Right on cue: how Gozo's most famous resident sees it
Published:
November 22, 2009 at 11:35am
Here’s Billy Connolly, on how it looks through the eyes of an outsider (and those who can see it through the eyes of an outsider).
76 Comments Comment
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The opinions of a mentally disturbed drunk whose perspective on life is coloured by a navel gazing approach to child abuse: marginal.
and not particularly funneh to boot.
Ooooh, such antipathy on a Sunday toward the mentally ill. He’s the funniest man on the planet, and a Scot to boot. Makes my Scottish blood (mixed with a not smallish amount of scotch) run proud.
nice video daphne..I am from china and follow your journalism
I don’t find his jokes about Christians funny. Let’s see Billy Connolly make similar jokes about Islam, ‘the religion of peace’. Billy Connolly will need to organise his funeral before his performance though!
Mr Connolly seems to be all well and sane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwooM4yhiiY&feature=related
If I had sex with a 9-year-old girl I would be called a pedophile and get locked up! Prophet Mohammed had a 6-year-old wife, this would have been a perfect subject for a joke by Connolly.
If Billy Connolly wants to make jokes about Islam he should go to this website for inspiration:
http://www.faithfreedom.org/content/aisha-child-wife-muhammad-0
England’s answer to Beppe Grillo
and this,…. still my favourite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxo81Ok9Urk
I’m thankful that anyone can make jokes about our religion without fearing for their life. You wouldn’t want it to be different would you?
He did. It’s in the same show. A whole sketch about suicide bombers and the committee deciding how many virgins the martyr is awarded.
Some of you cannot understand the difference between humour and malicious slander.
Well said, Paul.
I would like to suggest we also hang up on classroom walls: photos of alleged adulteresses being stoned to death, gays being hanged, thieves’ hands being cut off, people being flogged . . . poche parole, a little cultural awareness.
Fatwa envy just never fails with you people. Just look around a bit and you will notice that people everywhere are making fun and criticising Islam. True, in several cases that right has been surpressed by violent bigots, which is why we need to stand our ground and ensure we keep the rights which without our societies can not operate.
If our dear host allows me, I’ll crack a quick joke myself… If you buy a teddybear for €10, name it Mohammed, then sell it for €15, have you then made a prophet?
Be careful, Pat:
-A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad. –
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7112929.stm
@Andrea,
Just because other countries are worse does not make us OK. We have to be the best we can be no matter how far behind Sudan is.
I think Billy Connolly is a vulgar crass old man but bless the fact that he has the right to be so!
“Fatwa envy just never fails with you people. “ Now this is a genuinely funny comment – and rather close to the mark, too. Oh for the good old days of the {Spanish} Inquisition!
Here`s another funny comment: scratch a Finn {or a Scandinavian for that matter } and what do you find? An atavistic believer in wizardry and witches and shamans and all kinds of forest lore. I met a rather nice state-educated Finn a few years ago on the train from Prague to Dresden, and I didn`t know whether to reel back in horror or laugh out loudly [I did both] when he said that his parents and grandparents who lived in a forest were wizards and witches. Apparently this kind of belief system is rather widespread too in this region of Europe.
Andrea:
Yes, that was exactly the story which the joke was formed around. Hence making a prophet/profit. Fortunately, I don’t life in Sudan though. Saying that, if I’m correct it is ok to write about Muhammad, but not to depict him, which is what this woman was sentenced for (the teddybear was depicting him).
Hilary:
Believers in witchcraft and paganism are laughed at in Scandinavia, as well as rest of Europe. Unfortunately there are too many other beliefs which are generally accepted. For example, you will hardly find a newspaper which doesn’t contain those dreadful horoscopes and quack medicine, such as homeopathy, never ceases to grow.
I actually met quite a few Maltese who every Sunday pretend that a piece of bread gets turned into flesh and then proceed by consuming the bread. Often preceded by their leader to also pretend to consume wine that has turned into blood. I take witches and wizards over that any day of the week.
Hi Pat,
handling with ‘Mohammed’ has sparked a quite emotional and bemusing controversy in Germany. One of the more amusing examples:
“Muslims irked by Schalke fan song referring to Mohammed”
http://www.thelocal.de/sport/20090805-21039.html
Hi Pat
“I actually met quite a few Maltese who every Sunday pretend that a piece of bread gets turned into flesh and then proceed by consuming the bread. Often preceded by their leader to also pretend to consume wine that has turned into blood. I take witches and wizards over that any day of the week.”
