of the boy-band singer Stephen Gately says Rod Liddle. Why have we become so censorious and hysterical?

I suspect there was not one person in Britain who, upon hearing the sad news about Gately, did not — even if the thought were quickly banished to the back of their mind — think likewise. I suspect that most of the columnists who complained about Moir’s piece — and these include some of the most fabulously stupid people in Britain — will have had that idea at the front of their minds immediately. But it remained unsaid, apart from by ordinary people.

Moir’s article provoked swift and misplaced allegations of homophobia against the author; but her comments were homophobic only if you subscribe to the homophobic view that all homosexuals have the sort of lifestyle enjoyed by a minority of homosexual celebrities. The Guardian’s Charlie Brooker — so funny and acute when writing about television, so sententious, dull and out of his depth when writing about anything else — suggested that Moir was ‘dancing on the grave’ of Gately ‘for money’. As of course, by extension, was Brooker himself. Dance away, Charlie, mate: it’s what we do. Those twin pillars of British journalistic idiocy, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Janet Street-Porter — the latter of whom has never yet said or done anything for the benefit, enlightenment, amusement or entertainment of the human race — weighed in with their polystyrene cudgels. Yasmin even linked the Moir article to a perceived failure of the British press to report how absolutely bloody awful the fascist state of Israel is. No, really, just take my word for it; you will not be any better off if you read her characteristically incoherent article. Anyway, there are demands that Moir should apologise, that the Daily Mail should apologise, probably that we all should apologise. As you might imagine, Stephen F***ing Fry has become involved.

I do not much like the mindset of the Daily Mail; it seems to me a sour and vengeful and narrow place to inhabit — an arid, airless planet. Also, it uses the sort of language and sentence construction in its headlines last seen just before the Festival of Britain. But if columnists are to have any use at all, other than simply to entertain, then it is surely to have the bravery to say what cannot, in polite company, be said; either to give a voice to a mass opinion which is in some way samizdat and unnaturally repressed, or perhaps to defy the consensus entirely and risk censure for so doing. It seems to me that Moir did the first of those admirably and that there was a kernel of truth to her article. We will find out how much truth in time, I suppose.

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A. MacAulay

October 22nd, 2009 11:11am Report this comment

As I never read the Mail, nor have ever heard of the late Mr Gately until now, I'm not sure why Jan Moir isn't being accused of racism for implying that the Spanish authorities are not to be trusted. Along the lines of "Dr Dago does a deal".

As for the homophobia, it is as clear as day when one looks at the Christopher St. Day celebrations that all those Art Historians, Interior Designers and Stylists are perfectly serious, sane, hard working citizens and to impute otherwise is to reveal a low spiritual coarsness and unfeeling humourlesness of mind.

KindnessofWomen

October 22nd, 2009 4:00pm Report this comment

Rod, love the distinction you draw between the double-barrelled duumvirate Alibhai-Brown and Street-Porter. The implication being that somewhere along the line the former did in fact say or do something for the benefit, enlightenment, amusement or entertainment of the human race. Would you care to enlighten us as to what this might have been?

Incidentally, folks, did you know that the literal meaning of the name 'Alibhai' is 'street porter'? (It isn't really, of course, but wouldn't it be great if it was?)

logdon

October 22nd, 2009 5:05pm Report this comment

KindnessofWomen
October 22nd, 2009 4:00pm Report this comment

Actually it translates to...

Come here as a refugee of Amin's Ugandan purge. Be, in other words something that jews were denied in the Thirties. Accept that enormous privilege as an absolute right. Then to slag it off to your hearts content whilst still being a guest of fashionable Metropolitan salons.

Noa Zrk

October 22nd, 2009 9:52pm Report this comment

"Janet Street-Porter — the latter of whom has never yet said or done anything for the benefit, enlightenment, amusement or entertainment of the human race..".
What, don't you like J S-P Rod?. Stout fellow!

Worthing

October 23rd, 2009 5:05pm Report this comment

As a libertarian I defend Moir's right to free speech and as a libertine I couldn't care less about Stephen Gately's lifestyle, but as a piece of exegesis of Moir's column you are wrong: she was clearly talking about a 'gay lifestyle' and not a 'celebrity lifestyle'. As far as everybody thinking that his death was unnatural, how do you know? Obviously, you think it was, but the 'I'm sure everybody thought that' style of argument is just intellectually lazy. And what are 'ordinary people'? It's true that an intense minority were angered by the piece, but if there was an intense majority - as distinct from an apathetic one - I am sure we would you have heard from them.

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