Jeremy Clarkson attacks democracy

Mr Clarkson, hugely popular TV presenter, has attacked democracy in an article today. He seems to represent a growing hard right trend to seek to make democracy more exclusionary. GOP trying it in the USA. Tories promoting it in UK. How long before we see it here?

https://twitter.com/brokenbottleboy/status/1568888573440528384?s=46&t=s-SilYzuHlt5P-Ggq23vDQ

FoxForce5

Benign dictatorship, the only true form of government.

SuperBowserWorld

I am glad I've never watched any of the "boys driving cars" show he and his sidekick idiots ever made. I can not and could never stand that mouth piece.

Edit ..

I didn't even really read what he said 😝... But he just annoys the crap out of me.

archer22

In fairness he has a point.

Suckler

Attention seeking journalist seeks attention.

erlichbachman

He’s bang on the money, people are idiots

Montage of Feck

It seems to be an attack on populism not democracy.

bucketybuck

People are idiots, nothing new about that. But it is moronic that out of all the options it is apparently Joe Biden that is the "terrifying" one. What a troll.

Count Dracula

The dog on the street knows that US democracy is a fallacy.

Geriatrics make poor presidents.

AMKC

I wonder what it is that this gool finds so terrifying about Biden. Trump is the one he should have been terrified of.

Emmanual Macron is a good President and is neither of the words he said also Micheal D Higgens but sure Jeremy Clarkson probably does not know who he is.

He is right about the other two do but neither of them are as bad as Putin but then Russia is not a Democracy so I understand why the tool never mentioned him.

I am surprised he did not mention the Ukrainian President maybe because he is a great and brave man. Probably go down as one of the best Presidents of any country in the World and certainly one of the bravest.

Gusser09

Well until the shinners are in power. A lot might agree with him then.

Nabber

Democracy is not the problem.

The ease at which voters are swayed and the inability to be open to different viewpoints allows the unqualified and lunatics to gain power.

Sounds exact same taught process, as nearly every liberial said post Brexit referendum,

A worryingly large amount of people across spectrum,dispise democracy,if it geos against their views

The fact he would choose joe biden as a reason to justify monarchy is a brain-fart nearly as large as clarksons ego

nigeldaniel

Jeremy and a few others who think like him don't really get what democracy is... they only understand their idea of what politics should be.

joseywhales

He understands that foreign presidents aren't elected to represent his views rights?

riffmongous

Considering the popularity of the absolute scutter that he produces for television he might have a point here..

seenitall

This is what happens when you pay vast amounts of money to smug dunderheads whose intelligence is limited to basically going “vroom vroom”, to do just that, on tv. They start getting notions that their going beyond vroom vrooming in public somehow won’t show them up as utter morons. A big fail there, Jeremy, and as unexpected as a rainy day in Ireland.

Bayonet

Just wait until the TikTok generation get to vote.

I'd be happy to go back to a monarchy taking over politics or even a benign dictatorship like some of the Gulf states. Not an authoritarian one like the Biden admin.

MakersMark

He's absolutely right.

Look how many stupid people here think that Sinn Fein will solve their problems!

Annd9

He also fails to acknowledge, in most western democracy's the choice of candidates "The people" are given seem to be getting further and further disconnected from society .

In the states you have to at least be a millionaire to even stand a chance of entering a primary .

Britain is run by graduates of 1 or 2 universities , we have political "families" here ourselves who have serious sway in communities .

South Park hit the nail on the head , it's either a douchebag or a Turd sandwich .

super_furry

Oh no, is Jeremy being deliberately 'controversial' again?

Overheal

To quote Jeremy Clarkson:

”Oh no! … anyway”

osarusan

He is harldy, at this stage of his life, angling to become one of those 'tells it like it is' sh!t-merchants?

Citizen Six

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602833#Comment_119602833

No one else is solving the problems, so it's easy to see why people are willing to give someone else a go.

Loafing Oaf

OP would you be getting all hot and bothered if Sean Moncrieff or Oliver Callan wrote an article 'attacking democracy'? Because that would be an approximate Irish equivalent....

The right trying to subvert democracy and limit freedom of speech?

I, for one, cannot believe it.

elperello

Never had much time for him since he clocked Oisin Tymon over missing his dinner

All processes of power, democratic or not, are based on how much finance you have to persuade people to adopt your views and plans. Simple as that.