Actually most don’t pretend at all, many believe it (including myself), especially the Priest who is not their (definitely not my) leader.
I know what you meant but get your terminology correct. Also, it’s not only in Malta!
And be careful, unfortunately in Malta you have to be very careful about insulting the Eucharist. We are not THAT far ahead of Sudan yet in that only the severity of the punishment would be different to the teddy bear case, even though some people would still like to have you thrown into jail for it!
Why do you laugh at people who believe in witches and wizards? I find all such folklore fascinating, even though I do not believe it. It’s actually almost hobby of mine!
I don’t know why you are surprised though, belief in deities of any kind, witches included, still outstrips atheism by far, for now. Do I think that’s a good thing? As long as it’s their choice that’s fine by me, and so no, it is NOT always fine by me!
David:
I’m aware that you do believe it actually happens, which in my book makes it even more freaky, but then again, each to his own.
I do laugh at belief in wizardry and witchcraft, yes. I think ridicule is an acceptable method when something is deserving of it. If you find atheism ridiculous, feel free to ridicule it all you want. Folklore is a different thing. I too am fascinated by it. Just as I’m actually quite fascinated with religion. Doesn’t mean I believe in any of it, nor think it’s rational to. I enjoy fiction as well, even fantasy fiction (although the quality work in that genre is far and few in between).
Further, I’m not surprised at all. As I mentioned, even in Scandinavia, with such a low number of believers in God, there are so many quack beliefs that I often wonder which is worse.
Not sure what you meant with the last sentence though. What isn’t a choice?
I meant that often religion (or lack of it) is NOT a free choice in many places and even though I am in the “believers’ clan” I shudder at that.
As to such a low “number of believers” in Scandinavia? Wouldn’t be quite so sure about that, definitely many more agnostic theists then atheists, and yes, I know quite a few people from your homeland.
Hi Pat,
now you’ve got me and you made me laugh as well!
Holy joss stick, I feel like one of those esoteric freaks now.
I didn’t know that someone has to ‘believe’ in homeopathy.
Those hocus-pocus globules actually helped my sister, my nieces and myself to surive since we all suffer from an autoimmune disease. We can’t take conventional medication.
I assure you, there are no shamans in my family, we don’t ‘chant’ and I don’t even practise yoga. Just a few of those odd magic pellets every now and then.
Mamma mia and I thought I am pretty down to earth.
I don’t have statistics at hand, but the Scandinavian countries generally rank, alongside places such as Japan and the Netherlands as the least faithful nations. I have no idea what an “agnostic theist” is supposed to mean.
I agree with you hundred percent though on not being a free choice in many places. This is why I’m for religious education, in the sense to provide children with comparative religion and understanding of all faiths. I don’t like telling children what to think, although I realise in many some areas you sometimes have to, but rather how to think for themselves.
Anyway, I haven’t read your reply to mine yet but am calling off this conversation as it really is getting boring, to me at least. We will never agree, be honest, and faith should be a personal matter (I know nobody told me to butt in) so I call it quits on this topic.
As you said, to each his/her own, whether you believe in a magical pumpkin or whatever as long as no harm is done, and no impositions are made we can all live together after all.
Andrea:
If you were treated by the homeopathic remedy, rather than any surrounding treatments or psychosomatically, you would be a first.
I’m sorry to hear you suffer from an autoimmune disease, but I can assure you that any homeopaths around you have been taking you for a ride and probably at a pretty decent profit as well. Selling water in pill form is a good deal only for the purveyor.
“ I take witches and wizards over that [ pretence that a piece of bread gets turned into flesh and wine into blood] any day of the week.“ . So it is a deeply held belief after all – so much for laughing it off………
Bantering apart, the minimum that Christians believe is that God, who is all omnipotent , so loved the world { that means also future generations and includes me – and you too I suppose } that He sent His only Son Our Lord Jesus Christ to live amongst us whilst He was on earth. As a natural follow- up to this, we go one step further and actually believe that He still keeps His Presence amongst us in the Blessed Eucharist .He is truly present Body Soul Blood and Divinity .
