The Week 22Feb2020

Talking points NEWS 23

22 February 2020 THE WEEK

Caroline Flack: who’s to blame?

“Cheeseismilk’sleap

towardsimmortality.”

CliftonFadiman,quoted

onTheBrowser

“Thedietbookisoneof

thosefool-and-money

separationdevicesthatseems,

likerouletteorslotmachines,

nevertoloseitspower.”

ChristopherHitchens,

quotedinForbes

“Whenthegoinggetsweird,

theweirdturnpro.”

WriterHunterS.Thompson,

quotedonCitywire

“Theactor whoisn’t

typecastdoesn’twork.”

Attributedto BetteDavis

inTheObserver

“Everymantakes the limits

of hisownvisionforthe

limitsof the world.”

Philosopher Arthur

Schopenhauer,quoted in

Laph am’s Quarterly

“Nothing dates harder and

fasterand morestrangely

than the future.”

Author Neil Gaiman,

quotedinThe Atlantic

“I’veneverany pity for

conceited people,because

Ithink they carrytheir

comfortaboutwith them.”

George Eliot, quoted

in Forb es

“Thereisalways some

madnessin love.But there

is alsoalways some reason

in madness.”

FriedrichNietzsche,quoted

in Town andCount ry

“One of thelessonsof

history is that nothing is

oftenagoodthing to do and

alwaysacleverthing to say.”

Will Durant,quoted in

TheInewspaper

Today,therearetwotypes
ofBritishpeople,said
KenanMalikinThe
Observer.Therearethe
“British-British”,whose
citizenshipcanneverbe
takenawayfromthem.
Thenthereareimmigrants
andthechildrenof
immigrants,whosestatus
seemstobe“contingent
uponcontinuedgood
behaviour”.Recently,we’ve
seenthis“two-tiersystem”
atworkinavarietyof
cases.TherewasShamima
Begum,whosecitizenshipwasrevokedbecause
shejoinedIsis,thoughuntilthenshehadspent
herwholelifeinBritain.Therewerethe
Windrushmigrants,arbitrarilystrippedoftheir
righttoliveintheUK.Andlastweek,theHome
Officetriedtodeport 4 2Jamaicannationals
whohadservedtimeinprison–thoughmany
ofthemhadgrown upin the UK, orwereraising
theirchildrenhere.(After an11thhourhuman
rightschallengeintheCourtofAppeal,25 were
takenofftheplane, but17weredulydeported.)
This“discriminatory”tendencyison therise.
Morethan 150 peoplehave been strippedof
theircitizenshipsince2010.

Thoseare falsecomparisons,saidTheDaily
Telegraph: thecasesarequite different.The
Windrushmigrants werenotdeportedbecause
theyhadcommittedcrimes;it wasanerror,and
theirtreatmentwas“scandalous”.Butthe

deportationof“foreign

criminals”–foreigncitizens

whohavebeensentenced

to 1 2monthsormorein

prison–isthelaw,under

Labour’sUKBordersAct

(2007).Britain’srightto

deportthemis“automatic”,

unlesstodosowould

infringetheirhumanrights.

That’sbecausecitizenship

isa“privilege,notaright”,

saidRodLiddleinThe

Spectator.Theplane

headingtoJamaicalast

weekcarriedpeoplewho

hadservedtimeformanslaughter,rapeand

drugdealing.“Sobbing”oversendingthemtoa

countrywheretheyholdcitizenshipmakesno

senseatall.Peoplewhocomefromonecountry

andabusethelawsofanothershouldbe

removed.Thisideais“acceptedworldwide”.

Evenso, itisarguably“disproportionate”to

send peoplebacktoacountrywheretheyhave

notbeensincetheywere achild,saidAmelia

GentlemaninTheGuardian.ChevonBrown,

forexample,now 23, wassentencedto 14

monthsafter beingcaughtdrivingat115mph,

then deportedtoJamaicalast year–“ripped”,

ashesays,fromhis familyin Oxford, andsent

to acountry heleftattheage of14,wherehe

hasnorelatives.Insuchcases, deportation is

“manifestly unjust andinhumane”, saidSarah

BaxterinThe SundayTimes.Itrepresents a

“lifesentenceof exile toanunknownland”.

Citizenship: the haves and the have-nots

Thesuicideof Caroline Flack
has“provokedan outpouring of
anguish”,saidMelaniePhillips
in TheTimes–andof rage.The
presenterofLoveIsland,who
had ahistoryofanxietyand
depression,wasawaitingtrial
forassaultingherboyfriend,
LewisBurton, whenshedied
last weekend.The followingday,
hermanagement companyturned
on theCrownProsecution Service,
accusing it of staginga“show
trial” andpushing ahead with the
case,although Flackwasfragile
andBurtondid not want to press
charges. Others blamedLove
Island’s producers, pointingout that two
contestantshadalso diedby suicide. Many
more, though, blamedthe tabloidsandsocial
media.Hundredsof celebritiesand others
appealedfor a“Caroline’s law”against media
intrusion. OnherRadio5Liveshow, Flack’s
friendLaura Whitmoredeclared: “Topaparazzi
andtabloids looking foracheap sell, to trolls
hidingbehindakeyboard: enough!”

It’s wrong to blamethe prosecutors,said Joan
Smith inTheGuardian. It isn’tup to victimsto
press charges–in domestic violence cases,the

lawyersoftengo aheadwithout

cooperation,forgood reasons.

Thepress,though,isadifferent

matter.Fewdefendants have been

subjected tothe “onslaught of

heartlesspublicity” thatFlack had

to endure. Itwas“open season” as

soon asher arrestbecamepublic.

The Sun called her“Caroline

Whack”–she allegedly hitBurton

withalamp. Thetabloidseven

printedpictures of herblood-

spatteredflat. Shewas mobbed

by photographers; noonecalled

off the dogs, despite her “obvious

vulnerability”.Andwherethe

media goes,socialmediafollows.

This is one ofthe“great hypocrisiesof the

British public”, Roy Greenslade told The New

YorkTimes:that they avidly readeverything

about these celebrities, andincreasinglywrite

about themonlinetoo.“Then whenthingsgo

wrong,they turnonthe mediaandsayit’s all

the media’s fault.” Flackis yet another casualty

of ourobsessivecuriosityabout thelivesof

strangers, andtheindustrythat exploitsit, said

SeanO’GradyinThe Independent.“Aslongas

we have celebculture–and it is nothing new

–wewill havecelebtragedies.”

Flack:vulnerable, hounded

Statisticofthe week

Facebook has 35,000 “content

and security reviewers” who

take down more than a

million fake accounts every

day; the company has

uncovered more than 50

“disinformation operations”

aimed at influencing

democratic elections since

the 2016 US presidential race.

The Independent

ChevonBrown:deportedforspeeding

Wit &

Wisdom