Dispatches: Keep Them Out on Channel 4

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Did anyone watch last night's C4 documentary about a small town anti-asylum seeker campaign? I was going to, but decided not to after becoming dangerously enraged at the ads.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:31 (twenty-one years ago)

ditto. How did it go, anyone who watched it?

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:34 (twenty-one years ago)

i didn't, i watched the thing about voyeurs tho

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Missed it. HSA made me watch the thing about Mentoring on BBC2 instead, which I thought would make me shout at the telly, but actually ended up making me think about things a bit differently.

― Super-Kate (kate), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:35 (twenty-one years ago)

(The thing I made him watch about "making geniuses" and methods of education made me shout at the television more, though.)

― Super-Kate (kate), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I only saw the very end of Dispatches, where, now AS-free, the townsfolk gathered on the beach for a big party and some old geezer played "Apache" Shadows-style on his guitar.

A bit like wandering into a BNP meeting and only catching the refreshments. I don't know what their policies are but great sarnies!

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Grrr, couldn't watch this either. Re the woman who said "I have a fear of rape". Trout faced cow should be so lucky.

― Rumpy Pumpkin (rumpypumpkin), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I watched it. And it made me angry.

The main thing that it missed was that it spent all the time following the grass-roots campaigners, but not really looking into where their support was coming from. For example, they mentioned that the local councils had donated several thousand quid to the campaign; but didn't really follow that up by trying to ask any councillors what they thought about it. Similarly, a lot of the campaign's posters and placards had been printed by the local papers - their logos were prominantly featured - but this wasn't mentioned at all.

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't watch it for the same reason Ricardo didn't.

Lee-on-Solent is about 5 miles from me. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the lovely people featured in the programme work in this building.

― robster (robster), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Most of the people featured heavily were retired, because they had more spare time to go around putting up banners, organising demonstrations, and combing the right-wing press for scare stories.

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 7 May 2004 08:57 (twenty-one years ago)

That "Genius" thing, hey, the ability to have an adult conversation with your kid does not mean kid is a genius! sheeh.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 May 2004 09:23 (twenty-one years ago)

That woman who "hothoused" her poor child made me so angry that I wanted to call the Child Protective Services or something.

― Super-Kate (kate), Friday, 7 May 2004 09:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I remember the 'genius' sperm donor from back in the day, was happy the kid actually now seems like a nice bloke, level headed, and the mum too...

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 May 2004 09:31 (twenty-one years ago)

.. but the kid sobbing cause he lost at chess!

1) What's wrong with shouting "STOP CRYING! HE'S A GRAND MASTER! YOU WEREN'T EXPECTED TO WIN!!!" at him, hmm?

2) Being good at chess is a sign of a paranoid streak. That's all!

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 May 2004 09:32 (twenty-one years ago)

The teacher bloke with the disadvantaged kids was interesting. Though they kept saying that it was his "innovative teaching method" that was responsible for the amazing progress that he made. Well... maybe it was. And maybe it was the first time those kids had been in a class size of 6, and had actually had some individual attention of any kind! (Though I did like his mind maps, I want to make some.)

Sorry, we are off topic here...

― Super-Kate (kate), Friday, 7 May 2004 09:34 (twenty-one years ago)

.. only cause nobody (apart from one so far) saw that asylm prog due to not wanting to feed the fury...

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 7 May 2004 09:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I watched bits of it last night - didn't catch it all.
They kept contrasting the campaigners in Lee with interviews with asylum seekers. It made their stance all the more ridiculous.
Best bit was when they ran an undercover night time operation to try and catch the person that had been stealing their banners.
Bizarre and paranoid people.

― Greig (treefell), Friday, 7 May 2004 10:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Totally terrifying TV. What with the invasion of Iraq and the mental asylum laws, UK isn't too far away from being like Nazi Germany circa March 1939. Attitudes of people on the show were Nazi. But it could have made a fabulous Ealing comedy a la 'Titfield Thunderbolt' in a sense.

― ENRQ (Enrique), Friday, 7 May 2004 12:38 (twenty-one years ago)

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