Jerry Springer - The Opera
We’ve included some accounts of the peaceful protests outside BBC buildings, followed by a sample of the letters of complaint sent by concerned Christians. We hope you will find the following correspondence interesting and helpful – especially the exceedingly articulate letter a fifteen year-old friend of ours wrote. 

It is exceedingly unfortunate that some Christians – or those purporting to be such – have apparently sent death threats to the BBC over the showing of this programme. This is obviously over the top and, as so often, the extremes of the few weaken the case of the very substantial number of people who believe the showing of this programme to have been in exceedingly bad taste. 

All of this may prompt you to contact Mark Thompson with a similar letter and to complain on the Ofcom website at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/contact_ofcom/tv_radio_other
 
Demonstration Reports
First, an account from the demonstration at BBC London:
Just thought we'd give you the low down on what really happened at the demonstration outside the BBC TV studios in London last night, especially after looking at the outrageous reports of the event in the Sunday papers!
We got there just before 8:20pm, after having had a motor scooter run into the back of us on the way! Fortunately no one was hurt; there was little damage and the 2 ladies involved were able to continue their journey.
Once there, we were kept on the other side of the road from the BBC buildings by a vast amount of police. I should think that there were at least 100 but probably nearer 200. There was a police van full of men and many barriers along the pavements making it impossible to walk along the other side of the road to the BBC buildings. The BBC 24 hr news reporter gave me a rough estimate of the number of demonstrators, approximating 400 or more - I think he was probably correct. We were all behind barriers along the pavement, so we were spread out over several hundred yards.
There were a lot of different nationalities, especially Asian. In fact, when we sang songs we sang them in various languages, a lot of Urdu speakers were present. The Asians had made a lot of banners, mostly saying 'BBC British Blasphemy Channel'.  Some of the Asian youth were quite excited at first, standing on the barriers and chanting  'Shame on the BBC' but they calmed down as it was run so well.
Stephen Green of Christian Voice stood on a stepladder and spoke with a loud hailer and opened the event with prayer and saying that earlier that day he had been invited to see the show having been criticised for condemning something he hadn't seen. He later said to us that it had been so awful it really burdens him. We were amazed to hear that Keating and others had fled their homes because of death threats. The only thing remotely like that was that if the BBC didn't remove the programme then the UK is heading for judgement. We saw no burning of TV licences either.
Over the evening from 20:30 to 22:00 a number of people got onto the stepladder and led us in prayer or song. We prayed about the situation in groups and at one point nearly all of us got on our knees in prayer. God’s presence was obvious. A policeman said that this was the first time that he had been on this side of a demonstration. He led us in prayer for all the police and a number of them were obviously moved.
Probably sometime after 21:30 the BBC 24hr news reporter appeared with his cameraman. While people were singing I heard him say to the cameraman 'actually this is really moving' and later said that it was the most articulate demonstration he had ever reported. After 22:00, the official proceedings came to an end and many of the police came over and spoke to us. Andrew heard one say that it was the best event he'd ever been to (presumably as a policemen). However, later on while there were still hundreds of people there one of the police said that we should pack up and go home because they had had complaints from local residents about the noise and it was 11:00pm.
In fact it was long before 11:00pm and we asked who was complaining since there was no residential accommodation in the area. Everyone decided that the police just wanted to go home! Most people went then.
We met people from Ealing, London who had heard about it from the Sisters of Mary there, also people from Basildon, Grays and Cambridge. We spoke to people from the Christian Alliance political party, Stephen from Christian voice and a lawyer from the Lawyers Christian Fellowship.
David a cardiologist from London felt to stay and pray until the show was over so the lawyer, David and us went over the road and prayed outside the BBC. By then there was only 4 of us and 2 or 3 police. We could see a reflection of the TV programme from the TV inside the building. At one point, an older man came along and started shouting at the police and quoting the Bible. The programme finished at 12 & we went home
Sorry this is so long but it is as accurate as I can give and at least shows what really happened! We were really glad we went.
With love,
 Andrew and Avril 
And a report from the Manchester protests from Jon Blamire, followed by his daughter, Hannah’s, letter of complaint. 

I went [to the Manchester protest] with our Hannah (15) and Ruth (13) and their friend Ruth (16). We didn’t coerce, they badgered us to go (Hannah has already written a 6 page letter of complaint)! On the way they practiced lots of praise songs in the car (including many children's 'action' choruses), joking that they might need to lead the music and keep warm. They also decided to pray for the transmitter to break once they realised that it was unlikely that the programme would be stopped. 

