Express scum update: Star scum « Enemies of Reason

8Jul/1010

Express scum update: Star scum

Where the Express goes, the Star usually follows, but removes all trace of subtlety and nuance.

You might remember how the Express's big red ALL

got used by the Star

with a slightly more offensive and unpleasant headline.

So today's Express disgrace that I looked at earlier is boiled down by the Star into something even more hateful and unpleasant:

No-one is proposed to 'open the floodgates to gay asylum seekers'. But of course that's the impression the Star wants to give, firstly because it wants to create a scary thing to raise the hackles of its more kneejerkable readers; and secondly because they actually don't care about whether what they say is true or not. It doesn't matter. They don't care. If you think they care, you're wrong, because they don't.

NO ROOM FOR GAYS. You might wonder if it's just a bit of flamebait, and that, by talking about it and linking to it, people like me or you are contributing to the Star's mission to be as popular and populist as possible - in some way, it might be argued, we're just doing the Star's advertising for them.

Well, I don't think so - I think that credits them with altogether too much nous. I don't think they're taking part in some sophisticated marketing campaign by being as outrageous and offensive as possible; I think they're just trying to be as outrageous and offensive as possible, because they think their readers want that. And who knows, maybe they do. Maybe there are countless thousands of people reading the NO ROOM FOR GAYS headline and thinking "Hooray! Thank goodness we won't be opening the floodgates to gay asylum seekers! If there's one thing worse than an asylum seeker, it's a gay asylum seeker!"

But do you know what, I don't care. This kind of vicious pandering to prejudices is worse than lowest common denominator - it's the very lowest of the low. Where the Express goes, the Star follows, but removes all trace of subtlety or humanity. While the Express is a fairly crude weapon, the Star is a Stone Age flint axe. These people are scum, they enjoy being scum, they like being scum and they choose to be scum. They don't accidentally cause offence; they don't care whether they do or not, because they really want to appeal to the most unpleasant kinds of people. This is 20% of national daily newspapers, and as I said earlier they taint all their peers with their actions.

So is this all hot air just going to achieve nothing? Will there be a big fuss which will blow over, for the newspaper owners to swirl the brandy round their balloon glasses and tut-tut at the silliness of the general public who claim to hate their products but still keep on buying them and advertising in them? That's up to me and you.

If you think these hatemongers are getting away with it, and their vile views are unrepresentative of the British public and their possible readers, the only way to let them know is to tell them, and their advertisers, that you find it unacceptable. If advertisers see their brands and products are in a toxic environment, perhaps that might make a difference. Censorship? Never. Fighting back? Absolutely. Put down that pitchfork and get a keyboard, and get writing.

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Tagged as: Star Leave a comment

Comments (10) Trackbacks (1) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

Eileen Allen
July 8th, 2010 - 12:36

I will get writing. You are right.

( REPLY )
Mark
July 8th, 2010 - 12:49

Yep, just before reading this article I had emailed Waitrose to ask to be removed from all of their mailing lists until they, and John Lewis, are no longer financially supporting the Daily Express cunts!

( REPLY )
Fat Roland
July 8th, 2010 - 15:34

I’ve just posted this on my Facebook. Feel free to copy and paste it, fellow readers (you can edit out the ‘buying’ bit if you chose not to do that, obv’slee!):

Following the horrendous stories in the Star and the Express about the gay asylum thing, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to buy the Express and I’m going to buy the Star and I’m going to get busy writing to their advertisers. Anyone want to join me?

( REPLY )
- jinx
  July 8th, 2010 - 16:09
  
  could there be a way of organising a mass e-mail / facebook campaign or letter post?
  
  ( REPLY )
- Whybird
  July 8th, 2010 - 16:34
  
  You don’t need to buy them — you can look on their website (though not at work, obviously) to see whose adverts they’re carrying.
  
  ( REPLY )
  - Whybird
    July 8th, 2010 - 16:36
    
    Oh — having done a similar thing last time Clarkson went on a homophobic rant in the Times, the advice I’d give is not to object to the advert’s position in the paper but to the advert appearing in the paper at all.
    
    ( REPLY )
Mark
July 8th, 2010 - 16:32

Correspondence from Waitrose customer services, seems like they don’t really give a fuck about the fact they are supporting a sickeningly bigoted porn-monger:

To:
>
Subject: Please unsubscribe me from your
> mailing list

I will never shop at Waitrose or John Lewis again until you
> cease
financially supporting the openly bigoted and homophobic Daily
> Express!

Please therefore remove me from all of your mailing
> lists.

On 8/7/10 13:48, “Customer_Service@waitrose.co.uk” wrote:

> Thank you for your e-mail.

I’m sorry to hear that you have been sent unwanted
> mailings from us. I can confirm that I have passed your details to the
> relevant department to be removed from our mailing list.

However, there is a
> small chance that your details may have been selected for another mailing
> before we received your request, and so I apologise in advance for any further
> mailings you may receive from the John Lewis Partnership and assure you that
> your request has been actioned.

Any further problems please don’t hesitate to
> contact us.

Regards,

Chris Zawadski

Waitrose Customer Service.

No, You appear to have not bothered to read my email.

I was a subscriber to Waitrose email alerts, and have been happily receiving them now for some time. It is just that I am no longer happy to receive any marketing correspondence from John Lewis if you continue to advertise with The Daily Express. If you believe that this headline fits well with John Lewis’ and Waitrose values then I wish to have nothing more to do with your organisation: http://twitpic.com/23en1s

If John Lewis and Waitrose cease advertising with The Daily Express I would happily consider being a loyal customer of yours once again.
Regards,
Mark

{No response from them as yet and therefore I shall be buying my Elderflower sorbet and tenderstem broccoli elsewhere!}

( REPLY )
Sean Mc
July 8th, 2010 - 17:12

Anyone seen this article on CiF? Some of the comments make me really despair for this country http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jul/07/supreme-court-gay-refugees-right-to-asylum?showallcomments=true#comment-51

( REPLY )
D-Notice
July 8th, 2010 - 20:17

I didn’t think it was possible to remove subtlety from the Express, but I stand corrected… *despairs*

( REPLY )
Akela
July 8th, 2010 - 22:08

Small comfort though it may be I have only ever encountered one Star Reader. He never actually read it though, prefering to skip straight to page 3 and just stare. With luck it means that whatever they write wont actually have any effect.

Still a bunch of utter arseholes though.

( REPLY )

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