YSL 15/03/23 - Gary Lineker: It's not a culture war, it's a class war

I have been feeling a little below par the last week. A concerned friend of Germanic extraction told me to take the time off as other people would care only for themselves and not others. She's probably right about that in a fundamental sense but I've mostly just continued working because I've known in my heart I was up to it. To palm off my responsibilities on others when I'm capable myself would simply not be fair. I believe, as does Charles C.W. Cooke that one of the fundamental values held by British people is an unerring sense of fairness. 

I think the public views the Gary Lineker story through the lens of fairness. I think in the long term that bodes ill for both him and the BBC. What's fair and what's good and principled do not always line up but what's fair is usually right and necessarily just. What's just is to understand that when people talk about the culture war, what's really happening more and more is a class war.

Before talking more about what's right and what's fair, let's talk about the facts after the jump.

Full disclosure; I've never cared much for Gary Lineker. I was not an England fan growing up and he never played for a club I supported. He was groomed to replace Des Lynam as the anchor for the BBC's football coverage around twenty years ago but I always though him a lightweight compared to the old hands of the day including Lynam, Bob Wilson and Brian Moore. As time passed and he became established in his role I came to view him as smug and slimy, even before he expanded his brief beyond football. The apotheosis of his slide into true gitdom came in 2016 when he made a bet to present Match of the Day in his underwear if his beloved Leicester City won the premier league. He did... for all of about a minute until he dressed back up after the opening title theme. Clearly a welch and it sums up the quality of the man. 

One of the issues bedeviling the government has been small boat crossings of illegal migrants from France. As part of their strategy for dealing with it, Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled the policy in the Commons and early last week Gary Lineker, a frequent and vocal critic of the Conservative majority in Parliament saw fit to liken her speech to rhetoric heard in 1930's Germany on his public Twitter account.

Now, I've seen a gaslighting propagandist (Alastair Campbell) claim that Lineker "did not compare" the speech to Nazi Germany, he merely said the language used was reminiscent.. So much of this entire ridiculous story rests on technicalities. My goal here is to cut through the bullshit. The only reason you bring up Nazi Germany if you're Gary Lineker is you want to compare Tories to Nazis. There are legitimate criticisms to be made of any policy, no legislation will ever satisfy everyone and every principle - that's not the route he chose to take.

A number of Conservative MPs, including Commons leader and ERG stalwart Penny Mordaunt. understandably incensed by the inference used their own platforms to hit back at Lineker who hosts Match of the Day and other shows on the BBC. Some noted that the BBC is taxpayer funded and has obligations of impartiality including a code of conduct for presenters.

Following heated discussion and pressure, Lineker "stepped back" ie was suspended from his duties on Match of the Day on Friday, the presumed rationale having breached said code of conduct. The row over this is the story being reported and argued over. I think it's totally irrelevant, a distraction. Lineker has been social media lightning rod for long enough that in 2021 when his contract was reworked it was reported that he had agreed to lower his profile in that regard. 

Many argue that the code of conduct applies to news presenters, not sports presenters. Some preposterously make the case that Lineker is an independent contractor and thus not subject to any BBC rules - this may *technically* be true but is obviously complete horse crap because he is the face of their football coverage and their highest earner. Some complain that other BBC talent past and present such as Andrew Neil and Alan Sugar have apparently made political statements without censure which is irrelevant to the matter at hand. 

The only thing that really matters for the purposes of his suspension is what is in Lineker's contract - if his use of social media breaches the terms in that renegotiated deal then that's his problem. I honestly don't know but my guess would be it's vague enough that the kind of lawyer he could afford to have would get him clear. Indeed as of today, BBC brass have backtracked and Lineker will return to air next weekend. For all intents and purposes, he has been vindicated. It is a shattering victory for him and those who agree with him, but not for free speech or fair play.

A common line of attack used by his supporters and political allies has been the suggestion that Lineker would not have faced repercussions if he had tweeted in support of the government's policies. But once again, this is total crap and sidesteps the fault, the failure in the system. Someone who was outspoken enough to support conservative policies would never rise in our current age to the position within the BBC or nearly any other mainstream media organization that Lineker has. Everyone knows this - they would never survive the scrutiny or the pressure campaigns that would be launched to dislodge them.  This game is rigged.

On principle, Lineker can say whatever he likes. But most of the people framing this as a free speech issue have no idea what that even means. That's the case with the Labour Party who have smelled the political fight and thrown their weight behind him at the same time they support expanding hate crime laws and online censorship. They suspended former leader Jeremy Corbyn for among other transgressions, minimizing the Holocaust which Lineker arguably also did by invoking Nazi Germany to attack his political enemy who is a second generation immigrant to boot.

The BBC continues to be funded in large part by the license fee, an avaricious and extortionate tax by any other name. Watching traditional tv without a license remains a criminal offense and while the use of streaming services has spread and is not covered by the tax, it is still more common for especially older and poorer citizens to consume traditional tv. Every time Lineker rants about politically divisive issues, he does so from a platform built on the backs of the working class. The public is forced to pay, on pain of imprisonment, for this entitled millionaire to insult them.