Actually loads of Swedes and Norwegians are converting to Catholicism . You need only watch a programme on EWTN which is sometimes hosted by a Dane who interviews Swedish and Norwegian converts on Monday nights at 23.00 to realise this. On Tuesday nights another programme at 22.00 hosted by Marcus Grodi , a former Lutheran pastor, interviews former atheists , agnostics, Lutherans , Protestants, a former gangster, a Mormon Bishop – the widest spectrum of belief possible { except that , so far, he has never interviewed a wizard or a witch. }
Well, the Swedish Church is utterly boring, so if what you are saying is true (which I actually doubt) I think a possible reason is the long dark winter nights and very rainy summers, which we Swedes have been tormented by for too long.
I think my views on the eucharist have been made well known in my previous comments so I won’t pursue the argument.
haha Billy Connolly rocks!
Christian rock? Here’s the god of rock guitarists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgcSnvLJI0A
At least, that was Good Friday. We’ve recently had a priest calling for people to exhibit the crucifix for this weekend’s feast of Christ the King (which, according to him, has a strong connection with the cross) and a ceremony “like Good Friday’s” – when Advent’s less than a week away.
If there’s something we should be appalled about is the abysmal knowledge of this priest in matters theological and liturgical.
Fausto, the feast of Christ the King is connected to the crucifix. Your religious knowledge must be abysmal.
About the video clip: are we supposed to laugh?
Is it? Sorry but I can’t remember one instance when the issue of Christ’s kingship is remotely related to the crucifixion either scripturally or doctrinally. If you, or anyone, can enlighten please go ahead.
bl-istupidagni tieghek se nimxu ‘l quddiem. bic-cuccati li tikteb se nkunu progressivi. ftakar li ahna mahniex ghal hawn.
Gozo’s most famous resident was undoubtedly Nicholas Monsarrat , presently this title holder must be Albert Moses.
Notoriety should not be confused with fame.
[Daphne – Nicholas Monsarrat is long dead, and not a resident of Gozo. Nobody outside Malta and most people in Malta don’t know who Albert Moses is/was. Notoriety should not be confused with fame: agreed. Gozo’s most notorious resident is escaped paedophile priest Fr Mercieca, a wanted man in the USA.]
you mean “Nobody outside Malta (and most people in Malta) knows who Albert Moses is/was.”
GOTCHA
[Daphne – No, I meant what I wrote.]
If people don’t know who Albert Moses is than for sure they wouldn’t know about this swearing buffoon..
He’s not Gozo’s most famous resident for sure.
[Daphne – You’re completely wrong, John. Billy Connolly is hugely famous, and part of contemporary culture for the last three decades or so. The only reason Albert Moses is known in Malta – like Dave Allen – is because Mind Your Language was the other show we could watch on Xandir Malta as an alternative to the utter boredom of Italian programmes on RAI.]
I must honestly confess that I have no idea who Albert Moses is. Definitely know Connolly though and have for many years. Apart from being a great standup comedian he is a pretty decent actor. Never heard of “Mind your Language” either.
Didn’t Connolly proclaim Scotland to have only two seasons: Winter and July. Feels like most of northern Europe to me.
A thousand apologies!
Daphne, would you consider an article on what the Iman said on PBS that there is nothing wrong with severing the hand of someone who steals or is only Christianity fair game? I say this because its true Christianity in its radical form can be criticized for many things but its only fair to also comment on Islam then.
[Daphne – I do not live in an Islamic state. I live in a Catholic one. You might as well ask me to comment on Buddhism or Hinduism. Muslims can do what they please. It’s the Catholics around me who are seeking to impose their will on mine, and that’s as far as my interest goes.]
What happens when you cut off someone’s hand? There is no chance of rehabilitation because it is permanent. What happens to his ability to earn a living and support the family? What happens if its a wrong decision? Scary ideology especially when it doesn’t come from a stereotypical type of fundamentalist some people always imagine when you say the word Islam but from a ‘tolerant’ one in a very influential position. Yet no comment. Even when he compared homosexuality to bestiality. This is the kind of one way thinking that bothers me because if we want to be fair we cannot keep living in a world where cartoons with Muhammed in them create rebellions and constant jokes and such things about Jesus are fair game.
