Acting the goat

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

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Amazing how po-faced, killjoy-ish and downright dour some people can be... In a world of car-bombings, college shootings and tedious Labour leadership speculation, the story about the Sudanese man forced to 'marry' a goat is, I think, one that can be treated with a degree of light-heartedness. As I mention in today's 'short cut' in G2, it has remained one of the most popular stories on the BBC News Online website despite being written 14 months ago.

Nevertheless, some correspondents on the BBC News editors' blog deem the subject inappropriate. Writes Mark, apparently without irony: "So a story about a man committing bestial rape against a goat is one of the most popular on the BBC. I'm not sure that's anything to be proud of, but at least we can see for what purposes the license fee is being used." Not to be outdone in the humourlessness stakes, Toby opines: "It is a very sad state of affairs when the BBC as a supposedly reputable media organisation reduces such a story to be a laughing point and a source of humour. If the story is true, it is a sympton of the lack of education in some parts of the world and the fact that so many people find it so funny is a reflection of society today. Shame on us." Perhaps Mark and Toby are noted satirists, in which case I salute them. But somehow I think that's unlikely...

Posted by James Silver - On Tuesday, April 24, 2007

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