I must get out more

I must get out more

BBC radio presenters suspended after mocking disabled people

"Andrew Hawes and Ian Hart have been taken off the airwaves at BBC Southern Counties after using the term "window licker" during a football phone-in show.

Action was taken after Mr Hart told a football fan to "go and lick a window" during a row about Mickey Adams the manager of Brighton and Hove Albion.

His comment was followed by Mr Hawes urging "any window lickers out there" to call the show".

I have never heard the term before, so I asked Google for an interpretation. And, then I came across the BBC using the term itself as far back as 2003. Worst Word Vote. This does strike me as being a bit hypocritical.

In any event, this is how the vote went:

1. Retard 19.6% (404 votes)
2. Spastic 18% (373 votes)
3. Window-licker 17% (350 votes)
4. Mong 13.4% (276 votes)
5. Special 10.2% (210 votes)
6. Brave 7.9% (163 votes)
7. Cripple 5.5% (113 votes)
8. Psycho 2.9% (60 votes)
9. Handicapped 2.5% (52 votes)
10. Wheelchair-bound 2% (42 votes)

Note that window licker comes in at number 3 in the pop charts. However, when the poll is analysed as to who finds what term offensive, the non window lickers find it a lot more offensive than the window lickers.

DISABLED NOT DISABLED
Spastic Retard
15.1% (57 votes) 21.5% (328 votes)
Retard Window-licker
14.3% (54 votes) 19.6% (298 votes)
Brave Spastic
14% (53 votes) 19.2% (292 votes)
Special Mong
13.5% (51 votes) 15.7% (240 votes)
Cripple Special
10.8% (41 votes) 8.8% (135 votes)
Handicapped Brave
7.9% (30 votes) 6.2% (95 votes)
Wheelchair-bound Cripple
6.3% (24 votes) 4.3% (65 votes)
Mong Psycho
5.8% (22 votes) 2% (31 votes)
Psycho Handicapped
5.5% (21 votes) 1.1% (17 votes)
Window-licker Wheelchair-bound
5.3% (20 votes) 0.9% (14 votes)

In other words, the window lickers are no where as near offended by the term than the non window lickers at the BBC. I'm offended that the BBC has made such a big deal out of next to nothing.