Brand’s ‘battery acid’ comment: At least Farage has admitted he is an ‘unpleasant’ character
What a drip: But why is Nigel so glum? The only person harmed by this milkshake attack was his tailor.
Nigel Farage’s complaint about Jo Brand is to be welcomed – he has admitted that he considers himself to be an “unpleasant” character.
The Brexit Party leader spoke up after the comedian jokingly suggested an acid attack would be more appropriate for “unpleasant characters” who had been hit with milkshakes during recent political campaigns.
She immediately followed the line by saying, “That’s just me, sorry, I’m not gonna do it, it’s purely a fantasy, but I think milkshakes are pathetic, I honestly do. Sorry.”
So clearly she didn’t mean it and wasn’t trying to incite anybody into throwing acid over some of our favourity politicians like Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson), Mark Meechan (Count Dankula), Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad), or indeed Mr Farage.
But Nigel was clearly incensed and leapt into full-hypocrisy mode with this tweet:
This is incitement of violence and the police need to act. https://t.co/j3F0jsKGBZ
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 12, 2019
It was hypocritical because this is a man who spoke of taking up deadly weapons if he didn’t get the Brexit he wanted:
Nigel SNOWFLAKE Farage,
Wasn’t “picking up rifles” an incitement from YOU to violence?https://t.co/3qrHKZ651Y— John Clarke (@JohnClarke1960) June 13, 2019
The clip from BBC Essex is well worth a listen, to put this matter into its proper context.
Heresy host Victoria Coren Mitchell defended Ms Brand:
Nigel! I’m genuinely disappointed; we don’t agree on everything, but I would totally have had you down as a free speech man. Especially when it comes to jokes. https://t.co/9Ya7THiAmU
— Victoria Coren Mitchell (@VictoriaCoren) June 12, 2019
To be honest, I’m relieved at least a couple of people are angry, even if it’s only a couple. It’s supposed to be a heretical programme; I was worried we’d gone a bit timid and benign.
— Victoria Coren Mitchell (@VictoriaCoren) June 11, 2019
She made a topical point about another comment in the show:
But the very same show contained a joke about the Holocaust (and my relatives), and *nobody* has complained about this. Do you think the Holocaust is funny?! I'm sure not! I trust that means you have distinguished between something terrible and a *joke* about something terrible.
— Victoria Coren Mitchell (@VictoriaCoren) June 12, 2019
And she pointed out that certain right-wing websites had stripped Ms Brand’s comment of its context:
Beware the clip going round that deliberately cuts off the part where Jo openly spells out that she's joking and doesn't mean it.
Here is the whole programme:https://t.co/1fzIN2yEmL
(with the jokes, the context, and our moral which is all about being kind to each other.)
— Victoria Coren Mitchell (@VictoriaCoren) June 12, 2019
So the best that can be said about this storm-in-a-milkshake is that Heresy is back on the radio after a three-year absence and is as thought-provoking as ever. Click on the link above to listen to the first episode and then follow it every Tuesday at 6.30pm on Radio 4.
Source: Farage furious over Jo Brand’s ‘throw battery acid not milkshake’ joke | Culture | The Guardian
Farage underestimates himself – he’s worse than unpleasant, poisonous and toxic is a better description of this totally empty rabble rouser.
I’m having great difficulty in finding any humour whatsoever in acid attacks. The consequences for the victim and their loved ones are truly horrific and have a profound lifelong physical and phycological impact on victims.
Whereas people shot with rifles or stabbed with bayonets tend to be tickety-boo afterwards ?
They’re absolutely vile, no one’s denying it, but bear in mind Brand was a mental health nurse…if you don’t develop a dark, horrible sense of humour when you’re doing that then you’re pretty much buggered, it’s the only way to cope sometimes.
Agreed, no humour in acid attacks … but jokes about acid attacks don’t have a profound lifelong physical and something impact …
Yes, free speech. But if HE is a hypocrite then perhaps so are we. The climate, in political terms, is toxic at the moment. This was a bit like throwing petrol onto the flames.
To be fair to Jo I think she realised this immediately after saying it and made sure she qualified it. That’s only my opinion of why she then said that, could be wrong.
But undoubtedly, these are NOT the times for remarks like that. There ARE people on the street (on both sides) who would be more than willing to do these things.
I’d rather we all took a step back and remembered that we might disagree but we ARE all on the same side…
I despise Farage and everything he stands for, but Brand was way out of line.
Something can never be dismissed as just a joke, comedy has the power to normalise views and change what is acceptable and what is not, be it violence against Farage, or rape jokes and racist humour.
Free speech is important, but we should never let dangerous speech like this go unchallenged.
There seems to be a lot of support for milkshaking and now attacking with battery acid
when used against right wing politicians.
I wonder if it gets the same approval if someone says they will battery acid Joe Cox’s sister?
Nobody seriously suggested attacking politicians with battery acid. That’s the point.
Nobody thinks the actual act of throwing acid is funny and I’m bloody sure that includes Jo Brand. But the whole thing about jokes is that they make fun by incorporating totally unfunny things into something that is then funny. Compared to the years of Farage drumming up anti immigrant and foreigner feeling I’d say
Jo’s joke is nothing to get fired up over
Had Nige said this about ANYONE and he’d have been arrested. It was a vile “joke” from a vile person. You need some new material Jo or just retire gracefully
The most misleading aspect of this is calling Jo brand a comedian