Enemies of Reason Poundshop potshots at the media moral maze.

Another day, another pointless crock of shit on the Express site

It's the bubbling hatred that lurks beneath most of these stories that you have to watch out for. Another man has been convicted of a violent crime - and, seeing as the victim was a 'pretty blonde' and her life is therefore worth more than ugly brunettes, it's worthy of a big news coverage. A sign that the boys in blue are doing their job properly, getting these killers off our streets and banged up for good? Or a sign of something else?

I think, when you see the photo of the killer, you can see where some of the good folk at Express rent-a-mob are going to go with their comments.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER POINTLESS MURDER

As opposed to all those point-ful murders elsewhere. I think - stop me if I'm wrong - that murder by its very nature is pointless. That's kind of why society frowns on such things happening (especially to pretty blonde women).

THIS young, pretty woman is the latest in a long line of innocent victims of violent Britain.

Ah, 'violent Britain'. Interesting to see the Express attributing a social cause behind a crime rather than taking the traditional tabloid path and simply dismissing the perpetrator as a 'beast' who needs to be 'caged'. Anyone would think that overnight the Sturmer had turned into a contemplative bleeding-heart liberal wringing its hands over society's ills and how they translated into crime statistics. Well, anyone who didn't know the Express anyway.

Businesswoman Kate Beagley was just starting her life when she was brutally stabbed to death on a first date with her killer Karl Taylor.

Again, 'brutally' stabbed, as opposed to stabbed gently and nicely.

Taylor, 27, killed the 32-year-old by driving a knife into her face and neck 31 times while they were sitting on a park bench overlooking the River Thames in Richmond, south west London.

In the latest violent attack to be highlighted by express.co.uk's online campaign, he then drove her naked body to Oxhey Wood, north London and dumped it in a bush of nettles.

Ah I see. It's part of an Express online campaign. 'Murder is bad and people who do it are also bad'. I think there won't be many disagreeing with that, so well done on the Express for clearing the muddy moral waters on that one and showing us exactly which way to turn. Now I know murder is bad, I'll not murder anyone tonight.

But her evil attacker, who had gone on the date armed with a knife up his sleeve, was today jailed for life for her murder at the Old Bailey. He will serve a minimum of 30 years.

Oh... 'evil'. Bit of cake-and-eating-it here, is there? Is it 'violent Britain' or is it 'evil' that caused this crime? Would an evil person still kill another person if there wasn't an underlying culture of violence? It's an interesting philosophical question, I'm sure you'll agree. See, you mock the Express at your peril. Some people might say it's a fourth-rate right-wing vanity rag for the outdated and deranged opinions of a small cabal of nutcases; oh no my friend! Clearly, they're actually here to make readers stop and think on their way to BNP meetings and cross-burnings, to work out whether societal factors or inherent human factors are responsible for the taking of another life in premeditated homicide.

Some more grim details of the killing follow, a little upsetting for those of a queasy disposition like me. And then there's the big campaign logo. Newspapers love this kind of crap; it makes them feel like they're justifying their position as self-appointed experts on everything as well as trying to be proper journalists, rather than just recycling press releases, re-nosing wire copy, writing bitchy captions on pictures of celebrities and telling lies about minority groups.

VIOLENT BRITAIN - Express.co.uk Crusade

I can't really see many details of this 'crusade' on the site except for a message below the story, which urges the usual suspects to get out of their coffins and sick up a bit of bile for the Have Your Say section:

*** HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH OF VIOLENT BRITAIN? HAVE YOUR SAY ***

Dear Express, I for one have not had enough of violent Britain. More violence please!

Well, what did they think they were going to get as a response? Well, 'racism' is one of the answers. Ready for this?

GOD BLESS BRITAIN
05.03.08, 8:06pm
I really feel so sorry for Britain. The country is wonderful, the way of life too, humor, rock 'n' roll ... but prices are far out of reach, immigration is way too high. Muslims, blacks, Europeans are taking control of your country, football has become a cosmopolitan catwalk with no Brits on the ground. Still, I'll visit Wales this year ... see you!
• Posted by: jakebrake •

It's not 10.28pm. No sign of the comment being taken down after, let me see, two and a half hours. Nope, it seems to be okay as far as the Express is concerned, to have this kind of thing on their website.

ANOTHER POINTLESS MURDER
05.03.08, 9:37pm
Why, why, why oh why do women take chances like this with men like this? I am devasted, never mind her parents.
• Posted by: Franz •

With men like this? What, you mean murderers? The woman was just going out for a first date, for goodness sake - how was she to know this man was a potential killer? She was not at fault in any way whatsoever for her death. Unless... unless 'Franz' is suggesting something else about 'men like this'. About men like Karl Taylor. About men who look like him? I can't be sure.

WELCOME TO GHETTO BRITAIN (NOT GREAT BRITAIN)
05.03.08, 5:43pm
I've posted this comment again and again in response to other pointless killings. The last one was about a disagreement about a sweet wrapper. Yes a sweet wrapper!
This is the depths parts of our society have fallen to. I would call these thugs animals but that would be unfair on animals. Animals kill for food and protection. These .......? kill for fun and pleasure.
Charles Darwin must be shaking his head.
The powers that be tell us we must all stand up to these thugs.
I'll tell you why people don't get involved because you run the real risk of being either beaten to a pulp, stabbed or shot to death.
If you're lucky to survive you then run the risk of obtaining a criminal record, sued or losing your job.
If your even luckier you'll get to attend the court farce and watch these toe rags get a slap on the wrist.
They'll then find out where you live to intimidate you and your family. Police will do nothing only to tell you if you take the law into your own hands you'll be arrested.
It's a joke.
Its time the Goverment won back control of the streets. Get tough! and if that doesn't work get tougher until it does otherwise Ghetto Britain here we come!
• Posted by: Ade1

Ade1 makes some fair points about the fear that people feel on the streets - whether those fears are justified or not is a moot point, but I think it's beyond argument that the fears are there. He says some balls about Charles Darwin. But then he mentions 'ghetto Britain'. Why? Is there something beyond violent crime that he's trying to get at? Is there some other agenda at work here?

When will the British people demand their rights from the government. It is the right of decent people who want to live in peace and harmony to be able to do so in safety. It is time to re-introduce capital punishment by lethal injection which is a lot kinder than how some of their victims die.
Reports say that prisons are full to the brim well what do they expect when murders are on on the increase and will continue like this as long as there is no deterrent. With DNA there should be no room for doubt except for in the minds of the bleeding heart brigade.
What of the broken hearts of the victim's family? Oh, I forgot they don't count especially as far as our criminal justice and the European courts of human rights are concerned.
• Posted by: Nimue

It comes to something when someone asking for the death penalty is quite a moderate voice. I can't see how 30 years in jail, which will be 30 years with no parole and no lessening of the sentence, isn't a deterrent though. But then again, would anything be a deterrent to the kind of person who is capable of stabbing someone repeatedly to death for no reason whatsoever? Would even the death penalty be a deterrent?

What a beautiful girl. What a devastating loss for her lovely family. What a shambles this country has become. We should have been more selective about who we let in and quicker to remove criminals. I don't care what colour, race or creed anyone is, if you commit a crime in Britain, we don't want you.

But... Taylor is British. You can't just deport your own citizens when they commit crimes. There is no Devil's Island to ship crims out to, though I imagine a few of these Express readers might like there to be one.

A postscript. I mentioned the other day whether advertisers realised the kind of people who are using the Express site. This was the advert that popped up when I was looking at this story. Do you think they've targeted their market right? Do you think that the Express commenters would find this an appealing image?

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