A performer calling himself Bob Vylan said nasty things at Glastonbury. The police are investigating to see whether it amounted to a crime. Stirring a crowd up into a frenzy of hatred probably is and probably ought to be as it could lead to violence and that’s clearly irresponsible.
However, his performance was being broadcast live on television at the time, and that has led to calls for the BBC to be censured for continuing to show his behaviour. Now the BBC has admitted it did wrong.
Really? One of the benefits of living in the UK is thinking our media can be trusted to show the truth and not managed to manipulate the opinions of the populace. Of course, many of us have complained over the years the BBC has failed to live up to that. Now something has happened and it was apparently wrong to allow the public to see it happening. What Mr Vylan said might be true or false, inciting malice or likely to breach the peace. Those are matters for investigation, but what he said, how he said it, and how people reacted is simply a fact the public were entitled to see and judge. Some might agree with him. Others might not. If it went beyond what is reasonable, and since I didn’t see it I’m in no position to judge that (but the jury in any case will be) that should be prosecuted. However, blaming the BBC for allowing people to see it comes very close to saying the public should be told what to think and not given the information to make up their own minds.
This is new. Back in the ’70s there was a brief fashion of “streaking” — running naked through a public place to shock those there. Sometimes this would happen at televised sporting events. The streaker would be arrested and led away, but the television would show it and the commentators would probably make a joke out of it. There’s nothing like humour for pricking bubbles around those seeking vain glory.
What happened at Glastonbury might well be more serious, but if a crime was committed, why did the police not stop it? If it should have been stopped surely that is a policing failure. A gathering as large as the Glastonbury Festival must have a substantial police presence to maintain order. Why blame the BBC if the police failed to intervene? The arrest would have made wonderful television. The BBC was a mere witness, as were all those watching its coverage. When they cover a live event they can’t be held responsible for what happens. Does the British government now believe we should live in a stage-managed world where the truth is hidden behind an official story? Lord Reith would have been horrified. He resisted the government for the Corporation’s independent reporting during the 1926 General Strike. Has the modern BBC fallen so far?
