Monday, November 19, 2007

How's about that, then?

Just a quick post today because I am struck by the juxtaposition of two items from the UK, one today and one from a couple of months ago. It seems that the aging DJ, Jimmy Savile has got his glasses back. For my readers who have no earthly clue who Jimmy Savile is, think of him as something like Elton John without the songs, silly costumes and gayness. Actually, they only really have silly glasses in common but I expect that Jimmy and Elton are pretty much equally famous in the UK in their own ways. By the way, it's arguable that Jimmy Saville invented twin turntable DJ'ing.

But anyway, these iconic specs were grabbed from Jimmy's face in the street last week. In an astonishingly determined bit of police work, the cops actually tracked the assailant down and retrieved the glasses. It turns out that the woman concerned was just playing "a bit of a prank" and that no further action would be taken. Jimmy took it all in his customary good humor and made something of a joke out of it.

Now, rewind to July, and the floods in Oxford, UK. Channel 4 news reporter Sue Turton (not as famous as Jimmy Savile or Elton John) is giving a live report by the side of a small river that used to be a road and her backside is deftly goosed by a passer by. The papers went loopy. Turton got a bit sniffy "I personally found the matter quite humiliating" and played the gender card: "Male reporters would never be treated to a public goosing. Should the women of my profession not expect the same respect?" The cops got all aggressive with talk of charges of sexual assault under the Public Order Act. I don't think they ever caught the fella, despite the whole thing being on camera and a hugely popular YouTube clip.

Can you spot the many differences between these two stories? Can you spot the biggest difference?

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