Funny or Not?

[TheAnimus]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7707641.stm

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has prompted nearly 200 people to complain to the BBC about a joke he made on Sunday's motoring show.
Clarkson, 48, was taking part in a lorry-driving task, when he suggested that lorry drivers kill sex workers.
"Change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That's a lot of effort in a day," he said.

Its interesting to see people complain about this because it really is only directed at a sterotype, and i don't think caused much offense? Enless you are a prossie murdering trucker obviously?

But coming hot on the heels of the Ross + Brand incident, which was a torrent of abuse, directed to a guest, i can see this getting some attention.

Its true that you can spark a lot of hatred in small minded people who have been brainwashed, we see this if you say something satirical about a god, or even something true likes Wales isn't a country, but a state, the amount of complaints you can recive from a vocal minority can often outway the majority and skew things.

Is clarkson in the wrong? Am i blind to the mans failings?

[HSK]

Ha, I was watching this when he said that, it was very quick, kinda made me think huh? But apart from that it was nothing but a boring, dull comment, just like Clarkson.

I think people just want heads to roll.

[Virtual Monkey]

My dad was an HGV driver for ages and was chuckling along to the show. It's obviously tongue in cheek - it's not like Clarkson is less stereotypical about anything else.

EDIT: Futhermore I'd bet a few quid that most of the complaints weren't from truckers at all.

[MadduckUK]

Futhermore I'd bet a few quid that most of the complaints weren't from truckers at all.

of course not, there too busy murderin' prostitutes to be watching top gear

[educatedfool]

There's just a complaining bandwagon at the minute, and too many people are jumping on. I hope that every single person that complained about Ross/Brand and now this has never insulted anyone in their entire lives, otherwise it just screams hypocrisy.

[Funkstar]

I head about this but didn't know the details.

That quote by Animus made me smile.

The key difference between this and the Brand/Ross thing is it ididn't involve anyone else and was an off hand remark, not a drawn out piece.

there must be people with the BBCs complaints department on speed dial by now.

[Whiternoise]

It just annoys me when people call in, and it's never a "reasonable" number compared to the target viewing numbers. How many people watch TG? 5-10m? And 200 people complain.

That's the analogous to a group of religious folk complaining that Harry Potter offends them because it's all about blasphemy and witches.

OTT. Mock the Week gets away with this sort of stuff every week, so does HIGNFY, so did Dead Ringers..

[Funkstar]

Because people like to complain about Top Gear and Clarckson in general.

To be honest, I don't think it does any harm. It gives the show a load more column inches in the press and no-one really takes the blustering by an "offended" few seriously.

[mediaboy]

This only got 200 complaints, t'other one got 30000 according to BBC.

Give it a few weeks though and I'll expect them to be about equal. People complain because they can, not out of any great ideal.

[matty-hodgson]

i was reading about this in the Sun before, and Eddie Stobart, 1 of the biggest trucking companies in the UK, had said they took no offence from it saying something like "it's the 21st century, and we should get our sense of humour in line"
personally.. if you took offense from that, then you're stupid.

"change gear. change gear. change gear. murder a prositute. check your mirrors. change gear. change gear. check your mirrors. murder a prostitute."

[idimmu]

only 200 hundred people? im sure clarkson's had a lot worse!

[AdamAnubis]

i was reading about this in the Sun

Oh dear

I recon that if it there wasn't the whole Woss thing, people wouldn't have complained. People know it's clarkson, and should expect this sort of thing. It's not like he's broken any of his boundries of stuff he's done before.

[MadduckUK]

German satnav that only goes to Poland

[matty-hodgson]

Oh dear

page 3s good

[AdamAnubis]

page 3s good

That's why i did the 'oh dear' tut tut matt, tut tut

German satnav that only goes to Poland

Precisely.
Next they'll be complaints about stephen fry saying while in a German restaurant in America after eating a giant german meal that his:
'Blood vessels and heart felt like Poland' and that his indegestion
'Will last 1000 years'

Honestly. The youth of today.

However If anyone dares complain about stephen.......

[666moe666]

Wow, i echo what was said about the complaining bandwagon.
Do we really want comedians to be careful about what they say when performing?
I hope this new wave of complaining idiots doesn't effect the nations humour tolerance.