Big brother and the politics of race

I didn't know that vanity can be so riveting. The race row on Big Brother has transformed into an international news story, from London to Mumbai to New York. Oh Jade Goody! Just what is this woman about? But when everyone's complaining about her foul mouth and her racist rants, a chief executive of a TV channel sees no wrong in broadcasting to millions prejudices of a bigot who was most unfortunate to get famous. Racism need not be overt. Indeed, it is in its subtlety that it is most vicious. You dont need to call a black man or an asian lad a f'**n paki or nigger to be racist. Racism resides in apparently innocent acts. Those who hide from this reality hide in the argument that racism is a complex issue. That you cant see it in arguments. For heaven's sake when one calls you Shilpa Fuckadilous claiming she cant pronounce your surname because she doesnt care to know, just what would you call this! Is the rest of humanity obliged to know how to pronounce Smith or Tweedy? Thats what the channel 4 execs are telling us. Thats what the bigot Jade Goody wants us to believe. We know the politics of euphemisms and how they conveniently mask reality. That's what channel 4 is about. Thats what Jade Goody is about. So riveting but so disturbing this vanity called Big Brother. Racism is alive.