Free Dirk Bigler

B

Brian Smilehigh

New Member
Dear all,

I am writing this as Dirk Bigler has now been banned from this forum. A member since 2002, he adds a bit of spice to this forum and on occasion I agree has been a little too sarcastic and taken out of context.

Anyway, last night after a few after work drinks, he posted a response to the message titled sarcastic threads about other forum members . Basically he replied 'you have a silly haircut'. As most of you will hopefully see, he was purely trying to add a bit of humour to this forum. He has never met James and never seen his haircut.

He has now been banned for ever after 5 years of reading and posting and is absolutely gutted. Add to this the current clampdown on enjoying yourself in Ibiza, I ask is the world starting to take itself to seriously?

He understand that he may have to serve some kind of ban, but for life may be taking it a bit too far. He was only having a joke and was not horrible or nasty about anyone.

Please can you have a rethink about his ban. If you agree, please can you leave a message of support. This would mean a lot to him

Kind regards, Brian Smilehigh
 
I never had a problem with him personally, some of his posts were a little bit bizzare but he was a bit funny albeit a bit mad, it's actually racists like this super pollack who should be banned.
 
He is honestly one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. Passionate about dance music since the late eighties and a right nutter. Never harmed a fly in his life.

To think that this guy is also a self made millionaire and is the director of his own company gives us all hope!

I think James needs to take a chill pill. The guy was clearly trying to make light of matters. Maybe Dirk touched a nerve? Has anyone ever seen James and does he have a dodgy haircut? Come on lighten up and let Dirk back on. There is far worse on here and we all need to stick together. Please?
 
Who hasn`t had a dodgy haircut at some point? :twisted: As I see it, as with any misdameanour, a case for punishment has to be explained and only then will all parties,including other forum members see why this has to be? :confused: I can only speculate as to the reasons why Mr B. was banned as I only saw a handful of his posts, but alas in these days of treading on eggshells and pc sensitivity, the world seems to be becoming a very boring and characterless place.R.I.P Mr B
 
i thought this was a special offer - a free dirk biggler with every brian smilehigh. brian you don't mention the post that really got dirk banned - have you ever met a nice south african? the sarcastic threads post was just the icing on the cake.

we now no longer make any other bans than permanent ones so there's your answer.

now, please can we get on with the forum

and brian can i remind you of our rules

"Discussions about Moderator actions should be directed by email to the moderator(s) in question, and NOT discussed in the public forums.

Finally, do NOT use the public forums to resolve any disputes with other members. If you do have a problem with another member, please resolve this via pm (private message), email or contact one of the Moderators."
 
After speaking to Dirk via email, he has stated the Have you ever met a nice South African message was with reference to the Spitting Image song in the eighties called exactly that.

I believe this song got to Number One in the UK? Purely a reference to the song and, albeit I admit a stange one from him, a conversation piece.

Can you open his account so he can at least PM you direct?

Can we not all chill out a bit and enjoy some randomness????

Below, the BBCs take on the song.


In 1986 Apartheid was still firmly in place in South Africa, but the world was beginning to wake up to the horror of the regime and to mobilise against it. Part of this was activity by cultural figures, both in boycotting South Africa as long as the white minority regime was in place, and in attacking it publicly. Other protest songs included 'Free Nelson Mandela' and 'Biko', but none were perhaps quite as blunt as Spitting Image's take on the issue.
The television show Spitting Image was at the height of its success at this time, and decided to put out a single. It was a 'double B side' but went to number one largely on the back of the now legendary 'Chicken Song', about which no more shall be said. On the flip side, however, was the rather more polemical '(I've Never Met) A Nice South African'. The song itself seeks to show how, despite the singer being a terribly experienced traveller who has had lots of unusual experiences, they have never met a nice (white) South African.
The lyrics for 'The Chicken Song' came from Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who were regular script writers for the Spitting Image series. The pair later went on to create the hugely successful science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. Rob Grant has apologised for the poultry puerility, describing it as the worst song ever to get to number one. According to the sleeve notes, John Lloyd wrote 'South African' and according to various Internet sources it seems that Peter Brewis wrote the music, with Chris Barrie doing the voice - the sleeve notes credits Spitting Image, featuring The Wet Gits[FONT=Trebuchet MS, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]1[/FONT]. The video was just as provocative as the song, as you would expect from the puppet masters in question.

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Was the song a bit strong?[/FONT]
There is no doubt that the choruses and the title are very harsh, and paint with a very broad brush. Notably they ignore the fact that some white South Africans opposed the Apartheid regime (with the exception of the reference to Breyten Breytenbach[FONT=Trebuchet MS, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]2[/FONT]) as well as excluding black and Asian inhabitants from the title of 'South Africans'. The lyrics can seem particularly inappropriate today, given the vast strides made by South Africa since 1986.
However, as well as the fact that this song was written in specific historical circumstances, there are at least two arguments in favour of the intemperate language contained in the song. Firstly, harsh situations sometimes demand harsh treatment. Some would argue that this kind of approach was necessary to demonstrate to moderate white South Africans that their country was shunned by the rest of the world for its policies. After all, the cultural, economic and sporting boycotts that helped to isolate Apartheid South Africa, deprived all South Africans, not just the racists. Indeed, at the time those who were doing business in SA argued that a withdrawal would create most impact on those who were economically weakest, in other words the black population. The ANC always resisted that argument, and considered that long term gain was worth short term pain. In some ways, this song was a small part of that trend.
Secondly, we need to bear in mind the form of communication. 'I've never met a nice white South African who supports Apartheid' doesn't scan in any way shape or form, which is a problem for a satirical song. This issue is a bit similar to the minor controversy over the re-release of the Band Aid single 'Do They Know It's Christmas'. The line in the song that goes 'where nothing ever grows' is clearly not a very precise description of agricultural productivity in Africa, but it's supposed to be a song, that rhymes and has catchy lyrics - not a policy document.
Certainly 'I've Never Met A Nice South African' is more than a little out of date now, as both Apartheid in South Africa and Spitting Image in the UK have bitten the dust. Still, it is quite revelatory of a certain period in the 1980s, and as such is worthy of a little analysis.
Spitting Image may apparently be coming back in 2005. As for Apartheid, some people would argue that there are still some extant examples...
 
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