Stephen Fry Comments

[Section Q]

Can't stand this guy. Pompous twat...

Statement like this shows how far removed he is from reality.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.itv.com/news/2016-04-12/stephen-fry-tells-child-abuse-victims-stop-feeling-sorry-for-yourself/&ved=0ahUKEwjM3L_c24jMAhXJ1hQKHfp-D4wQqUMIITAC&usg=AFQjCNFwNHNO4NHIV3ocRbrJUnuX2AZXkQ

[hughesie27]

Strange thing to say coming from a once suicidal man.

[Tazio]

That falls under the category of an opinion you have that you should keep to yourself or use in a chat with your mates in the pub if you fancy an argument. Not something to say during an interview. He's entitled to his opinion but sometimes you have opinions other people find unpalatable.

[Jamhammer]

Very odd thing to say. He seems very bright but obviously troubled

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

Much as I liked him in Blackadder, he's been a conceited nob for years now. Talks a load of shite and for some reason we're forced to hear all about it. Hate QI - basically a show designed for him to show us all how clever he is. Prick.

[Boris]

I think he has gone rather over the top, but in context of reading about such things in literature and being able to discuss these things in literature/the arts, he has a sort of point.

 

Hard to agree with, perhaps, and I think he is saying, "yes what happened to you was vile and wrong, but life goes on and these things will be discussed so don't shy away from it".

 

Yet to say so in such a seemingly insensitive way is what is getting the headlines.

[deesidejambo]

He is right about the literature aspects and I get the point on excessive self-pity, but linking it to being abused when young has obliterated the point he was trying to make in the first place. But anyway -hang him!!!

[Section Q]

Operation Yewtree has been slightly discredited with the "botched" investigations into parliamentarians and others for sexual offences, and Fry's comments aren't accidental. In no way am I connecting him with this sort of activitity though. He's a polished performer and spent a bit of time in jail for fraud and knows how to affect and manipulate things.

Nasty piece of work.

[elvoys]

I suggest people watch the show (Rubin report) as the report has completely omitted the context of the talk which was about the infantilisation of society in general with specific reference to behavior of uni undergraduates asking for trigger warnings, no platforming and safe spaces. The examples he gave are completely relevant as this sort of behaviour and censorship is going on and is completely antithetical to what open and honest investigation should look like in a free society.

[Ray Gin]

Incredible comments from a manic-depressive, known for taking hissy fits and deleting his twitter account whenever he gets any kind of negative tweets coming his way.

[Stephen Muddie]

I suggest people watch the show (Rubin report) as the report has completely omitted the context of the talk which was about the infantilisation of society in general with specific reference to behavior of uni undergraduates asking for trigger warnings, no platforming and safe spaces. The examples he gave are completely relevant as this sort of behaviour and censorship is going on and is completely antithetical to what open and honest investigation should look like in a free society.

WORD. Explained here through the use of silly songs and IMO good guitar work.

 

 

[Section Q]

I suggest people watch the show (Rubin report) as the report has completely omitted the context of the talk which was about the infantilisation of society in general with specific reference to behavior of uni undergraduates asking for trigger warnings, no platforming and safe spaces. The examples he gave are completely relevant as this sort of behaviour and censorship is going on and is completely antithetical to what open and honest investigation should look like in a free society.

Still a dick....!!!

[JudyJudyJudy]

Best words to describe him are " pompous snob". Always has been and surprised most people dont realise that. Yes he has had to fight his " demons" But who hasn't?  His hissy fits when challenged show the nature of him as he cowered away and went into a " depressive " state. Aye right. What i got from his statement is that if your a victim of abuse then you need to get over it as no one may like / love you , How would he feel if someone told him to stop being a moody ^^^^ cause he has bi polar....btw the only illness which seems to affect " creative " types. !

[Stephen Muddie]

[Debut 4]

What a plank.

 

While driving home from Wales today I listened to Radio 2s piece about the abuse program on the tele last night.

 

Utterly heart wrenching hearing the reaction of the now grown up woman (Kathy?) when 5 of the accusations against her abuser got thrown out.

 

People don't realise the lasting effect it has on people right through their life, childhood and beyond.

 

Maybe that's the way he feels but a complete ar**hole for going public with his comments. Quite naive.

[Taffin]

What a plank.

 

While driving home from Wales today I listened to Radio 2s piece about the abuse program on the tele last night.

 

Utterly heart wrenching hearing the reaction of the now grown up woman (Kathy?) when 5 of the accusations against her abuser got thrown out.

