Reuters reports on British satirical reaction to Fox News hash-up
“Muslims have taken over British cities” – an American political pundit tells Fox News, citing Birmingham as an example. In this he is no different to your average Maltese on the internet comments boards and social media, but hey, he’s on Fox News so people noticed.
And they noticed most in Britain, which responded with laughter and satire, causing the poor US pundit to emerge briefly from his darkened room just long enough to say that he had made a terrible mistake and to apologise for causing offence to “the beautiful city of Birmingham” (prompting more satire as it is anything but).
The interesting thing is that he thinks he has caused offence by saying that Birmingham is a Muslim city because Muslims are unsavoury. But the satire is prompted by the suggestion that anybody can take over anything in, of all places, Britain.
Reuters reports on the matter. The funniest tweet was a picture of the queen wearing her standard headscarf, with the words ‘Queen converts to Islam – seen here wearing hijab.’
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150112/world/birmingham-britains-new-mecca.551628
Probably meant Bradford, not Birmingham
Birmingham is not there yet, but still has a high rate of Asians.
Spot on, as a fact Bradford is known as “Bradistan”.
No, it is commonly known as North Pakistan.
One famous Brummy is the singer Ozzyma Al-Oossboorne from the famous Heavy-Bhangra band ‘Black Sharia’.
Fox News. We report. You decide.
I have been to Birmingham lately and I must say that this American political pundit is 100% factual and correct.
Really? Did you count the number of Muslims and divide by 1 million (roughly the population of Birmingham)? Or did you just go to the Bullring and have a quick look and see a few people in hijabs?
A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
This reminds me of the time an English friend of mine came to stay with us in Gozo.
After 3 or 4 days he commented to me that he was surprised at how many Arabs there were.
Needless to say we hadn’t seen any.
I guess that it’s all a matter of perception.
There goes that age old problem of humanity: peer pressure and the “bad barrel” makes fools of us all. Since Fox News seems to like fuelling hysteria, the hysterics just flow unbridled and unchecked.
That is the problem with news channels like Fox News. It is a place where hysterical people tune in to just to be whipped up into a greater hysterical fit which unleashes the worst in them.
I don’t only blame this man for the mistake. I blame all this around him who made him believe that he should go with that sort of tone, the news channel for constantly thrashing out nonsense day in and day out, teaching viewers and would be journalists that it’s all about the shock and horror.
Learn to stick with facts dear Fox News, and you will never have to face this sort of embarrassment ever again.
From Sky News:
http://news.sky.com/story/1406714/fox-commentator-gaffe-like-waterboarding
Fox News…where news and facts go to die
“But the satire is prompted by the suggestion that anybody can take over anything in, of all places, Britain.”
Perhaps you are unaware of this :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716855/Government-intervenes-at-school-taken-over-by-Muslim-radicals.html
[Daphne – The key phrase in the title is “government intervenes”. Secondly, this is The Telegraph, so you have to factor in its editorial stance on immigration, foreigners of all stripes and Islam in general. Thirdly, the problem here is not linked to the fact that a school is faith-based (Britain has complete freedom in the matter of faith schools), but to the fact that this is a state school and so should be linked to no faith at all. If this bothers you, then you should also be bothered by the fact that state schools in Malta promote Roman Catholicism and take their children to religious events or organise holy mass.]
“I have been to Birmingham lately and I must say that this American political pundit is 100% factual and correct.”
Birmingham is over 80% white/non Muslim, so the American political pundit is clearly 100% factually incorrect.
Some quality racism and xenophobia happening here, just as Daphne points out goes on in internet comments sections and social media elsewhere on the island. Take a bow, Malta.
http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/birmingham-bumps-berlin-list-20-8430532?ptnr_rid=256366&icid=Untitled5
Shocking how people on the Times of Malta comments board are defending him.