Jody McIntyre claims that he was dragged from his wheelchair by police officers during last week’s student fees protests. The video of Mr. McIntyre’s treatment can be seen below:
Today, Richard Littlejohn has decided to cover Mr McIntyre’s story in his usual crass and taste-free way.
He begins:
I want to go to the demo…
Wheelchair-bound Jody Mcintyre has complained that he was beaten and manhandled by police during last week’s student fees protests.
But if he’s looking for sympathy, he’s come to the wrong place.
A man in a wheelchair is as entitled to demonstrate as anyone else. But he should have kept a safe distance.
Mcintyre put himself on offer and his brother pushed him into the front line. It’s not as if he didn’t know there was going to be trouble.
He was also at the last student demo in London and persuaded friends to hoist him on to the roof of the Millbank Tower. If his brakes had failed and he’d gone over the edge, who would he have blamed then?
Whilst you might disagree, this is Mr Littlejohn’s opinion and that’s fair enough.
However, it’s the second part of his column that requires attention:
Jody Mcintyre is like Andy from Little Britain.
‘Where do you want to go today, Jody?’
‘Riot.’
‘Are you sure? Wouldn’t you rather go to hear Bob Crow speak at the Methodist Central Hall. You like Bob Crow.’
‘Yeah, I know.’
‘So, we’ll go there, eh?’
‘Riot!’
‘Ken Livingstone will be there, too. He’s your favourite.’
‘Riot!’
‘All right, then.’
Five minutes later at the riot . . .
‘Don’t like it.’
As if that’s not bad enough, this part of the column is illustrated with the following photo:
Do you think this is an appropriate way to cover a story about a man with cerebral palsy being dragged out of a wheelchair? I certainly don’t.
This even surpasses Littlejohn’s previous attempt at tastelessness when he tried (and failed) to make a joke out of the suicide of Chinese factory workers.
(More on Littlejohn’s column at Enemies of Reason.)
UPDATE: Just as a clarification – my contention is that Littlejohn’s comparison of Jody McIntyre to Andy from Little Britain is needlessly offensive and tasteless. I am, in fact, not convinced that his comparison is discriminatory to disabled people. And, as Roy Greenslade has said on his blog, Littlejohn has a right to be obnoxious. Just as we have a right to be offended…
Also, a few people seem to think that my criticism of Littlejohn’s column is as a result of some sort of personal agreement with Mr McIntyre’s politics. This is not the case. I take great care to make sure this blog is apolitical. Whatever my personal political views are, you won’t see them here.
It's sad how the only thing Littlejohn knows about disabled people is there was a sketch about them on a show which ended 5 years ago.
Incidentally, there's a version of the McIntyre video with increased contrast, which is a bit clearer than the version at the top there.
Excellent, thanks. I've updated the video.
Yeah, it's quite tiresome really. Mind you, I find most of Littlejohn's columns tiresome…
What. The. FUCK.
I am shocked. And I'm shocked that I'm shocked, I never thought I would be surprised by an article in the Mail, but this is exceptionally bad even by their own abysmal standards.
I think this will be the first time I write to the PCC.
Why do people keep paying attention to tabloids, newspapers and Daily Mail in particular? I don't buy any of them and resent being informed about the contents of them.
The media are terrible when it comes to disability issues. I am socially excluded from protests – which I would like to attend because I believe in the issues – because my disability places me in a very vulnerable position when is comes to crowds. Simply there is no way I could attend without being at risk of being trampled. Especially with techniques like kettling being employed by police… not to mention this sort of disgraceful behaviour. Jody has every right to be there. To imply people with disabilities should know there place and have to stay at home away from the action, action which reflects their beliefs and issues which affect them is discrimatory and wrong! The whole situation, lack of intelligent debate is so frustrating. I wish hardcopy press would employ some editorial discression and rigour, after all that is its only advantage over the internet, where any idiot can express an opinion.
why do you think Littlejohn is the best paid columnist -because he says what so many feel and think in a forthright often very witty way. Its not PC but then in the real world not many people are
I suggest you Google Jody McIntyre and read his blog before you rush to judgement.
@Anonymous (15:27): I don't need to read Mr McIntyre's blog to think that Littlejohn's comparison was crude and tasteless.
@Minority Thought: it might not be necessary to read Mr McIntyre's blog to determine that it was tasteless. It is however, if, as your blog title suggests you campaign against bad jounarlism, you think that getting the pertinent facts collated before offering your support to Mr McIntyre. By his own words in his blog he contradicts the statements made to journalists after the protests. He is a demonstrable liar who has leveraged his physical issues against the society that supports him, in the interest of "revolution".
Whilst the actions of the police officer were completely inexcusable, the circumstances of it being able to occur at all are what Littlejohn is attempting to point out.
Why on earth would the brother of a wheelchair-bound man with cerebral palsy feel it appropriate to take him to what was surely to be (after the previous events) a violent demonstration?
And if it was not his choice, but Jody McIntyre's, then the comparison to someone as dim as Andy (regardless of the wheelchair/disability issue) appears to be entirely justified. The fact that his comments may offend the umbrella of disabled people (such as alienwonderer) was most likely not his intention.
PS I usually despise the Daily Mail with its oft-ridiculous opinions on most aspects of society, and I know little of Littlejohn's previous articles, but I believe the method of using humour to highlight the manner in which McIntyre allowed himself to be in the position he was in to be suitable.
@A gentleman in disguise: I am not offering my support to Mr McIntyre. His politics are of no relevance to my assertion that I find Littlejohn's comparison tasteless.
@Bill T: I appreciate your point, and I realise what Littlejohn was trying to say with the comparison, but I still find it needlessly tasteless.
For example, I blogged about the insensitivity of Littlejohn's comments about some Chinese factory workers who committed suicide. I don't believe this shows that Littlejohn is prejudiced against Chinese people; I just thought it was crass and worth documenting, as I do in this case.
I realise that since my judgement of Mr Littlejohn's comparison is based purely on taste that it's unlikely everyone is going to agree.
So the Mail are quite happy to moan about Frankie Boyle's late-night mockery of disabled people but on the other hand are quite happy to publish one of their own journalist's similar mockeries in their own paper.
Bill T – you are an ableist. The thing with disability as a minority status is that unlike race or sex, you can fall into the category of 'disabled' at any time.
Referring to chair users as 'dim', and likening them to an already ableist and unfunny parody of someone pretending to be disabled, is reminiscent of the phrase "Pride comes before a fall."
Watch your step, because one day you or someone you love may need help which doesn't exist anymore, because it's been taken away by people who share your narrow-minded, bigoted views.
The Little England character is portrayed as suffering from learning difficulties – to suggest that someone in a wheelchair must automatically be "simple" is offensive and inaccurate. That is the issue and I think Jody should complain.
I don't like the idea that he was "wrong to complain about being mistreated" rather than "he wasn't mistreated".
He's so disabled that a few weeks ago he managed to climb 18 flights of stairs in Millbank Tower while friends carried his chair. The comparison with Andy is justified
Time to cut his DLA
^^ What an utterly stupid thing to say. Who said he was completely disabled?