This part is easy - end the license fee. Some believe the soft power generated for the UK by the BBC world services is worth the expense. If it's that worth it, the money can be found in others ways than this immoral tax. Match of the Day is not watched outside this country - an inordinate amount of money is misappropriated on football rights and coverage. As with almost every public service, poor administrative choices abound and the wrong priorities are being pursued. 

When it comes to Lineker, he has a big name but is no one special, he is just one of many as was proven by the "solidarity" of almost every other on-air personality sitting out in protest over his suspension. LBC radio host James O'Brien blasted that most BBC staff were on Lineker's - as though this is news to anyone. In the urban centers that the BBC sports coverage concentrates around, the circles are tight and the groupthink is strong. Perhaps it would be a good idea for employees to be able to tweet and post freely - the veil of impartiality the BBC tries to hide behind would well and truly be destroyed, exposing for any gullible members of the public the left-wing hivemind we know lies within. 

The type of people that Lineker, Ian Wright, Alex Scott and other wealthy celebrities associate all tend to share the same view of the world, particularly regarding immigration. Lineker's professed concern over the plight of refugees smacks of a guilty conscience, a man who well knows his wealth outstrips the value of his work. When pressed on his own lac of charity, he finally took one (1) refugee into his own home, a fellow so handpicked for the occasion it felt as though he'd been through a reality show.

But let's get real; when these people talk about refugees, it's a smokescreen. What they want is freedom of movement. Most of the people crossing by small boat are Albanian in origin, economic migrants. In the cities and closed communities Lineker, his fellow celebrities and their college-educated professional neighbors reside in, the immigrants are of a similar class, educated and erudite, socially engaged and cultured, or at the very least smart enough to know to be extra polite to the most influential and activist minded in society. 

On the outskirts? Sorry, different story. Setting aside the reality as a former US President once said, they're not sending their best, there are too far many. You'll often hear about how we're not building enough homes in this country. I was looking a t a photo recently of the area where I work. Where once there was a car park, rows of shops, a Jaguar dealership, garages ad other businesses, everything has been replaced with high-rise apartments. The same fate will probably befall the building I currently work in. It's not about housing; there is an unsustainable level if migration.

The character of towns up and down the country is being changed. it's not for me to judge whether it's for the better or worse I know it feels unjust for illegal migrants and questionable asylum seekers to jump the queue ahead of legal immigrants who've followed a process. It will feel unjust to many for foreign workers to be hired under the table on the cheap. It is unjust for authorities to throw local teachers and children under the bus to placate Islamic zealots. 

None of these societal problems are felt by the likes of Lineker and his ilk. While regular folk toil away in a collapsing economy, the luvvies keep busy patting each other on the back online congratulating themselves for being compassionate and enlightened while shaking their heads in disgust at how stupid and racist their selfish, lazy Little Englander compatriots are, an underclass worthy of nothing but contempt who will die out, fade away and be replaced.

If any of these privileged, entitled elites had the compassion they accuse others of lacking, if they genuinely cared about human rights they would followed Five live commentator Alan Green's lead in boycotting the Russia and Qatar World Cups. But no, they were all there, happy to virtue signal from the safety of their diplomatic shields while enjoying the sunshine and perks. If they really cared, they'd be more proactive in speaking out in favour of Ukrainian war refugees, women and children bombed out of house and home who are pushed to the back of the line by asylum seekers from decidedly less verifiable danger. But it's a lot less easy to call the hoi polloi bigots when the aid recipients are white Christians.

The BBC, as represented by Lineker and his supporters, is emblematic of that world view. They are hopelessly out of touch as an organizational whole with the working class in this country and if, as discussed, the social media policies enforcing impartiality guidelines will be reviewed and repealed, the drift will grow greater and faster. For my part, I have not watched Match of the Day in the some time and will never watch again as long as Lineker is involved - there are other, less aggravating ways of finding football highlights. 

But that's not a position that will hold in the long term. We've seen the ground recede beneath us over time and no outlet is safe from these racketeers. Our sports and past times have been hijacked by total idiots. Just in the last week, Colin Kaepernick has emerged once more, the boil on the ass of the NFL that just refuses to recede. He infected the world of sports with the malign cult of Black Lives Matter which the premier League embraced - and subsequently pretended not to have. When racists and trolls in Spain target black footballers for abuse, brainless pundits in Anglo media insist on lecturing English fans as though we are the ones at fault - because to them, we're all the same, a stupid punter who needs to be educated.

Gary Lineker and the overclass have shown nothing but contempt for regular fans. You could call it a territorial dispute, I would call it a hostile takeover. HHe may have won this battle but he can't be allowed to win the war, our culture, our right to our own opinions depends on it.. I think there are only two options; either Lineker must be forced to apologize to those he continuously insults ore he must be forced off our screens. Either weay, it starts with turning out the lights at the BBC.

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