George Orwell is 'too Left-wing’ for a statue at BBC headquarters

[Ichingcarpenter]

When the George Orwell Memorial Trust proposed a statue of the writer for outside the BBC’s new headquarters it expected an enthusiastic response. However, not everyone appeared enamoured of the plan.

According to Baroness Bakewell, who is backing the campaign, Mark Thompson, the Corporation’s outgoing director general, said the statue could not be erected on BBC premises because Orwell was “too Left-wing”.

Orwell worked as a BBC journalist, producing radio programmes at Broadcasting House during the Second World War before leaving to publish Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9491024/George-Orwell-is-too-Left-wing-for-a-statue-BBC-tells-Joan-Bakewell.html

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. -- George Orwell

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
-- George Orwell

[Festivito]

2. Would too right-wing be a problem? /nt

[truebrit71]

10. Do you really have to ask?

(I know you knew the answer already....)

[Fumesucker]

3. Animal Farm was written about the Soviet Union you blithering bloody dolt.

Mark Thompson not the OP..

No brain good, one brain bad..

[AverageJoe90]

5. Or rather, Stalin's U.S.S.R.

[Fumesucker]

8. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics..

AKA Soviet Union..

Animal Farm was published in 1945 at which point Stalin was still firmly in charge.

[Posteritatis]

17. In Orwell's time the two were kind of synonymous. (nt)

[Bad Thoughts]

9. So what?

Orwell was a critic of totalitarianism, not a committed conservative. That may be how the American right-wing have appropriated him (particularly Animal Farm), but he was definitely on the left side of British politics and wrote quite a bit about labor conditions.

[Fumesucker]

13. Shall we put you down as agreeing with Mark Thompson then?

Orwell is too left to put up a statue of in front of the BBC.

As another poster asked, is it possible to be too far right to be eligible for a statue?

[Bad Thoughts]

15. Not at all

He is, however, correct that Orwell was a leftist. It's a ridiculous partisan game that Thompson wants to play. Referencing writing Animal Farm does not inoculate Orwell from his politics.

[AverageJoe90]

4. They've got to be JOKING.

Thompson and Bakewell are complete frickin' morons, man.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Bakewell supports the statue; careful who you're calling a moron, there

It might make it look as if you didn't read the story.

FWIW, Thompson is about to become president and chief executive of the New York Times. Enjoy.

[marmar]

11. "Thompson is about to become president and chief executive of the New York Times"

Figures. Oh well, that ought to expedite the Gray Lady's demise.

[HiPointDem]

6. i started rereading 1984 recently. every few pages or so i think "how did he *know*?"

when i read it in high school it seemed like something that could maybe happen in someplace like russia. not in america ever. lol.

[Egalitarian Thug]

12. Because he saw it all happen before? n/t

[Wounded Bear]

19. Yeah, he was alive and awake during the 30's....

It wasn't just "left wing" totalitarians like Stalin out there, he also saw what Mussolini and Hitler did.

The modern conservative likes to point at the Soviet Union and say, "See?" I've even seen critiques that say Hitler and Mussolini were leftists. Can't fix stupid.

[Posteritatis]

18. Because he was writing about his own time? (nt)

[n2doc]

14. They need to put it in front of 10 Downing st.

Scowling at the door. Or perhaps Parliament. As a warning.

[woo me with science]

16. Hell, his picture should be on all the "newscasts"

and on all election coverage.

[DonRedwood]

20. we could trade them for that rush limbaugh statue