EOQRTL

When you look at the absolute state of the present and last president's of the supposed greatest country in the world America you do indeed begin to question democracy in it's present form. The UK also to a very large degree.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602963#Comment_119602963

I wasn’t aware I was hot and bothered. But I defer to your psychic abilities. To answer your questions: Clarkson has much greater audience in a leading European power already struggling with issues of rule of law, judicial independence, executive supremacy, media manipulation and toxic hard right ideology. I’m quite overcome now and must lie down with a damp cloth on my face.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603267#Comment_119603267

Okay okay 'hot and bothered' is (attempted) humorous exxageration. But it's a category error to treat anything a guy whose stock in trade is amusing car reviews says about politics any way seriously. If Jimmy Carr or Sacha Baron Cohen said it was better not to give people a say in the running of the country would you cite that as part of "a growing hard right trend to seek to make democracy more exclusionary."

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603346#Comment_119603346

Clarkson has much wider influence than you credit him with. His reach is into an audience that might not really engage with politics.

I’m going to lie down again now. I thought of another comedian who did crossover. Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978), also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy, is a Ukrainian politician and former comedian and actor who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603396#Comment_119603396

Okay I'll concede that, I don't know enough about Clarkson's following to dispute it. But what I am sure about is he doesn't mean this stuff literally himself

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/nov/30/jeremy-clarkson-one-show-apology

Do you think he was seriously advocating this?

donegal_man

Clarkson is just a provocateur looking for reactions. Every time I hear about one of his rants I'm reminded of what he said to Alistair Campbell on Top Gear. "I don't believe what I write any more than you believe what you say." Said as a throw away jokey comment but I reckon more accurate than many of fans or detractors like to admit.

Munstersrebel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602566#Comment_119602566

there is no such thing... unless you are benefitting from the rule

FoxForce5

Atatürk from 1919 to 1938 springs to mind plenty of examples out there

mollser

Serious sense of humor deficit on this thread, which is generally noticeable with the cancel crowd. If you bothered to read the article you'll see Clarkson has a fair point, especially when you take time to look at the absolute state of politics these days, aided and abetted by social media nonsense. He can't help but rip the pi$$ while he's doing it, which has completely wooshed over your head.

Good article!

ancapailldorcha

Clarkson's not much more than an embarassing relic at this stage. He's like that great uncle who says racist things. A few people find him amusing but to most he's just another elitist bigot with a column in a declining rag.

Potential-Monke

Different people like different things shocker....

"People are idiots - except me of course".

https://youtu.be/MwiE9-tKGcE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602963#Comment_119602963

Why wouldn't they? Although they're not at all Clarkson equivalents.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602566#Comment_119602566

Benign for who?

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602595#Comment_119602595

Macron and 'terrifyingly Biden"

Who wakes up in the middle of the night in cold sweat because of Biden?

Maybe people who care about climate change who worry he won't do enough to combat it, but that's hardly where Clarkson is coming from

billyhead

There's definitely a herd mentality in this country. Oh look Sinn Fein will be the saviours of the housing and welfare problems in this country as they keep promising so let's all vote for them without scrutinizing there overall policy in other areas like Education, Crime and Climate Change or let's simply get rid of the current establishment. People blindly follow what other people are doing when it comes to elections.

It's easy for the "He's right" lot to say when it's not happening. They'd change their tune if it became a reality.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603860#Comment_119603860

Yeah but there's also clowns here taking him seriously and saying he's right.

quokula

People realise he's just playing a character and makes a lot of tongue in cheek comments to gets a rise out of people saying this stuff without actually believing it right?

He's on record saying he doesn't believe what he writes, he campaigned for remain during the Brexit vote, he's endorsed the Labour party. Another example if you ever watch his car shows is that he'll make typical petrol-head climate denying type statements to get a reaction but there have been plenty of times when they've done travel segments where he's seen the effects of climate change in person and made much more sincere statements that show what he really believes.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602699#Comment_119602699

It's terrifying that the best alternative to Trump is a very old man with obvious dementia.

The US is a two party state, and literally anyone could be elected, no matter how bad.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602963#Comment_119602963

The OP wouldn't like what Churchill said about Democracy.

saabsaab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119605774#Comment_119605774

Democracy is a very poor way of running things but it's the best option we have so far.

MrMusician18

We've come a long way from people chanting his name at Glastonbury