I never knew that horticulture was such an offensive field of study. According to some leftist professor (who is likely addicted to feeling like a victim), a local gardening show is promoting racism, fascism, and nationalism. Cordials, rhododendrons, and roses are apparently part of some vast Nazi conspiracy in England.
Let’s back up for just a second… Dr. Ben Pitcher, a lecturer in sociology at the University of Westminster, is claiming that a local British gardening show is actually a dog whistle for genocidal nationalist racism. And, no, I’m not making this up. Our friendly British professor has officially helped the politically-correct crowd jump the multiculturalist shark. According to the Telegraph.co.uk:
Dr. Ben Pitcher claimed the programme’s regular discussions on soil purity and non-native species promoted nationalist and fascist beliefs. Speaking on another Radio 4 programme, Thinking Allowed, the academic said: “[the gardening show] is not the most controversial show on Radio 4, and yet it is layered with, saturated with, racial meanings.
Whoa… And to think, this whole time most people thought a show about growing a backyard tomato plant was harmless! Little did we know that these “gardeners” were really planting the seeds of fascist discontent. (See what I did there? Punny, right?) But wait! Absurdity like this can’t possibly be contained to a single utterance:
“The context here is the rise of nationalism. The rise of racist and fascist parties across Europe. Nationalism is about shoring up a fantasy of national integrity. My question is, what feeds nationalism? What makes nationalism powerful?” Dr. Pitcher said the “crisis in white identity in multicultural Britain” meant people felt unable to express their views for fear of being called racist, so expressed their racial identity in other ways, such as talking about gardening.
Right… Don’t you see it? Suggesting that gardening enthusiasts stick to non-chemical organic fertilizer is actually a secret code for “Heil Hitler!” (Fertilizer, by the way, is a pretty common byproduct of Sociology lecturers… But I digress.) Do you think that maybe, just maybe, we’ve taken this whole political correctness thing a little far when we start calling gardeners racist? Is it at least within the realm of possibility that a radio program dedicated to gardening is actually (brace yourself) just a show about gardening?
Oh yeah, and there is no real resurgence of “racist” nationalist parties… there has been a recent rise in political ideologies that want stricter immigration reform (nations are currently bankrupting their immigration entitlement programs), and sovereignty from the unelected bureaucrats at the EU… But that’s a far cry from the Nationalist Socialist Party of 1930’s Germany. Oh, and it’s a world away from the topic of backyard flower-care.
People, like this good doctor from Britain, live with a fundamental (and irreversible) belief that Western civilization owns the patent on hatred, oppression, and racism. More importantly, he seems incapable of believing that good people can possibly harbor opinions different than his own. The alternative to leftism, statism, progressivism, and liberalism is not racism… In fact, the aforementioned have traditionally been the political instruments of racists, genocidal madmen, and oppressive tyrants.
Apparently, even things as mundane as backyard horticulture advice can be seen through the prism of Leftist elitism. Dr. Pitcher really needs to take a deep breath… Maybe he should take up a hobby. I know of a great radio program that can give him some solid gardening advice
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