BBC host Sam Mason has been sacked by the company over a racist remark that she made to a taxi dispatcher regarding Asian or turbaned drivers picking up her daughter.
Mason, 40, only took over the BBC Radio Bristol weekday afternoon programm six weeks ago. Mason allegedly told a Bristol taxi firm “not to send an Asian driver to pick up her daughter”. She proceeded to say that “A guy with a turban on is going to freak her out.” When the dispatcher (who recorded the exchange) objected, she said “You’ve managed it before.”
To make matters worse, she later tells a supervisor that she works for BBC. She tells him: “I work at the BBC. I’m far from racist and that uneducated woman has no right to call me one.”
Here is the transcript:
Mason: “I know this sounds really racist, but I’m not being . . . please, don’t send anyone like, you know what I mean. An English person would be great, a female would be better.”
Operator: “We would class that as being racist. We can’t penalise the Asian drivers and just send an English one.”
Mason: “You’ve managed it before.”
Operator: “Right, OK. I don’t agree with it personally.”
Mason: “It’s not your 14-year-old girl who’s, you know, is it?”
Operator: “Yes, but that’s racist to say you don’t want an Asian driver.”
Mason: “If it were me I wouldn’t care if it had two heads, but it’s my little girl we are talking about.”
That was enough for BBC management and she was fired.
what is BBC?
Jim, I know it’s natural to be more comfortable to be around a person who physically isn’t foreign to you. BUT, don’t tell me you have not read newspapers or stories of serial killers and most of them are WHITE.
Everones entitled to there open opinion
Carlyle,
All humans might be racist, but you’re speciesest.
Jim said “for the amount the term “racism” is thrown around, it’s unfortunate that it’s so ill-defined.”
Of course racism is ill defined, since by definition it excludes the self, not even a Nazi would accept a self description as a racist.
The other fallacy believed by most people is that a person is either racist or not racist in the same as a switch is either on or off. In fact there are multiple dimensions of racism and for each dimension individual humans differ in the strength of that aspect of racism.
Maybe identifying herself as a BBC employee was the critical thing that forced the BBC to fire her.
The truth is, scratch any random human being and you will find a racist.
100.00% of members of species homo sapiens are racist to some extent.
This includes self conscious liberals who tie themselves in knots to avoid giving offense to brown people and end up being insufferably patronizing instead. This fact makes it impossible to hold a sensible discussion about racism since the vast majority do not recognize the image of the racist looking back at them from the mirror.
Anyway perhaps the right to hate people for any reason or no reason at all needs to be a fundamental human right.
jim:
Sorry jim but that old right wing trick of complaining that because one does not cite every conceivable wrong in a circumstance thus exonerating the most obvious one doesn’t work anymore. Two wrongs — cited or not– still do not make a right. Righties are so good at non-sequiturs.
rafflaw:
Personally, I think they are the walking dead. But who am I to say what these race-baiters do at night? I suspect they maybe hiding under their covers afraid that a mixed race soul might come to get them.
Mespo,
Thanks for the suggestion. How do people like jim and Col. Blimp actually sleep at night? That kind of hate doesn’t belong in a civil society.
Col Blimp:
Thank you for the illiterate view from the underbelly of the world or the American Renaissance Magazine–same difference. But one question: How could you see to type through that white hood?
note: If anyone wants to know more about ol’ Col. Blimp and his alter-ego Jared Taylor, I suggest you look at the Southern Poverty Law Center Website. They have a comprehensive list of vermin like this.
This woman is 100% spot on! Why would you imbeciles want to place a white woman in the unsupervised presence of a darky?
May the BBC and all filthy DARKIE NlGGER WOGS burn in Hell!
Yours Faithfully,
Col Reginald Blimp
mespo (or anyone else who sides with mespo),
what about the sexism contained in that conversation? why didn’t she get in trouble for that? if she would have said, “an african-american person would be great, a caucasian would be better,” she would have been fired for that comment, but nobody was concerned about the discrimination between the sexes. sexism & racism are both discrimination. my point is that accusations of racism are out of hand. another thing…for the amount the term “racism” is thrown around, it’s unfortunate that it’s so ill-defined. it can refer to a simple preference of service based on comfort level of someone who’s too young to have come to terms with (sometimes) irrational stereotypes (situation with the ex-BBC anchor), all the way to a KKK member’s actions. i don’t have time to continue this conversation, but I will check back to read comments. i don’t claim to have all the answers, that’s just how i feel.
If she really feels that way about other races, then she should drive her own child around, like most other people in the world do.
I know that I wouldn’t let a complete stranger drive around my young teenager, so what is she even thinking?
She may as well as tell the manager at a restaurant that she’d prefer a better looking server than the one she has, right in front of that server.
Thanks Mespo,
I did not think of a “morals” clause in her contract. Could the fact that she was employed by the BBC, which is funded or a part of, the British government have any effect on the response? Such ignorance on her part. Maybe her daughter will learn from her Mom’s stupidity that it is never right to be a racist.
rafflaw:
That’s a good point, but in my limited experience public figures like newscasters usually have a morals or disrepute clause in their employment contracts — like the Don Imus case. This is likely the reason.
Well said Mespo.
The anchor knew her conduct was over line when she prefaced her statements with “I know this really sounds racist..”. To allow this kind of action to go without challenge only allows this type of ignorance to fester. That being said, I am not sure that the BBC should fire her for being an idiot on her own time. Doesn’t she have the right to be a racist without the fear of being fired? Were the comments by here that she works with the BBC enough to bring the employer into the mix and fire her?
jim:
Is you last name “Crow” by any chance? You certainly may personally decide not to accept a driver you don’t like, but you may not require a public livery to assist you in your racism whether it makes you “comfortable” or not.
that’s totally insane that she got fired. the civil rights movement and anti-discrimination laws are tremendously important, but the fact of the matter is that many people feel more comfortable being along with someone of the same ethnic background, especially the most vulnerable members of society…young women. a person on the street spontaneously needing a taxi isn’t obligated to take the first one he sees. he can pick someone of the same ethnic background, just like a non-caucasian can. this is out of hand.
Just drive her to school yourself or hire a limo with your own selected driver and you would still have a job and noone would know that you are a racist!