The rise of the professional arsehole.

[mistermack]

In today's media, there is a class of person, who is a very obvious arsehole, who can be relied on to raise the temperature of a discussion. They are very much in demand by the media, not for any insight or wisdom, but simply to inflame the feelings of the viewers.
Somebody has worked out that, even though people can't stand these gits, they will watch again, if you employ an arsehole, to liven it up.

Who do you class as a professional arsehole? I wouldn't include people I just dislike. Simply, people who you think have made a career out of being a deliberate calculated arsehole.

My list starts with :
1) Piers Morgan
2) David Starkey
3) Boris Johnson.

[Tero]

I don't associate with them. Will leave them to you, you guys have fun. No gay sex! We're talking (out of) our arseholes here.

[Rum]

As Dimbleby said to Starkey at this week's Question Time, 'You won't win any favours insulting members of the audience', just after he had done exactly that. He is an utter shit. The other two have redeeming features for me. Morgan, for example, used to unpopularity is very upstandingly anti-gun.

[mistermack]

As Dimbleby said to Starkey at this week's Question Time, 'You won't win any favours insulting members of the audience', just after he had done exactly that. He is an utter shit. The other two have redeeming features for me. Morgan, for example, used to unpopularity is very upstandingly anti-gun.

Yeh, but he's anti-gun in a pro-gun country. So he's still playing the role of professional shit-stirrer. His job is to stir up the emotions.
What he actually thinks himself is neither here nor there.

[laklak]

It's good work if you can get it.

[MrJonno]

While their profession is professional arsehole , its actually possible outside the job they are ok.

I remember listening to George Galloway who definitely qualified in this role but he was always highly entertaining on the radio. They replaced him with some ex-navigator from the RAF who was always very understanding of everyone point of view, listened carefully to callers, never raised his voice and was just thoroughly boring

[mistermack]

While their profession is professional arsehole , its actually possible outside the job they are ok.

I remember listening to George Galloway who definitely qualified in this role but he was always highly entertaining on the radio. They replaced him with some ex-navigator from the RAF who was always very understanding of everyone point of view, listened carefully to callers, never raised his voice and was just thoroughly boring

Yeh, I wouldn't put George Galloway on my list. I might strongly disagree with him on lots of stuff, but I think he believes what he's saying, and he puts it phenomenally well in debate.
And he made the Senators on a committee that was meant to fry him look like absolute idiots.

That footage is still my favourite youtube video of all time :

[JimC]

It's very important to me that I don't lose my coveted amateur status in this field of endeavour...

[mistermack]

It's very important to me that I don't lose my coveted amateur status in this field of endeavour...

You're far too modest.
You could go professional tomorrow.

[JimC]

It's very important to me that I don't lose my coveted amateur status in this field of endeavour...

You're far too modest.
You could go professional tomorrow.