Rod Liddle

The latest instalment of what is becoming a regular feature: admiring the work of academics at places which, these days, we must call universities. This week let’s hear it for Professor Eric 'Gumby' Anderson, who lectures in Sports Sociology at the King Alfred Teacher Training College, or Winchester University as it is now known. One of his addresses to students is reported to have contained the following: 'I'm going to cuss a lot and I'm going to break down all kinds of hegemonic structures. If you're offended by discussions of anal sex, vaginal sex, rimming, cheating, having cum all over [your] face then you should probably leave.' Claiming to have had sex with 'easily over a thousand people.

Today I went on the Daily Politics, presented by Andrew Neil. Talked about a bunch of stuff and then debated the issue of political correctness with Zoe Williams, from The Guardian. Look, I like Zoe. She’s ok. But she tried to argue that all the recent revelations about the sexual abuse of young white girls by Muslim men in places such as Rotherham (and about sixty other towns) went undiscovered for reasons which had nothing to do with political correctness. This is either mad, or disingenuous. Even the local Labour MPs who at the very least turned a blind eye to what was going on have admitted that a reluctance to stir up trouble with the local Pakistani or Bangladeshi community lay behind their lack of interest in the stories of sexual abuse.

An apology. A few weeks back, in my blog, I promised a regular series called ‘Fatuous Phrase of the Week’. Like so many publicly uttered promises, this one has failed to materialise. There has been no update to the Fatuous Phrase of the Week. This is because for the past two weeks I have been battling my demons — and horrible, vindictive little bastards they are too. While I would have been happy to fulfil that promise, and had plenty of phrases at the ready, the demons crowded around. Nah, they said, take the dog for a walk instead. Jabbering in my ear, poking me with their little pitchforks. Forget the phrase thing, they insisted. Instead try to get to 400,000 points on Bejewelled (Lightning mode): you can do it, Rod. You got 375,000 only a couple of days back.

Every day, without fail, some celebrity or public figure will be quoted spouting a meaningless or disingenuous off-the-cuff cliché, to either big himself up or excuse some misdemeanour. Or simply to gull the public. From now on, then, we’ll be highlighting this sort of egregious shit in this brand! new! 'Fatuous Phrase of the Week' spot. This week it’s one that has always got my goat: 'battling my demons'. I hate this phrase partly for its ubiquity and partly for political reasons. Slebs are always telling us they’re 'battling with their demons' and by so doing are attempting to get themselves off the hook.

[audioplayer src="http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_2_Oct_2014_v4.mp3" title="Rod Liddle and Maria Miller discuss selfie obsession" startat=85] Listen [/audioplayer]So it now seems pretty clear to me that we can no longer send women photographs of our genitals without worrying that we might be the subject of some horrible sting operation and consequently suffer public humiliation and possibly lose our jobs. One by one, the harmless little pleasures in life are being withdrawn from us. It is even being said that we would be wise not to photograph our own genitals at all, let alone send the snaps to anyone, because a third party might somehow acquire them and cause us mischief.

Can anyone explain why there are so many dead rabbits lying around at the moment? I’ve found three in my garden, untouched by predators, and the lanes nearby are festooned with carcasses. Also, my dog twice nearly caught a rabbit, which was behaving in a very un-rabbit-like lethargic manner. I wondered if, at first, it was myxomatosis, as the virus has adapted to a slightly less lethal form of late; hence the sluggishness. But the rabbits I found in my garden had none of those horrible tell-tale symptoms of myxy; the swollen eyes etc. Perhaps they are all committing suicide having been disillusioned by the comprehensive victory for the 'No' vote in the Scottish referendum.

‘No Jews, No Jews!’ the children were told when they attempted to enter the Sports Direct store in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The two kids were identifiable as Jewish from their school uniforms. They were 11 years old. It was a security guard who refused to let them enter the shop and, as ever when the media reports events such as this, we were not told anything about him, aside from the fact that he has been sacked. Was he an actual German Nazi, do you suppose, a centenarian former concentration camp guard somehow omitted from Simon Wiesenthal’s list? I have my doubts. A goose-stepping white British Nazi?

Peter Tatchell has been awarded an honorary fellowship from Goldsmiths University for '47 years of LGBTI activism' and campaigning. I’m not sure I agree with these baubles, but if anyone deserves one, it’s probably Tatchell. A good man, by and large. Tatchell has in turn passed on his honorary fellowship to Palestine, as a statement against the 'occupation' by Israel. Right on! Right on! Let’s just briefly compare the treatment of LGBTI people in those two territories, then – Free Democratic Palestine and the Vile Fascist Entity. The Palestinian National Authority awards the death penalty for homosexuals. In Israel homosexuality has been legal de facto since 1963 and de jure since 1988.