Gary Lineker - foot in mouth again

[onegrumpyoldwoman]

I wish this guy would stick to football or selling crisps

Most recently, he gave an interview to Medhi Hassan (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/12/lineker-appears-to-call-oct-7-attacks-the-hamas-thing/ ) where he appeared to minimise the October 7th Hamas attacks as “the Hamas thing”, whilst falsely stating of the war in Gaza “I can’t think of anything that I’ve seen worse in my lifetime”. This statement is absurd hyperbole given that Mr Lineker was born in 1960 and has hence lived through major wars such as Vietnam, Iraq, Iran-Iraq, the Soviet and Western interventions in Afghanistan, and the Syrian Civil War, all of which have cost hundreds of thousands, in some cases millions, of lives.

I do not believe that it is compatible with Mr Lineker’s role as a presenter on Match of the Day, and hence an employee of our national public broadcaster, which is supposed to be politically impartial, for him to take such outspoken stances.

@Hippyhippybake " has he expressed horror for the victims of October 7 and the hostages held in Gaza?"

Yes.Of course he has. As has everyone with an ounce of humanity. I wish this "you haven't expressed ENOUGH horror about October 7th-you can't therefore express horror about the civilians in Gaza." would stop.

@Marjoriefrobisher but I thought you didn't know anything about him. And calling someone, whoever he is, expressing grief at the events in the Middle East "capering" is a little....distasteful.

@CurlewKate has he expressed horror at October 7 and the plight of the hostages? I haven’t seen this but may have missed it.

It’s not a “caveat” to acknowledge the crimes of Hamas, it’s central to understanding the whole hideous situation.

Actually it was out of courtesy to you that I didn’t mention your name, and simply pointed out that this could be called a purity spiral. Do you not agree?

I don't need to understand what led to the genocide to be horrifed at it and I don't need to list all the other things that horrify me first and neither does Linekar.
Its just an effort to silence an opinion you find unpalatable

I’m not trying to silence anyone. I’m just interested in hearing informed opinion. He has a very high public profile and that comes with responsibilities.

I don’t understand how he is helping the situation by commenting without any nuance or demonstrating that he has an understanding of the conflict.

I think part of the problem is thinking that there is any justification in what has unfolded in Palestine. One dead baby would have been a horrific response to any violence, thousands is just too hard to comprehend. IDF have slaughtered civilians, many (most?) of whom were women and children, the sick and the elderly. There is no honour in that. There is no way to make it ok. Anyone from a football pundit to a postman can and SHOULD be saying it.

Nuance? I'm not sure nuance is required for what has happened since 7th October.

You genuinely don't think he can say something is awful without going into a long explanation of Middle East Politics first?

No I don’t think he should go into a long explanation of Middle East politics but a simple acknowledgement that say perhaps Israel has a right to exist would be helpful.

I am sorry but I dont agree
Helpful to who?
GL or anybody else is under no obligation to say they think Israel has a right to exist in any context, let alone as a preface to saying the deaths of thousands of women and children is awful.
That doesn't mean they want to destroy Israel, it means they think the deaths are awful, that is all.

He expressed his feelings on what is happening in Gaza now.
Did you want him to have said " I find killing and starving innocent civilians appalling and I think Israel has the right to exist."?

Umm no, but he could have added something along the lines of “it’s a very complex situation with a long and bloody history and a lot of pain on both sides”.

How about you apply to be his PA and dictate exactly what you think he should write in his tweets. Honestly you are being ridiculous

Why should he?

Obviously not. Predictable response

@Auvergne63 because he only has this high profile because he is the highest paid presenter on the State Broadcaster. And most people don’t just dismiss Jewish suffering.

Why is it predictable exactly?
People on here have suggested that GL can only say the deaths are awful if he prefaces it with support for Israel

He is a highly paid presenter because he is good at what he does. The money he received is payment for his services. He is still allowed to have opinions on bombing babies, we all are.

What I wish is that someone would come up with an acceptable form of words which expresses sincere horror and grief at the horror that is Hamas that we can use before we make any comment on the deaths of civilians in Gaza.

@Teddleshon "And most people don’t just dismiss Jewish suffering"

No, they don't.

Chacun a son goût i guess. Personally I find fools on twitter who know almost nothing mangling serious issues distasteful but it’s a free country

I meant the response to me that you picked up on was predictable not your response apologies for confusion

Your double standard is quite shocking. Your demand that every time someone mentions the Palestinians' suffering, they also must mention the Israelis' suffering.
In comparison, every time the Israelis' suffering is mentioned, I don't see you and other posters mentioning the Palestinians' suffering at the same time.
Why is that?

@Auvergne63 can only speak for myself but if I was making a public comment on the situation I would of course talk about about both sides. I just can’t imagine not doing that.

This thread is fundamentally about the horrendous situation in Gaza as referred to my Gary Lineker. It has already been acknowledged so perhaps posters don’t feel it’s necessary to explicitly refer to it again.