Ok fair enough although I wasn’t asking about Islam in general I was asking about an official opinion from a high up person who spoke as he spoke on national TV. My interest tends to go beyond just who imposes their will on mine because other people who suffer in all states from all religions should be recognized. Lou Bondi said it scared him and in reality it scares me too. Just thought it was worth a mention since it was no light comment.
Lol, thanks for sharing that!
Great Scottish humour. Lighten up a bit folks….
Hi Daphne
I lost where the original thread was, but I guess this one will do. Readers may find the following judgements interesting:
Stone v. Graham
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1980/1980_80_321
Also :
McCollum v. Board of Education Dist. 71
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1947/1947_90
Hello Ms Caruana Galizia, I like reading your blogs and this hurts. I believe in Jesus Christ, maybe we don’t share the same opinions and you have all the right to express yourself. Can’t you be more sensitive to others. Probably you/others will say if you don’t like it don’t watch it. I did and couldn’t help myself not writing this note. Whilst watching it I had tears coming down my face and for sure you don’t give a damn.
PS. Please don’t make fun of my English I’m hopeless in languages.
One of the funniest men around. Ah the truth hurts..
I’m a convinced supporter of secularism but, somehow, this peformance makes me uneasy though I would never dream of censoring it. I remember Dave Allen who made plenty of jokes at the expense of Catholics but never made one feel the same way this guy does.
[Daphne – That’s because Dave Allen was raised a Catholic. He mocked as an insider, as I do, and not as an outsider, as Connolly does. But they are both amusing.]
I am worried about a resurgence of a kind of confessionalism that is creeping back into Maltese public life at all levels. I attribute this to the growing siege mentality among Catholics in Malta, who are trying desperately to stem the tide of an inevitable decline of religion which may be delayed but not avoided.
Performances like this will only serve to exacerbate these Catholics’ fears. What is needed is democratization of Maltese society by the enactment of liberal divorce legislation and a reform of family law as well as the abolition of fanatical censorship such as took place at the university. What is it going to take to make Malta a true democracy rather than a sort of time-warped theocracy? The EU will not come to our aid in this.
The energy and determination to achieve it must come from within us. Are there enough Maltese, especially politicians, with the will and the intelligence to achieve this aim? For the time being, the answer seems to be, sadly, in the negative. Delaying the inevitable will only result in a bigger blow to religion when the change finally comes.
Connolly was also raised as a Catholic, so there you go. And what the eff’s up with this over-analysis of a couple of lines in a stand-up routine. I’d rather have Connolly making fun of the crucifix than some pseudo-intellectual going on about how European values are based on ‘republicanism’. Or even worse, some misguided Muslim saying we all worship the same god.
I thought Connolly was an ex-catholic as well. Speaking of Connolly, soon time for Boondock Saints 2, one of the most longed for movies in a very long time for me. The first one is a true gem and definitely didn’t get the attention it deserved.
. @Giordano Bruno: this guy runs around on stage, shouts, swears and is gesticulating all the time; he is unrefined and just an attention seeker. Dave Allen just sat there in front of a captured audience with some whiskey in a glass (was it Jamesons?) and delivered his punch lines like no one did. He had class.
[Daphne – Madonna, Dave Allen again. I used to watch Dave Allen when I was at school. Move with the times. Jesus.]
Billy Connolly was raised a Catholic.
Billy Connolly was also raised as a Catholic. His biography makes a very interesting read. He is most definitely an insider. He was a victim of child abuse and has blamed the Catholic Church for it.
This is the report of his comments:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article5337286.ece
Here’s the relevant interview itself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cztjgtm6Jw0
And back to the jokes, Billy on suicide bombers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdNqUW5wwTE&
The last part of the interview had me laughing so hard.
Giordano Bruno
You are mixing things up. Divorce and gay marriage can only be introduced by the state not the Catholic Church and the state has no business saving religion.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ih44QfUfNns/R3xLZoV44kI/AAAAAAAACos/__4C0id48-A/s400/Mary+and+crucifix.JPG
I’m hopeless at languages too.
Well, personally I find him rather crass and in bad taste! Not funny at all but still some people MUST find him amusing or he wouldn’t be doing it. To each his own. As Stan Laurel once put it – if you need to be vulgar to be funny then you simply don’t have any talent.
[Daphne – I was very vulgar about Noel Arrigo, and I think more people laughed than didn’t.]