There were probably about 100 people in Oxford Road on the pavement outside the BBC. People had come from a wide area including Cheshire, Preston and Nelson and there was a very diverse range of Christians from the White, Afro Caribbean and Asian (Urdu speaking) communities, and representing all types of church, from Catholic to house church.  We sang (and yes, the girls did do a very effective job of starting many praise songs - some with actions!), we prayed, our Asian brothers and sisters were vocal with chants, and we spoke with people passing by. When we left at about 10.30, many were still there and Tim Finch (a Christian cameraman) was interviewing people for a documentary programme.  

There were no police, the front doors were locked and there were no staff in the reception area. The TV screen was also blank. We saw no one from the BBC, and to our knowledge there was no media interest at all.

Despite a cold wind, the rain held off and everyone appreciated the time to pray, sing and get to know other brothers and sisters. I was very moved to see the young people take such an active role: singing, leading prayer, having articulate discussion with passers by, and airing their views to camera.

However, the most powerful time of the evening for me was when we arrived back in Earby. I had asked Sarah to watch the programme and video it. However, she was unable to do either because both of the local analogue transmitters were off air! At first I thought it might be our TV or the children messing with the tuning, but the more distant weaker signal came back this morning, and we are still waiting for the main signal! Praise God for the powerful prayers of children!

Jon Blamire

Letter from Jon’s daughter, Hannah:
I'm writing to you concerning the BBC broadcasting of 'Jerry Springer – The Opera'. I am shocked that such an intelligent group of highly skilled and talented people appears not to be able to see that 'Jerry Springer – The Opera' is morally wrong on many levels. I'm not going to complain about the fact that you are going to show this program using television license money. As I do not pay it I'm not so bothered and I don't feel that this is the major problem in this situation. I know that many people have already made you aware of these points but I have numbered each comment so you cannot possibly miss anything. I have tried to explain 'The Problem' in the simplest terms so no misunderstanding can occur. (Even my eight-year-old sister has read through and appears to understand this letter).

1.The Obscene language. 
In our daily life we are subject to obscene language. This obviously makes it 'okay' to swear. Or does it? This is like saying 'People get murdered every day', so its okay for us to murder! But that is obviously absolutely disgusting and inhumane. As a Christian I don't believe that there are levels of sin and therefore swearing isn't a lesser sin than murder. So if it's socially acceptable that I swear why isn't it socially acceptable for me to kill someone? If I ignore all the above for a moment and say that we are subject to obscene language so its 'okay', I have still never have I sat for two hours and listened to over 8000 swear words (8000/7200= 1.1 recurring that is over one swear word a SECOND!). I do believe that by any decent human standards, this is absolutely appalling and sickening behaviour.

In school, teachers constantly have to deal with my fellow pupils for using this kind of obscene language. I do not go to an inner city school where many of the pupils may have more difficult family backgrounds (I am not stereotyping merely looking at the situation from the majorities case). I go to an all girls grammar school and the students who attend are usually there because they want to work and do well. A majority of these young women are not from backgrounds where parents swear in general conversation. Yet we still have this problem. So I have to ask the question where is this influence coming from? Could it even be such a simple thing as the T.V?

Gerald Berkowitz notes: "The other running gag of the show, which does wear very, very thin very, very fast, is the constant operatic singing of the obscenities and profanities that would be bleeped out of an actual broadcast." 

 He clearly is mistaken in thinking that broadcasters would delete such obscenities. Other reviewers also comment on the way that bad language is used, including:

"foul-mouthed trash" (Alan Bird)
"foul-mouthed" (Michael Billington)
"frequently vulgar and full of expletives" (Yvette Faris - BBC)

I also believe that this applies, taken from your document :

"DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL HERITAGE BROADCASTING - Copy of the Agreement Dated the 25th Day of January 1996 Between Her Majesty's Secretary of State for National Heritage and the British Broadcasting Corporation": 

5.1 The Corporation shall do all it can to secure that all programmes broadcast or transmitted by or on behalf of or under licence from the Corporation as part of the Home Services:- (d) Do not include anything which offends against good taste or decency or is likely to encourage or incite to crime or lead to disorder or to be offensive to public feeling;

I am not making these statements without knowledge of postproduction either. My Dad works in audio post and frequently does postproduction work on programmes we see on national television. But even my Dad, a person who knows what most broadcasters would think was acceptable levels of obscene language, can't believe that any broadcaster in their right mind would let this drama be shown on their channel.