 

People don't realise the lasting effect it has on people right through their life, childhood and beyond.

 

Maybe that's the way he feels but a complete ar**hole for going public with his comments. Quite naive.

It's not naive, that's his point really. If he believes that why shouldn't he say it?

 

People are entitled not to like what he has to say, but they aren't entitled not to hear it.

 

In context the point he was making is that we cannot censor everything incase someone gets upset by it. He has admittedly, made a bit of an arse of it.

[ToadKiller Dog]

I like Stephen fry an articulate and intelligent man have listened to his full interview and he makes a lot of good points ,but the end bit about self pity was wrong in fact ridiculous and not helpful in dealing with victims overcoming abuse .

I suppose as he comes from an era and education in the English public schools where sexual abuse of young boys was part of life could be why is rational on that is a bit warped .

[The White Cockade]

no time for the self obsessed twat

[Rousset1]

He's a douchebag.

[tian447]

There's a half decent comment buried in that facepalm of a statement:

 

 

There are many great plays which contain rapes, and the word rape now is even considered a rape.

 

?They?re terrible things and they have to be thought about, clearly, but if you say you can?t watch this play, you can?t watch Titus Andronicus, or you can?t read it in a Shakespeare class, or you can?t read Macbeth because it?s got children being killed in it, it might trigger something when you were young that upset you once.

 

I hate the current "can't say anything offensive or you'll trigger me" attitude that is sweeping the globe.

 

It's become a crime to hurt someone's feelings, but the kicker is, these people will get upset over literally anything.

 

Have a look at https://www.reddit.com/r/TumblrInAction if you want some maximum seethe from people who are exactly like this.

[Rick Grimes]

I think he has gone rather over the top, but in context of reading about such things in literature and being able to discuss these things in literature/the arts, he has a sort of point.

 

Hard to agree with, perhaps, and I think he is saying, "yes what happened to you was vile and wrong, but life goes on and these things will be discussed so don't shy away from it".

 

Yet to say so in such a seemingly insensitive way is what is getting the headlines.

I hope that was what he meant. It probably is.

[Captain Sausage]

Have a look at https://www.reddit.com/r/TumblrInAction if you want some maximum seethe from people who are exactly like this.

 

That's a good page for getting the midweek seethe levels up.

 

Some right ***** on that page. Really makes me hate people. But I am sadistically chuffed to get my seethe levels off the floor today.

[GlasgoJambo]

Best words to describe him are " pompous snob". ....What i got from his statement is that if your a victim of abuse then you need to get over it as no one may like / love you , How would he feel if someone told him to stop being a moody ^^^^...

What you take from 'his statement' is kind of remiss as it's not a statement - it's an extract which had been framed within an article to look like a statement and is being scrutinised in isolation and out of context.

A lot of people on social media have responded similarly much to nobody's surprise.

[Horatio Caine]

In that photo he's beginning to look a bit like Jeremy Clarkson.  Enough said. 

[WSTR]

Stephen Fry is [mod edit] quality

[FenderJaguar7]

I dislike the people on twitter who are always "outraged" more.

 

F****** a********.

 

The same people who love Caitlyn Jenner etc.

 

What horrible times to live in.

[rudiatemyhamster]

There's a half decent comment buried in that facepalm of a statement:

 

 

I hate the current "can't say anything offensive or you'll trigger me" attitude that is sweeping the globe.

 

It's become a crime to hurt someone's feelings, but the kicker is, these people will get upset over literally anything.

 

Have a look at https://www.reddit.com/r/TumblrInAction if you want some maximum seethe from people who are exactly like this.

Stephen Fry quite often says incredulous things (sometimes like this time I find very offensive).

 

No doubt regrets his choice of words here.

 

But we are now a nation of the great offended. Say something which can any way upset someone and you are a bully. Intentionally or not you have upset them. Expect to pay emotional damages (this is already happening).

[Jambo 4 Ever]

For someone who has had depression this is a very strange comment to make!

[Regal Kingston]

A lot of Fry-haters!

 

Stephen Fry is a national treasure.

Intelligent, opinionated and has produced some fantastic work throughout his career.

 

However his comments here are pretty naive.

Looking back I'm sure he would probably agree himself.

[I P Knightley]

Stephen Fry quite often says incredulous things (sometimes like this time I find very offensive).

 

No doubt regrets his choice of words here.

 

But we are now a nation of the great offended. Say something which can any way upset someone and you are a bully. Intentionally or not you have upset them. Expect to pay emotional damages (this is already happening).