Now THIS is real talent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCOZQSRzKmU
[Daphne – The reason Dave Allen plays such a big part in the appreciation of humour among Maltese who are over 35 – but really, over 40 – is that his was one of the few shows we could watch on Xandir Malta in black and white in the bad old days. And the only reason it was on Xandir Malta in the bad old days? The anti-clerical jokes, which served the political agenda of the anti-clerical government. But here’s the thing: roughly the only ones who could follow the language, the idiom and the humour were those who hated the government.]
Hey! Not over 35 yet!
“Daphne – I was very vulgar about Noel Arrigo”
No, not really!
Anyway, It’s a free advert/mention for Gozo……
Why doen’t Billy Conolly F*** off back to Scotland!
This can’t be the real Major Clews.
[Daphne – It is.]
Ah. That’s not the sort of language you would expect to hear in the officers’ mess. Even this RSM knows it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzKTOUkroU0
Brilliant! At last some wit on the subject.
Just to be pedantic, Connolly no longer lives in Gozo. Loved the clip, though.
Billy Connolly is not an “outsider” to Catholicism. He was the son of a very Catholic father whose wife left him and therefore couldn’t marry another as divorce is not a Catholic thing. Billy was actually sexually abused by his own father as a result of the latter’s sexual repression (and monstrosity).
A year or two ago Billy Connolly did an entire show about his life and this tragic episode of course featured strongly. He was interviewed by his actress/psychologist wife. He turned 67 today.
I’m sure that interested persons can find on the internet the show I’m talking about.
@Willu
as requested:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/billy-connolly-reveals-secret-life-as-a-gang-leader-in-tv-therapy-session-1.826759
Funny(not haha) how many comedians have had some tragedy in their life and very often use comedy as a form of escapism.
And for all those adoring Dave Allen fans (as in “cheeky but devout Irish Catholic vs drunken non-Catholic Scotsman”), how about Dave Allen as the bishop whose crozier gets an erection when a pretty nun comes up to kiss his ring? I’d put the video link here, but I can’t find it anywhere on the t’internet (Peter Kay, now there’s another one).
The most famous resident in Gozo was Philip Nicholson, commonly known as A. J. Quinnell.
[Daphne – He’s dead too.]
Gozo’s most famous resident was German Playboy’s Miss Mai 2007. She only stayed for the duration of the photoshoot though… Oh dear I’ve done it now. Gozo being used for a raunchy photoshoot…
The most famous resident on the island is, H.E. Bishop M.Grech
Hey Joe, I’m sure way more people know Connolly than know some guy walking around in a purple hat.
Watching this video clip I said to myself: “what on earth is he trying to say?” Trying to ridicule some cultural expressions of faith? Well, at the end he was the one who ridicule himself most by not understanding culture and faith. I am sure if I have the chance and fame as he has, I would find so many funny things to ridicule in his Scot culture…starting from …..
As someone who grew up in Gozo and knows people who know Connolly, I can say without a doubt that he is a genuinely good man and that most Gozitans and Maltese take their supposed faith too seriously.
[Daphne – Yes, the good men crack jokes about the crucifix, while the bad men wear rosary rings in court and take theology courses.]
He’s a comedic genius. I love him because he has no respect whatsoever for standards of morality or etiquette or political correctness..and you know why? Because he knows those standards are so artificial and false.
We all love to gossip and to hear a good fall-guy story. Yet in public, oh shame, how could you say that/how could they do that…oofff…
Connolly forces me, in his merciless diatribes, to regularly examine my own comfortably maintained stereotypes and standards (even those I pretend not to hold) and redefine. For that exercise in re-examination, he is the Divine voice.
Every human being is free to profess their religion and it’s gross to ridicule others’ faith.
One can even be an atheist or non religious, no harm by that too. Trouble begins with fundamentalism of all kinds.
….but I’d rather live a life believing that God exists and then I find that there is nothing….than living my life as if there is no God then ….there will He be ready to judge me.
@ Lino – But what happens if the god you believe in isn’t the real god… maybe if there is a god, what he really hates is people believing in a none existent “other” one, and actually he really admires those who think for themselves
ps “but I’d rather live a life believing that God exists and then I find that there is nothing” – exactly how are you going to find out there is nothing ? If there is nothing, when you die you won’t know…
He describes us like that, when in more than a millennium his people didn’t manage to make heads and tails of underwear.