Everyone’s piling in on him. A reader writes:
BBC correspondents in America have a huge canvas to draw on. So Justin Webb obviously decided he had found a story that had a moral for British voters when he filed for the Radio 4 6pm News on April 1 that those in Arizona who were worried about a flood of illegal immigration for Mexico – and concerned that the federal government was doing nothing to stop the tide – had formed a group of modern-day “Minutemen” to watch the borders.
Mr Webb’s main point, though, was not to impart how many immigrants there were, why border controls were not working, or other such facts that would have given the story context and proper meaning. Such crucial details were entirely absent from the report. Instead, he focused firmly on that there were opponents of the group who had labelled the new Minutemen as “irresponsible” and potentially violent “vigilantes”. In BBC liberal speak, beware all those who are worried about immigration…they are not nice people.
In the comments to the post below this, Alex criticises him about his interview with Dan Rather. And in the comments to the post below that everyone but Alex is teed off about this piece on the Schiavo case.
”America is often portrayed as an ignorant lazy sort of place, full of bible bashers and ruled to a dangerous extent by trashy television, superstition and religious bigotry, a place lacking in respect for evidence based knowledge.
I know that is how it is portrayed because I have done my bit to paint that picture, and that picture is in many respects a true one”
However, according to our commenters, his description of the legal position is in many respects not a true one.
Justin Webb deserves every kick he gets. He’s lazy, snobbish and immature. He probably makes a six-figure salary for putting out lame his drivel, with a big fat expense account on top, so “feeling sorry for him” is hardly appropriate.
“those in Arizona who were worried about a flood of illegal immigration for Mexico • and concerned that the federal government was doing nothing to stop the tide – had formed a group of modern-day “Minutemen” to watch the borders.”
I’d assumed this was an April Fool. Do you think it’s true?
I wish all the BBC editorial staff were sacked and their jobs taken by illegal immigrants.
Some aspects of the American bible belt are held in utter contempt by the BBC and are ridiculed openly. Take ‘creationism’ for example where it is proposed that “we are all descended from Adam and Eve”. Any American saying that would be set up and mocked endlessly. Those very words were uttered on Radio 4 this morning were treated with respect. They were uttered by the Imam of Rome as Muslim comment on the death of Pope JPII.
The BBC’s reporters (platoon of) are of course totally unaware of the declared aim of Islam to supplant Christianity in Rome as they did in Constantinople and turn the Vatican into a Muslim territory.
I think Natalie’s sentiments of compassion for Justin Webb are completely misguided. The man deserves a whipping rather than pity.
At the core of his article about the Schiavo case lies the tacit belief that the right outcome was reached, that the only “sensible” thing to do was to have Terri Schiavo die.
Mr. Webb was then pleasantly surprised to find Americans capable of reaching the “right” decision.
Had Terri’s parents prevailed and saved their daughter’s life, then no doubt we’d have been treated to the usual fare of crass, mindless and petty anti-Americanism. He is brazen enough to brag about it even.
As a Brit living in the US I feel positively ashamed that we have fools like this Mr. Webb writing their vulgar trash about America.
Some people may recall the PM programme-in-mourning the day Dubya won the election to the effect that Kerry appealed to the scientific, rational section of the American electorate.
When I wrote in to the complain to the Beeb about its bias on that and other issues, the reply didn´t even mention this.
Presumably they thought my point wasn´t rational or scientific minded enough to bother answering …
The way the Minuteman thing is going is more or less like bird watching. Spot the illegals, stay away from them, report them. Fox News said 118 have been caught that way in the last three days. I live in southern Arizona and the Border Patrol – at least the worker bees, aren’t complaining.
The big downside is the lefties and anti-Americans are praying (or they would if they believed in God) that a Minuteman shoots a Mexican (in their twisted minds, preferably a pregnant woman).
If that happens thre’d be a major stink but so far the Minutemen have been true to their word and haven’t actually come into contact with any illegals.
Yes, some of them are carrying weapons – not many illegals do but since the criminal element coming up often does, it makes sense. But the way things are going, it looks pretty likely that any shooting that does happen won’t start from the Arizona side.
Webb does this quite a bit. His radio 4/ World Service “letters” are as pointless as Maureen Dowd’s prose.
I had a close friend who used to do tape-editing work for the Beeb in Washington. Staff were so entirely insuffrable and immune to reality that she eventually left – and she’s a democrat.
The other thing to bear in mind are that they get a lot of there background work done in the US by way of NPR and Pacifica radio liasons and former employees. The peasant/native interviewees that they meet are most likely arranged by them, and on weekends they occasionally file reports. One hears these same folks on NPR and Pacifica, and many of them (revealed by their accents) are from the employment wilderness of Canada.
Check here for a sense of the temprament of Pacifica. They are further out on the margins, but not that far.
Here’s Justin Webb’s CV here.
Note his background as a researcher to a Liberal Democrat MP, the only other job he’s ever held besides working for the Beeb.
No “real world” experience whatsoever.
Of course.
It’s no mystery that they sent their more mature and reasonsable reporters to Rome this week.
Joe: They have some mature and reasonable reporters?
😆
Come on! We’re Bible thumpers, NOT bible bashers!!