Am I a 'snowflake'?
Maybe I take offence too easily, so please let me know if I was too sensitive, but the following is what happened:
On the Sunday morning after the killing of Sir David Amess, his assailant was described on BBC Radio 4, both the 9 O'Clock 'broadcasting House' and the One O'Clock News as "A Briton of Somali Heritage". I found this to be offensive as there was no explanation of why his Somali heritage was in any way relevant, and that description equally well fits Sir Mo Farah, the four times Olympic champion.
I complained to the BBC about it and this is their reply (omitting names):
"Thank you for contacting us regarding Broadcasting House broadcast on 17 October and for sharing your feedback.
We note your concerns with our reporting of Sir David Amess' death.
The BBC aims for the highest standards that include fairness, accuracy and impartiality. The information is already available in the public domain, however, we appreciate you feel it was insensitive to refer to Ali 's Somalian heritage and we apologise for any unhappiness caused.
We also never condone any form of discrimination, irrespective of ethnic or national origins, gender, sexuality, faith, disability or age. These values extend right across all of our programming and it is something which we take very seriously.
Please be assured we value your feedback on this matter. All complaints are sent to senior management and we’ve included your points in our overnight report. These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the company and ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly. This helps inform their decisions about current and future content."
I don't really find this reply satisfactory. So any comments from the wisdom that is the Register readership would be welcome. Am I right to be concerned about the possible racism in the description, or am I a 'snowflake' who has been reading far too many books on racism and oppression of Black people recently*?
(Since 17th October, the BBC has not mentioned his Somali heritage again.)
* The latest one being Michael Holding's 'Why we kneel, how we rise'.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
