Congratulations Stu Peters

[The Voice of Reason]

19 hours ago, Someone Who Cares said:

I don't claim to speak for others.  Personally I applaud when I see people trying to unite their fellow members of society against racism by taking the knee.  The unity it has generated in the English football team has been a joy to behold.  The results on the pitch have improved too, with them now being ranked higher than ever before.  I struggle to understand why anyone who is against racism is upset by the gesture.

How can you say the results on the pitch for the England team have improved by taking the knee when other national teams do it?

By definition they can’t all have improved their results. What about those who have suffered a loss in form? Maybe that’s a result of them “taking the knee” It’s a load of rubbish.

And I’m sure some of those, non racist footballers taking the knee are only doing it because they have been instructed to. So it loses all credibility.

If this knee taking business was to stop tomorrow would we see an increase in racist abuse?

Absolutely not, as quite correctly football clubs have the power to come down on those who indulge in such things.

To be honest as a non racist football supporter it makes me cringe every time I see it.

 

[Max Power]

12 minutes ago, Someone Who Cares said:

You have said:

"Although I didn't say that the website encouraged violence against whites either. I said that the BLM movement was divisive rather than it encouraging togetherness.

 

When you posted this, were you not linking the BLM movement to "Kill the Cops" and "Kill Whitey", both phrases that have never been part of the ethos of the BLM movement since it was launched in 2013?  If so, I don't understand why you included these elements in your original post?  It certainly looked and felt like that was your intention.

 

Those were indeed phrases which appeared as BLM came to prominence after the George Floyd killing. Many supporters were chanting to this effect. I didn't say that the BLM website contained those phrases, only that some of their supporters endorsed them. I also said that causes get hijacked by their supporters.  

[The Voice of Reason]

5 minutes ago, Someone Who Cares said:

No-one should, and Stu Peters was not forced to.  Maybe if he had attended he might have been allowed to carry on his career as a talk show host.  So perhaps it may have been a good idea if he had.  I don't know either way, just hypothesising.

Clearly there are always instances where people have to do courses they don't want to.  You have to pass a driving test to take a car on the road on your own as a simple example.  I see that as sound judgement rather than anything sinister.  You have to pass exams to work as an auditor.  It is not unreasonable to ask someone who is working on a talk show to take some courses to help them do it better.  As I've said - as long as they are not coerced.

But who determines how I such courses make you do your job “better”. Of course the auditor example works as you need the technical skills but working as a talk show host is objective once you get past how to position the microphone etc.

[Someone Who Cares]

3 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

How can you say the results on the pitch for the England team have improved by taking the knee when other national teams do it?

I didn't.  I said that since they started taking the knee, results have improved.  I did not link the two.  I think there is a chance they may be linked, you clearly don't.  Please don't misrepresent my words though.

[Declan]

If I was elected MHK I would want to spend time with people who’s experience was different to my own. A particular priority  I would want to know about the issues of people seeking help from the mental health bureaucracy, I’d want to understand the experience of nuero-non-typical adults and to talk to parents of autistic etc kids. That’s just based on general conversations in the last year or so which point to an issue that needs to be addressed. 
 

Learning about people’s lives that are different to your own is important to better understand the world we live in but especially for those making or scrutinising policy. I sometimes wonder if benefits policy is made by Civil Servants who went straight into the service at 18 and have never had to sign on. And the bus service run by people who’ve always had a car or lived in a town or a 9 to 5 job. 
 

A lot of these “awareness courses” are about facilitating that exchange. Helping people to walk a mile in others shoes. I don’t see what damage that can do? Or how that would change a well-thought through opinion. 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Declan

[Someone Who Cares]

7 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

But who determines how I such courses make you do your job “better”. Of course the auditor example works as you need the technical skills but working as a talk show host is objective once you get past how to position the microphone etc.

I would guess the employer, who has a duty of care to the audience and will not want to spend time dealing with complaints from listeners, or submit to independent investigations to discover if the broadcaster has breached any codes. 

[Declan]

Incidentally I think it was me that first raised the subject of courses. I was making a joke about Stu attending the media training course Rob mentioned in 2016 that new MHKs receive. I just thought it funny that Stu (& Tim Glover) would be sitting in a classroom listening to a recent media studies graduate explain how to talk on the radio. But that got misinterpreted. 

[The Voice of Reason]

16 minutes ago, Someone Who Cares said:

I didn't.  I said that since they started taking the knee, results have improved.  I did not link the two.  I think there is a chance they may be linked, you clearly don't.  Please don't misrepresent my words though.

So you were pointing out a coincidence?

You didn’t link the two even though you think there is a chance they may be linked? What on earth?

Im not misrepresenting your words . They are there in black and white.

Your thinking seems a bit confused

As for two teams playing each other , both taking the knee who gets the possible chance they may get an advantage? The blue team or the red team?

