Yet again the British Broadcasting Corporation’s news division has turned a joyful occasion into an excuse for mean-spirited criticism.
That’s the commentary of an obviously irked Milo Yiannopoulos, writing from the midst of 1.5 million teens and young adults who have converged on Madrid, Spain, a six-day celebration of being young and Christian.
“It comes to something when I when I find myself agreeing with the Guardian’s Andrew Brown,” writes Yiannopoulos, ”and yet here we are. His blog post yesterday drew attention to something many Catholics will be feeling this weekend. ‘If I were a Catholic,’ he writes, ‘I would be feeling rather [expletive] off with the BBC.’
“Well, quite,” agrees Yiannopoulos. “Why on earth the BBC has chosen to focus its coverage on the comparatively tiny number of protesters in Madrid is a mystery. I mean, it’s not as if they’re the most sympathetic types. We need only turn to the esteemed Deutsche Welle to recognise the usual suspects.”
Deutsche Welle is a German news website. Its report on the protesters put them in the context of 1.5 delighted kids versus:
5,000 people turned out on Madrid’s streets late Wednesday to protest the pope’s arrival for the six-day youth festival. The demonstrators included members of secularist, feminist, gay and lesbian, alternative Christian and leftist groups.
“Over a hundred of these fringe protest groups coalesced, as they so often do, into a confused mêlée of conflicting special interests,” reported Yiannopoulos. “They were united, however, in the sheer nastiness with which they expressed their views. To give but one example — as pilgrims sang “Hallelujah”, “Long Live the Pope!” and Benedicto!” demonstrators responded with shrieks of “Nazis!” and “Padophiles, watch out children!”
“So much for the inclusive tolerance trumpeted by the Left,” writes Yiannopolos. ”Here in Madrid was its real face: a sneering, violent mob of self-righteous bullies who thought it appropriate to hurl abuse at children for the crime of having pride in their faith and being excited about by a visit from the Holy Father.”
Yiannopoulos is a freelance technology journalist who was named one of the top 100 most influential figures in Britain’s digital economy by Wired magazine.
