Carte Blanche & Sax Appeal

A quick comment on tonight’s Carte Blanche show, specifically the UCT/Sax Appeal/Blasphemy bit. (Probably not put together ever so coherently because I’m tired. Sorry.)

Anyway:

…nothing was said by Naidoo – or any other person of religious persuasion – to lessen the impression that free speech is all fine, unless you say something bad about my invisible friend, who – despite so much financial, spiritual and emotional support – is still surprisingly vulnerable to attack-by-cartoon. If only Satan had known…

Thus speaks Jacques Rousseau, who was interviewed for the report, arguing for the right of free speech. He describes himself “rather disappointed” with the report that aired and I can see why.
While I fully understand that you can’t condense every opinion into 8 minutes (or however long it was), you can at least provide a balanced viewpoint and allow both sides to equally have their say. That would surely provide the most fertile grounds for open debate – no matter that this seems to have come down to the rather empirical battle between christians and atheists.
However, Carte Blanche chose to play it safe, erring on the side of caution and not risk further offending those already offended christians. (Afrikaner puppy farmers are, however, evidently fair game.)

So hardly punchy, contraversial journalism, but the viewing figures are saved; although why has no-one asked why Derek Watts is allowed to work on the sabbath – something that must have surely enraged the fundamentalist christian groups they were actually trying to pacify.
Expect letters to the papers and Errol Naidoo calling for an MNet boycott.