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Brian May, Badgers and Apartheid

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I see Brian May is opposed to culling badgers.

 

I don't know much about the ins and outs of it (but I suspect if there is an issue it's too many cattle in too small a space and not enough predators to eat badgers)

 

I have been struck by just how keen Dr May (in a lot of the news stories they call him 'Dr May' rather than the usual 'Brian' - presumably he used his title in his press release?) is to stop the cull though.

 

He's calling for boycotts of dairy produce from cull areas, for example.

 

He has also said the cull is

 

"scientifically, practically and ethically indefensible and it is against the wishes of the majority of people of this country".

 

However, it occurred to me that you could use exactly the same phrase about the apartheid regime in South Africa. A regime so intolerable that the rest of the world boycotted the country and all it's produce for years.

 

That didn't stop Dr May from playing Sun City as part of Queen in South Africa during the boycott, breaking a boycott and tacitly supporting a regime that was "scientifically, practically and ethically indefensible and it is against the wishes of the majority of people of [the] country".

 

It just seems odd to me that he can care so much about badgers (they are lovely though) and not so much about people.

 

Any thoughts?

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That was a long time ago and maybe he regrets that now, everyone makes bad decisions in their lives, he may have been pushed by management, other members of the band we really dont know enough to judge his decision.

 

I think his stance and the amount of work he has done for the cause of the badgers is brilliant.

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I see Brian May is opposed to culling badgers.

 

I don't know much about the ins and outs of it (but I suspect if there is an issue it's too many cattle in too small a space and not enough predators to eat badgers)

 

I have been struck by just how keen Dr May (in a lot of the news stories they call him 'Dr May' rather than the usual 'Brian' - presumably he used his title in his press release?) is to stop the cull though.

 

He's calling for boycotts of dairy produce from cull areas, for example.

 

He has also said the cull is

 

 

 

However, it occurred to me that you could use exactly the same phrase about the apartheid regime in South Africa. A regime so intolerable that the rest of the world boycotted the country and all it's produce for years.

 

That didn't stop Dr May from playing Sun City as part of Queen in South Africa during the boycott, breaking a boycott and tacitly supporting a regime that was "scientifically, practically and ethically indefensible and it is against the wishes of the majority of people of [the] country".

 

It just seems odd to me that he can care so much about badgers (they are lovely though) and not so much about people.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

I think you are spot on.I do not like Queen and cant abide those men with hair from the 70s.Perhaps he is opposing the cull as I presume he uses badger fur to supplement his hair loss.alternatively it does often look as if he has a badger on his head so perhaps he regards them as pets.

 

A few renamed songs from the Queen repertoire

 

"Adairyban Rhapsody", "Seven seeds of whey" and 'We will block you",all sung by Freddie Nocreamery.

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I think the really important issue is to get the title right. He was not Dr May when he performed in Sun City.

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Really interesting OP. I've always been deeply suspicious of those who favour animals over humans and never really had a great deal of time for May. It would be interesting to find out what he has to say about this apparent anomaly.

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Has Dr May studied for a doctorate or was it bestowed upon him?

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Has Dr May studied for a doctorate or was it bestowed upon him?

 

He studied for it. It's in astrophysics.

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He studied for it. It's in astrophysics.

 

Ah so of course he'd be an expert on badgers!

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I see Brian May is opposed to culling badgers.

 

I don't know much about the ins and outs of it (but I suspect if there is an issue it's too many cattle in too small a space and not enough predators to eat badgers)

 

I have been struck by just how keen Dr May (in a lot of the news stories they call him 'Dr May' rather than the usual 'Brian' - presumably he used his title in his press release?) is to stop the cull though.

 

He's calling for boycotts of dairy produce from cull areas, for example.

 

He has also said the cull is

 

 

 

However, it occurred to me that you could use exactly the same phrase about the apartheid regime in South Africa. A regime so intolerable that the rest of the world boycotted the country and all it's produce for years.

 

That didn't stop Dr May from playing Sun City as part of Queen in South Africa during the boycott, breaking a boycott and tacitly supporting a regime that was "scientifically, practically and ethically indefensible and it is against the wishes of the majority of people of [the] country".

 

It just seems odd to me that he can care so much about badgers (they are lovely though) and not so much about people.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Facile celebrity double standards shocker.

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I see Brian May is opposed to culling badgers.

Any thoughts?

 

I think you're an idiot with way too much time on your hands. Why don't you just concentrate on what's being done to the wildlife in this country & appreciate the work Brian is doing to make this visible to everyone instead of harking back to a short Queen tour way back in 1984. Why shouldn't some of the people in South Africa who liked the band have had a chance to see them? The 'cultural boycott' was only ever in the minds of some artists, it was always arguable whether it would make a difference or not. You could also argue that shouting at South Africa from a distance is all very well but going into the middle of it as they did and saying you are absolutely opposed to apartheid is a lot more effective.

 

You also seem to have forgotten to mention the immense amount of work Brian (and Roger) have done with Mandela and the 46664 charity and Mandela himself made Brian an ambassador for this charity so he is obviously able to put Sun City aside. It's a shame you can't.

Edited by irenewilde

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Ah so of course he'd be an expert on badgers!

 

Why don't you try doing a bit of research before you apply your fingers to a keyboard? It'd stop you looking so foolish. People can be experts in more than one subject in a lifetime, especially if they happen to have way above average intelligence. I realise this may come as a surprise to you.

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I think you're an idiot with way too much time on your hands. Why don't you just concentrate on what's being done to the wildlife in this country & appreciate the work Brian is doing to make this visible to everyone instead of harking back to a short Queen tour way back in 1984. Why shouldn't some of the people in South Africa who liked the band have had a chance to see them?

 

Why don't you try doing a bit of research before you apply your fingers to a keyboard? It'd stop you looking so foolish. People can be experts in more than one subject in a lifetime, especially if they happen to have way above average intelligence. I realise this may come as a surprise to you.

 

Hi Brian's Mum!

 

I suspect he is as wrong about badgers as are the people on the other side of the debate. As I said in my first post, the truth will be somewhere in between.

 

Queen played Sun City knowing it was immoral to do so, and that the majority of South Africans would be unable to attend whether they wanted to or not. Queen were blacklisted by the Musicians Union until the apartheid regime collapsed. The justified their concerts because they said they were in front of mixed audiences, but that was to ignore the wider issues. I like Queen. I just wish they hadn't done those concerts.

 

What struck me though was the way Brian's words fit either situation. I wonder if he would do the Sun City gigs again, given the choice? Is he persuaded by his own arguments? If something is immoral and not wanted by most people in a country, should we not do it? In which case, why did he do those gigs? Or does he get to exercise his won judgement, and we are to do as he says?

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