BBC Censorship of Pipe Smoking PM

[numbersix]

Interesting how the mass media tries to do what it can to alter reality to push their agenda...
From the article:

Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously took great pleasure in smoking a pipe. But the BBC has apparently decided to downplay Mr Wilson’s pipe smoking in a five-hour television programme, prompting criticisms of ‘politically correct censorship’.

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2277847/So-did-BBC-chiefs-rob-Harold-Wilson-pipe-Questions-asked-PM-s-smoking-played-new-documentary.html

 

[phred]

It's unfortunate that so many people believe that depiction = promotion/approval. The advertising industry has done its job just a little too well, I suspect.

 

[chispa]

Santa

Frosty

Churchill
Sherlock??

Twain??
The horror.

 

[phred]

The article mentioned an iconic picture of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, famed engineer of the Victorian age - it's the picture that appears on his biography at Amazon, I believe. Photoshopped for a school textbook - which is totally unnecessary, since there are plenty of iconic pictures of Mr. Brunel minus his cherished cigar...

 

[papipeguy]

Probably the same reasoning behind why no one on TV seems to ever have to go to the bathroom.

 

[bubblehead33]

"Removed to 'avoid offence'". As a smoker, that offends me! But I'm a smoker, so I have no rights and my say doesn't count anyway. Oh well.

 

[zonomo]

Ive thought alot about this topic and wonder when the thought police will not allow teachers to teach history correctly. I see a day when they'll depict historical war without any winners or loser, with both sides having an equally valid and valuable point of view, without any weapons whatsoever (how can a child in the US be expelled for drawing a picture of a crude gun shape or throwing an imaginary hang grenade but showing guns and weapons in history books. Makes no sense). God help us. (Ops, I can't say God anymore. Sorry everyone. Just crucify me). (ops ops, I can't say crucify because that's promoting Christianity over other religions). (Ops ops ops, I cant say religion because that offends the agnostics).

 

[phred]

Zonomo - at the high school level, history has never really been taught correctly. This is just one more example of agendas getting in the way of instruction - and it happens from multiple (often contradictory) directions.
At the risk of derailing this discussion, I recommend reading "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Loewen for a lengthy discussion of just how much of a hash U.S. textbooks make of both U.S. and World history. College history instructors basically have to spend much of the freshman year re-teaching the basics... and I can attest to this, as a B.A. in History degree holder myself.

 

[mustanggt]

Don't mean to hijack but this corellates with this discussion. A guy I work with told me that grid kids football in which he coaches is now going to put all the kids in one big pool to divy up to play a game and then throw them back into the pool to divy them up for the next game. No more losers, no more winners just participation. He says it is being driven by the desires of the NFL and college programs. I guess soon there will be no more grades just show up is all you have to do. Maybe we won't have to actually work anymore either just show up. With the concussion problem in sports there will be the elimination of all things that add so much richness and pleasure in life and the industries that support them.

 

[sparroa]

The United States was founded on tobacco. Case closed.
It is sad that so many of us ignore that fact.
Virginia would've been a bust if tobacco wasn't such an astounding success there.

 

[eibhir]

We should take a stand and smoke respectfully everywhere we can. People are no longer used to seeing smokers because so many of us are shy about our habits. We should be polite yet firm in the taking back of our rights before they are gone for good. We need to write our leaders and tell them we aren't going to tolerate the crap anymore. We need to remind people of what a mess prohibition was and let them know this will be worse. We are living beings who have the right to enjoy our tobacco and we need to fight for it! :twisted:

They can have my sport when they pry it from my cold, bony hand!