He's still a hero

Today I was planning to write a bit about how big, or small a part of my current life being trans is. Or in other words do I think of myself as a woman or as a trans woman. I still think this is an interesting question and one I want to investigate here but something has come up that I really want to talk about.

Each day, usually in the morning, I will turn on my computer, I will check out the latest Girl Genius and then Go Comics  for the latest Chickweed Lane. only then will I turn to the news, usually the Times of Malta and the BBC websites. A particular story on the BBC struck me today "Gary Lineker to be 'spoken to' after comparing UK asylum policy to 1930s Germany" for those outside the UK our Home Secretary has just announced her plans to exclude any asylum seekers, economic migrants, or indeed any other immigrants coming to the UK other through "legal routes". At the moment there are a number of immigrants coming to our shore across the Channel from France and Belgium in small boats ~ although a lot less than are crossing the Mediterranean to our southern neighbours. These restrictions including deporting and refusing to process asylum claims from anyone arriving by small boat, but not only that, they will also be banning anyone arriving by small boat from ever being able to apply for asylum, citizenship or even residence.

Not a Government Minister

I will admit to being confused about what is meant by legal means for as far as I can see from many countries there are no legal routes of getting here to apply for asylum ~ in effect this whole policy is designed to make immigration illegal ~ regardless of our major labour shortage, not just nurses and doctors, but agricultural labourers, builders, and many other roles that the British simply don't want to fill. These are policies brought before Parliament by our elected politicians ~ supposedly the great and the good. On the other hand Gary Lineker is an ex-footballer and sports pundit.

There appears to be a bit of a power imbalance here.

Now I personally think that our current Government is morally bankrupt and that these latest proposals bring them and our Country into disrepute. I also strongly suspect that they (like the previous proposals) are illegal.

 I feel that the criticism of them is legitimate and well founded ~ but that's not the point here. This is an unbelievably cruel policy and Gary Lineker has simple said that. He is not paid by the BBC for his political views but for his knowledge of football and his ability to communicate that. He does not represent the BBC, it's views or it's political or news reporting. ~ Yet it appears that he is to be sanctioned for having views and stating them ~ surely that is a basic right of everyone, unless their job is to comment or report on behalf of an organisation.

I think the BBC would have some right to sanction Lineker if he were to comment against policy on a footballer, a football club or organisation ~ bit that is actually encouraged!

It is a sad day for the UK when our footballers have more integrity than our politicians and more moral fibre than our national broadcaster. The BBC has been under attack from teh Conservative Party for decades now and they are just running scared and are freighted of giving balanced impartial reporting in case they lose even more funding.

In a not unlinked news yesterday the BBC also announced that they will be disbanding the BBC singers as well as cutting the number of salaried posts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, teh BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra. At teh moment we don't know how many musicians will be made unemployed by this, but it is yet another devastating blow for our national music infrastructure.