I had intended this missive to reflect upon events (sport, music, gigs, politics et al) that had caught my eye over the last couple of months.
First though, I wish to relay a story about a little run in with so called comedian and rotund fellow, Phil Jupitus, the other week on Twitter.
It is one of the defining features of the internet, and the phenomenon of social networking, that there is intolerance towards views expressed that are misaligned to the prevailing orthodoxy. You can experience this on internet forums especially. A theory might be that, as the internet and social networking are predominantly (but by no means always) populated by teens and people in their twenties, and that these groups are customarily pretty fixed, inflexible and naive in their world view (not their fault - they just haven't grown up yet) that they broke no dissension or argument from their dearly held beliefs.
This is indicative of a wider intolerance that seeps into what passes for public discourse these days. Brave is the person who tilts at the sacred cows and articles of faith that are the pillars of today's orthodoxy. For example:-
NHS Good - Private Health Bad
Bikes Good - Cars Bad
Obama Good - Bush Bad
Nurses Good - Bankers Bad
etc etc
What has all this to do with Phil Jupitus ? Well, there are a breed of media denizens (comedians, commentators) who like to think that they are somehow a breed apart from the rest of us, perched high upon their Ivory Towers and reviewing the seething mass of humanity below. These people, usually of a liberal left leaning persuasion, believe that they have some penetrating insights beyond the rest of us and almost all of them believe in the orthodoxy. After all, they want to appeal to the "yoof" market and aren't so stupid as to take them on.
Self made comedy big guy Jupitus is one of them. So...
Form high atop his perch, our Phil was spraying his invective around Twitter as normal when he regaled his followers (you can see how some of these people start to get a messiah complex, can’t you) with the following travail...
Now, as I no longer follow Mr Jupitis on Twiter, I can’t quote directly but the tweet that prodded my ire was something like:
"In business lounge waiting for flight. Worst thing about business lounges is all the business people in them. Some bloke in here shouting some toss down his mobile phone".
I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist. A little dissection is quite revealing:
Note that our Phil is very keen to let his followers know he's in an airport Business Lounge. We know, from previous tweets that day that he was flying to New York. A business class flight to JFK is not entirely cheap. It seems that our man of the people is keen for us to know that he travels in a style and class apart from the hoi-polloi infesting Economy.
Or maybe it’s that he finds the seats more accommodating of his ample frame.
In his invective about a fellow human being, Phil feels that his contemplative mood should not be disrupted by someone actually doing his job. I'm sure that in Phil's world view to be a businessman, a "suit" and working for "The Man" is to be close to Satan. Fancy trying to make a living doing a “socially useless” activity when compared to the truth giving properties of appearing on such penetrating artistry as Never Mind the Buzzcocks, or taking Ian Dury’s place in the Blockheads ? I assume this innocent person’s job is not on Phil's approved list of worthwhile vocations (a list I assume starts with Mother Teresa, includes Nurses and Social Workers and finishes with right-on comedians) and therefore is a legitimate target for his scorn.
My, it’s a good job he’s in this world; I can feel the scales dropping from my eyes…
It was this sheer dose of unpleasantness and downright rudeness that got me especially worked up and provoked me to post the following on Facebook:-
"Bob Hodds is pissed off at C-list meedja whores who think it's funny and right-on to diss normal people and their jobs if said job is not from their list of Guardian approved vocations. Yes, Jupitus, I mean you. You fat **** !"
A bit sweary and intemperate, but I mean, what right has Big Phil, or indeed anyone, to take the piss out of anyone’s job ? Maybe having worked for a Bank (oooo !) I'm a little oversensitive, but I am sick and tired of the cognoscenti pissing down scorn and contempt on honest people who are just trying to make ends meet.
Moving on…
In Twitter land, I decided to reply to Phil and gently pointed out that maybe the guy was "… just doing his job, like you”.
Phil seemed to take umbrage at this (how dare someone call into question his righteous mutterings, after all) and proceeded to re-tweet my reply to ALL his followers, but only after he had added a sarcastic addition to it.
As a consequence, I got a load of replies from his acolytes ranging from the ridiculous to the downright insulting. Quite funny really, but it just proved to me that I’m onto something here.
As for the bit about shouting “toss” down his phone, my interpretation of this is Phil didn’t understand what was being said, and like the bully he is, decided to hide this by being offensive. A kind of sweary chaff to deflect his embarrassment.
Anyway, there you are. I seemed to have been banished, for I can no longer follow Phil.
I have been cast from the Temple and verbally stoned by his Disciples for daring to speak up. Lord knows what would have happened if I’d said something really contentious.
As it is, I no longer have to suffer the inveterate musings of this C-list celeb clogging up my Twitter timeline, and for that I am thankful
And in any case, Bill Bailey is far funnier...
