Mick Hartley

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Cleaning Up Our Act

Richard Ingrams thinks we deserve it:

Pundits can talk reassuringly about our civilised values, our tradition British way of life. But if you are a devout Muslim, or a devout Jew or Christian for that matter, it is very likely that you do not consider Britain to be an especially civilised place.

Looked at from a religious perspective, our society can seem positively uncivilised – materialistic, money-mad, even sordid. What, after all, is so civilised about Big Brother, the Star or binge-drinking, to name just a few conspicuous examples?

But no one, least of all our church leaders, would dare to suggest that if we want to secure the respect of Muslims, it might be a good thing to clean up our act. No, the onus is on the Muslims to adapt to our supposedly civilised ways.

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6 responses to “Cleaning Up Our Act”

  1. Solomon Avatar
    Solomon

    This from the man who said that when he sees a letter from a reader with a Jewish-looking name concerning Israel, he skips it.
    “Looked at from a religious perspective, our society can seem positively uncivilised – materialistic, money-mad, even sordid. What, after all, is so civilised about Big Brother, the Star or binge-drinking, to name just a few conspicuous examples?”
    Add “bigoted columnists” to that list of uncivilised things.

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  2. Paul Evans Avatar
    Paul Evans

    I suspect a bit of research would show that the amount of ‘devout muslims / christians / jews’ is an inverse proportion to the general level of civilisation in any part of the world.
    Northern Ireland has this lot to contend with: http://www.freepres.org/separated.asp
    Should we ‘clean up our act’ to ‘secure the respect’ of the good Dr Paisley perhaps?

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  3. Micheal Avatar
    Micheal

    Richard Ingrams thinks we deserve it?!
    Where in his short piece do you find anything to justify such an outrageous and offensive claim?
    I don’t have much time for Ingrams. He’s a pseud and a snob but that doesn’t absolve you from the responsibility to accurately reflect someone you have chosen to quote.
    Shame on you. Retract and apologise.

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  4. Mick H Avatar
    Mick H

    Micheal (Micheal?) – don’t be so pompous. “the responsibility to accurately reflect someone you have chosen to quote” I think my remark is quite apposite in the circumstances.

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  5. Micheal Avatar
    Micheal

    Well , thank you for questioning the spelling of my name!
    It tells me everything I need to know about you. (And you call me pompous!)
    I’d rather be pompous than inaccurate but in fact I’m neither.
    Why not answer the question. Where,exactly does Ingrams say anything to justify your comment?
    Simple -he doesn’t.

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  6. Mick H Avatar
    Mick H

    Oh go away. Or, to put it less pompously, fuck off.
    See? I’m rude as well.

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