Maybe a team not taking the knee would be best off. Pretend to go down on a knee but abandon the gesture whilst mid knee bending and blowing a raspberry at the opposition when they get up from their prone position.

You know like proffering your hand for a handshake, withdrawing it at the last minute and do the thumb thing on your nose.
 

You don’t have to go down on one knee to prove you are not a racist.

[Declan]

21 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

But who determines how I such courses make you do your job “better”. Of course the auditor example works as you need the technical skills but working as a talk show host is objective once you get past how to position the microphone etc.

I don’t know about talk show hosts but I do know at work that receptionists, call centre staff etc recieved coaching on how to explain things to customers, handle difficult conversations etc. 
 

I also know in my creative life that just having a pen and paper doesn’t mean I’ll write something great. There’s lots to learn about structuring a story, word choice to make it more exciting etc. That can be learnt. In fact the better I get, the more I look for hints to be better.  However, I don’t have to act on every bit of advice and much of it is reinforcing stuff I know, but it helps. 
 

Now a talk show host is much more than turning up and switching the mic on and talking off the top of your head. If I was in that position I would be expecting and welcoming feedback from my boss and peers. Of course then I’d filter it to decide what I would use and what was bollocks. 

[Someone Who Cares]

30 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

So you were pointing out a coincidence?

You didn’t link the two even though you think there is a chance they may be linked? What on earth?

Im not misrepresenting your words . They are there in black and white.

Are you being deliberately obtuse to bait me?  Or is English not your first language in which case I will explain again.

What I wrote is reproduced below:

"Personally I applaud when I see people trying to unite their fellow members of society against racism by taking the knee.  The unity it has generated in the English football team has been a joy to behold.  The results on the pitch have improved too, "

The use of the last word in the quotes above ("too"), makes it clear that I am not linking them.  "too" in this context means as well.  It does not mean "because".  As I said I think they may be linked, but I clearly did not imply it, and you claiming that it is there in black and white will not change that fact.  I am happy if others wish to infer it.  As I said I think it is possible they are linked, but I definitely would not state that they definitely are.  That would be a bit of a leap that I do not make.

So I repeat my request - please read my posts with a little more care and do not attribute statements to me that I do not make.

[The Voice of Reason]

51 minutes ago, Someone Who Cares said:

Are you being deliberately obtuse to bait me?  Or is English not your first language in which case I will explain again.

What I wrote is reproduced below:

"Personally I applaud when I see people trying to unite their fellow members of society against racism by taking the knee.  The unity it has generated in the English football team has been a joy to behold.  The results on the pitch have improved too, "

The use of the last word in the quotes above ("too"), makes it clear that I am not linking them.  "too" in this context means as well.  It does not mean "because".  As I said I think they may be linked, but I clearly did not imply it, and you claiming that it is there in black and white will not change that fact.  I am happy if others wish to infer it.  As I said I think it is possible they are linked, but I definitely would not state that they definitely are.  That would be a bit of a leap that I do not make.

So I repeat my request - please read my posts with a little more care and do not attribute statements to me that I do not make.

I think you need to write your posts with a little more care.

[The Voice of Reason]

2 hours ago, Someone Who Cares said:

I would guess the employer, who has a duty of care to the audience and will not want to spend time dealing with complaints from listeners, or submit to independent investigations to discover if the broadcaster has breached any codes. 

Does the employer not also have a duty of care to their employees?

[Someone Who Cares]

17 minutes ago, The Voice of Reason said:

I think you need to write your posts with a little more care.

So you are being deliberately obtuse, refusing to admit to your mistake and continuing to misrepresent my statement.  Against this I don't think it would make any difference how careful I was.  Are you sure "Voice or Reason" is an appropriate epithet. 

[The Voice of Reason]

2 hours ago, Declan said:
 

Learning about people’s lives that are different to your own is important to better understand the world we live in but especially for those making or scrutinising policy. I sometimes wonder if benefits policy is made by Civil Servants who went straight into the service at 18 and have never had to sign on. And the bus service run by people who’ve always had a car or lived in a town or a 9 to 5 job. 
 

I take your point Declan.

And I know I am fortunate in never having been in the position where I have had to claim benefits. And since gaining my driving license, only really using the bus when having been out for a drink. 

Yes you can learn about things you don’t do but it’s not the same thing as experiencing them.

At the end of the day talk radio phone in hosts may be a little controversial to please their employers and gather listeners. Who wants to listen to blandishments ?

Some people on here are deliberately provocative and want to demonstrate how clever they think they are. 
 

It’s all entertainment really (within limits)

[Someone Who Cares]

11 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

Are you sure that you’re actually someone who cares? 

I am.  I care about those in need.  I care about children & parents and their rights (including to eat out).  I care about the BLM movement.  I care about refugees and would like to see the IoM home some as it can.  I also care about the truth.  I don't care to be misrepresented though.  If voice of reason wants to make jokes at my expense, I think I have the right to to defend myself though.