Cliff - Right or Wrong?

Did Gareth Cliff overstep the line in terms of how far one can go on-air?

  • No

    Votes: 85 76.6%

  • Unsure

    Votes: 5 4.5%

  • Yes

    Votes: 21 18.9%
  • Total voters
    111
grayston said:
So you're implying that if he HAD said "God is petty" then all this religious backlash would have been justified?

I don't like that idea, because it reinforces a belief that religion is somehow off-limits for ridicule or even criticism.

If you can't criticise a religion, then you have to completely abide by it. And how can you simulataneously abide by three Abrahamic religions, one polytheistic religion, one religion based on the theory of enlightenment and all the sundry smaller religions? They are mutually incompatable!


Now, before people start equating religious criticism with hate speech, let's have a look at some examples of each, shall we?

Hate speech:
"All you atheists are going to rot in hell."
"One settler, one bullet."

Religious criticism:
"Religious adherence is becoming obsolete, as we are technologically advanced such as to no longer need supernatural explanations for natural forces. We are also enlightened enough to appreciate the immediate harmful effects of 'immoral' actions, without needing archaic threats of punishment in the afterlife to dissuade us from acting improperly."

Okay, that was a bit academic. But even if you compare blasphemy with hate speech, the differences are quite easy to spot:

Hate speech:
"All you atheists are going to rot in hell."

Blasphemy:
"Deities are not necessarily as perfect as you would have us believe." (This could be more succintly expressed as "God is petty" or "Allah is a pig".)

Whether GC blasphemed or not is immaterial. He's allowed to, and so is everyone else.
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QFT.

Although, I'm not sure telling atheists they are going to rot in hell is hate speech.
 
grayston said:
So you're implying that if he HAD said "God is petty" then all this religious backlash would have been justified?
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no it would not have been justified but at least people would be dealing with the facts of what was said, not what they heard in their stupid hysteria!
 
I stopped listening to 5FM once Gareth came to the afternoon drive.

Still listened to Gilman as he rock'd in the morning. Gareth came to the morning show and since, I have only been listening to Highveld.

and tbh Highveld > 5FM hands down ;)
 
Xarog said:
Although, I'm not sure telling atheists they are going to rot in hell is hate speech.
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can't be hate speech. if atheists do not believe in hell telling them they will rot there can have no emotional or other effect on their psyches, now can it?
 
Sweetlicks said:
can't be hate speech. if atheists do not believe in hell telling them they will rot there can have no emotional or other effect on their psyches, now can it?
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Just like if you don't believe God has an ego then God can't be petty?
 
Sweetlicks said:
no it would not have been justified but at least people would be dealing with the facts of what was said, not what they heard in their stupid hysteria!
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Well, the reason people altered the facts - changing "such a god WOULD BE petty" to "God IS petty" - was because they believed that the second version is somehow unacceptable.

This is absolute rubbish.
 
grayston said:
Well, the reason people altered the facts - changing "such a god WOULD BE petty" to "God IS petty" - was because they believed that the second version is somehow unacceptable.

This is absolute rubbish.
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No it was because people like to react to what they wanted to hear; in this case make a scene by misquoting Cliff; if they had stuck to what he originally said there would never have been ammunition for any scene.
 
Sweetlicks said:
No it was because people like to react to what they wanted to hear; in this case make a scene by misquoting Cliff; if they had stuck to what he originally said there would never have been ammunition for any scene.
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Ah, but without misquotes what would we have to discuss? :D
 
all im saying is we know that subject causes alot of problems in life and ppl get very angry when its discussed

all im saying is dont say stuff about it because it going to cause kuk, its not a matter of opinion when your a radio DJ, say anything about anything cept for GOD

you have certain rules to follow and granted he does not follow them which i like but he did cross the line

not only could he have been fired but the radio station could have suffered due to listeners no longer wanting to listen to him anymore

as i said dont bite the hand that feeds you, someone said our taxes pay his salary thats rubbish advertising payes his salary

lets not forget how many companies may be very religious and may stop advertising

i think it was silly to say anything about GOD considering how these church ppl react to silly things

personally i dont give a crap what he says about GOD but more than likely a good 50% would take offence and from a business perspective thats bad
 
Well killadoob we cannot go around avoiding contentious issues because they upset people....? bit too simplistic a view u've got going there if I may say so.
 
Sweetlicks said:
No it was because people like to react to what they wanted to hear; in this case make a scene by misquoting Cliff; if they had stuck to what he originally said there would never have been ammunition for any scene.
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But there's no ammunition *anyway*. He could have said "God is a weasley-faced wonker" and it still wouldn't have made a difference.

Religious types may not like blasphemy, but THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT.
 
grayston said:
But there's no ammunition *anyway*. He could have said "God is a weasley-faced wonker" and it still wouldn't have made a difference.

Religious types may not like blasphemy, but THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT.
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I should have said 'perceived ammunition'. You are right; I'm 100% in agreement with what you say, grayston
 
Good to see that the votes are an overwhelming NO,
This reminds of a clip I watched on CNN today about the woman's talk show "The View" where the black host(don't know her name) tried to argue with Whoopi Goldberg that Jesus came before the Greeks and Romans (she could not comprehend that there was a time when the western world did not recognise Judaism or a man called Jesus) LOL
 
Gareth being censored is one of the many signs that Freedom of Speech in the media had gone down the drain. God forbid you tell the masses the truth. Allow them to live in their subservient little worlds.
 
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