He's big enough, old enough and clever enough to be able to choose his words more carefully and to be fully aware of how reporters (for want of a better word) can pick and choose the elements of what he says to suit their own agenda. These people love nothing better than knocking someone off a pedestal.

 

I can see a grain of something sensible and even sensitive in what he may have said in a fuller statement but I wouldn't have bloody said it.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

A lot of Fry-haters!

 

Stephen Fry is a national treasure.

Intelligent, opinionated and has produced some fantastic work throughout his career.

 

However his comments here are pretty naive.

Looking back I'm sure he would probably agree himself.

 

Publicity seeker who likes the sound of his own voice and the scale of his own self importance.

[ToadKiller Dog]

Of course in his position people like himself are given as much free speech as they like to say as he pleases .

He forgets the responsibility that comes with free speech .

Where he can tell victims of child abuse (who have hardly any voice or tend not to get a fair hearing) just to hush up .

[Dia Liom]

Of course in his position people like himself are given as much free speech as they like to say as he pleases .

He forgets the responsibility that comes with free speech .

Where he can tell victims of child abuse (who have hardly any voice or tend not to get a fair hearing) just to hush up .

 

 

So do you believe in free speech or not?

 

The word 'free' suggests that there needn't be any 'responsibility' attached. If that is Fry's opinion, do you think he should just keep quiet as you disagree with it?

 

 

I disagree with him as well, think he is a pompous arse, but a lot of comments I read on here seem to say 'I believe in free speech.... as long as you aren't saying something taboo/that I don't agree with'

[ToadKiller Dog]

So do you believe in free speech or not?

 

The word 'free' suggests that there needn't be any 'responsibility' attached. If that is Fry's opinion, do you think he should just keep quiet as you disagree with it?

 

 

I disagree with him as well, think he is a pompous arse, but a lot of comments I read on here seem to say 'I believe in free speech.... as long as you aren't saying something taboo/that I don't agree with'

Is freedom of speech more important than freedom from prejudice or freedom from hate , I would argue not .

Stephen fry ( who I said earlier I respect ) is in the lucky position where he has the platform to say what he wishes ,do the victims he told to shut up have that same platform ?

 

Freedom of speech is a not based in reality in a society where it isn't equal measures , in a society where the media decides who has a platform and who hasn't , it's only the lucky ones like Fry who have that liberty and they should you that lucky position with more responsibility .

 

The absolutist position on freedom of speech is not they way forward , freedom has to have responsibilities with it .

 

It's a hard balance to get right .

[Zico]

I suggest people watch the show (Rubin report) as the report has completely omitted the context of the talk which was about the infantilisation of society in general with specific reference to behavior of uni undergraduates asking for trigger warnings, no platforming and safe spaces. The examples he gave are completely relevant as this sort of behaviour and censorship is going on and is completely antithetical to what open and honest investigation should look like in a free society.

This. Rod Liddle wrote a good piece in the Sunday Times about the no-platforming of Peter Tatchell for being, wait for it, transphobic. All because he signed a letter in favour of free speech. It's insane and I'm glad more people are speaking out about it. While Fry could've used a better example, the grief he's getting and the cack-handed apology he 'has' to make is particularly ironic.

[Dia Liom]

Is freedom of speech more important than freedom from prejudice or freedom from hate , I would argue not .

Stephen fry ( who I said earlier I respect ) is in the lucky position where he has the platform to say what he wishes ,do the victims he told to shut up have that same platform ?

 

Freedom of speech is a not based in reality in a society where it isn't equal measures , in a society where the media decides who has a platform and who hasn't , it's only the lucky ones like Fry who have that liberty and they should you that lucky position with more responsibility .

 

The absolutist position on freedom of speech is not they way forward , freedom has to have responsibilities with it .

 

It's a hard balance to get right .

A hard one to balance for sure.

 

I'd say it has to be competently free even though people may be offended more often. For example if I have an opinion and post a thread on here 'most people who take anti-depressants haven't actually done anything to change their lives for the better' or 'choosing not to procreate is s wrong' it may offend people but is it not better to have the discussion, especially if these were genuine views.

 

One of my problems with your view is that what is generally offensive changes drastically over time. For example my statements above would be pretty controversial today, but on the other hand threads questioning how anyone could believe in god/allah pop up fairly regularly now but at one point would have caused much more ofence.

 

The other problem I have is that you are basically refusing Fry's right to free speech because of who he is, adding a further caveat to it all. Let's say some unknown victim of abuse is asked by a reporter about the comments and they agree 100% with Fry, do you say they have a responsibility not to give their opinion?