Tuesday 17 May 2011

More Self-Loathing Progressives

David Edgar (playwright and president of the Writers' Guild) on the collapse of the BNP protest vote and the politicians now pandering to the ‘anti-multicultural’ crowd:
While researching a play about the 2001 riots for the National Theatre, I was struck by how Oldham and Burnley's Asian districts felt and looked like the family-based working-class communities of the 1950s; indeed, in a way they stood as a reproach to white estates that had lost that sense of identity, cohesion and pride.
Ah, typical! If you don’t like the traditional class of your country of birth, don’t bother trying to work out why this deterioration has occurred, the better to reverse it; just replace ‘em with one you do find more pleasing!
In considering what might follow the straw man of "state multiculturalism", it's worth looking back at Oldham, Burnley and Bradford and remembering that the riots began as a community response to the rumour or the fact of far-right attacks on Asian neighbourhoods.
Riots as ‘a community response’? Whatever next?

7 comments:

Mark said...

This ghastly article by David Edgar gets a deserved roasting in the comments thread- quite something considering it's CiF!

His plays are pretty awful too - not that that has stopped him from sucking vigourously on the tit of the National Theatre (ie you & me) for 3 decades. Being part of the leftie-luvvie magic circle clearly counts for more than actual talent in thespland.

Anonymous said...

I met remarkably few lefties; only dorks who pretend it and drive Volvos to second-homes.

Riots - now they are coming. There's something like a 15% drop in income and 20% inflation in the pipe.

Gordo said...

The chappie has a bit of an obsession, he has been scribbling anti-British drivel since the 70s. Mainly at our expense of course. What a tosser.

Rob said...

The irony being that middle class lefties loathe precisely that family unit he pretends to admire. In fact it is perfectly possible that he admires it in Asians but loathes it still in whites.

Shinar's Basket Case said...

Davey-luvvy's Wiki article reads like he wrote it himself.

Left margins said...

"Oldham and Burnley's Asian districts"

Places where the writer chooses not to live, I would guess. But so easy to blame the ordinary man for wanting not to live there from your lofty perch in lovey-idealised Hampstead.

Playwright = wanker.

JuliaM said...

"This ghastly article by David Edgar gets a deserved roasting in the comments thread- quite something considering it's CiF!"

It seems even the CiF contingent have their breaking point...

"Riots - now they are coming."

Will they be made up of 'the usual suspects'? If so, I think we can weather them.

" In fact it is perfectly possible that he admires it in Asians but loathes it still in whites."

Indeed!

"Places where the writer chooses not to live, I would guess."

Undoubtedly!