How should the review in the Radio Times read? Maybe something like this:

Up for two hours of drama, which "Pushes back the boundaries of taste and decency"? Yes? Well there are some tests you have to pass first: are you an atheist? Do you have an extensive knowledge of Christian and Jewish 'Mythology'? Do you have a severe lack of, respect for others/morals? If the answer to all the above is yes, then prepare for the program of a life time as all sense of morality and human decency is crushed, Christianity is torn to pieces and for that little extra emphasis there is more than one swear word a second!!! Featuring: Jerry Springer - the host of his hellish chat show with special guests God, Jesus, Mary, Adam and Eve!
 
Now I bet you’re wondering "But why would I want to watch that?" And to be honest with you
that's exactly what we are thinking!!!! 

2.Blasphemy
It is reported that the show's artistic director admits that it is a deliberate attack on good taste and the BBC concedes that the intended broadcast, "Pushes back the boundaries of taste and decency". So why should it be screened if this is the case? Every time the boundaries are pushed they never seem to come back. Has there been a shift in the morals of society? Even if this is okay, apparently the writers of the show state in the programme notes that "a strong grasp of Jewish/Christian mythology is helpful in appreciating what is about to follow". This suggests that they want not only to parody Jesus Christ, but also to claim that he did not exist. Even the most extreme atheists rarely dispute the historical record of the existence of Jesus. I also suspect that they are pointing out that many people in this country with little or no understanding of the Jewish or Christian faiths will watch the show and become even more confused, or fail to understand its true meaning and implication.

It is also reported that the show contains 'a troupe of tap-dancing Ku Klux Klansmen'. It was only about a month ago when I had a nightmare about a troupe of Ku Klux Klansmen following me around chanting spells. You may laugh but this resulted in me waking up at about four o'clock in the morning crying. I know this is very personal to me but if it can haunt me it can haunt others too. I cannot see how it could possibly be ok to show such evil characters in a 'comical' way.

Also under the amended document "Copy of the Amendment dated 4th December 2003 to the Agreement of 25th Day of January 1996 (as amended) Between Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the British Broadcasting Corporation", Section 5B.3(a) states:

For the purposes of this clause, "Applicable Programme Code Standards" means-

(a) those standards for the time being set under section 319 of the Communications Act 2003 which relate to the objectives set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (e), (f) and (l) of subsection (2) of that section (protection of persons under the age of eighteen; omission of material likely to encourage or incite any crime or disorder; exercise of responsibility with respect to the content of religious programmes; application of generally accepted standards so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from the inclusion of offensive and harmful material; non use of techniques which exploit the possibility of conveying a message to viewers or listeners, or of otherwise influencing their minds, without their being aware, or fully aware, of what has occurred)

You may reply to me and tell me that it is after the watershed therefore it is the parent's responsibility to make sure their children don't watch it. But that would be contradictory as if you are changing to 'fit the times' by showing said program then surely you must also realize that children now also stay up till long after the 9 o'clock watershed.

Every time a child hears blasphemous phrases or sees someone talking about religion in such a way their mind becomes more and more polluted with religious discrimination. If this is what you learn to be right and true when you are young it is generally what you believe for most of your life. After all if Jerry Springer says it's the truth, who is to argue with him? These sorts of programmes can have long-term affects, yet we wonder why there is so much racial/religious prejudice in today's world.

If you aren't a Christian, although you claim to be, think of it like this. Your best friend, the one who always cared for you, accepted your apologies and stood by you through your whole life, was given two choices: his life or yours - and let you live out of the love for you in his heart. Would you then allow an American chat show host to make a complete mockery of your best friend on national television? You wouldn't. How is this any different from my situation? Put yourself in my shoes.

3.Other reasons
’This is an artistic piece of theatre, with a specific thought and idea to it and since this is art it is meant to generate debate!’ Doeschka, London, UK

A comment was posted on your notice board on the BBC's website saying that as a piece of drama 'Jerry Springer - The Opera' should be classed as art. Everyone knows that art is supposed to cause debate. As a drama student I know that this kind of 'art' causes debate, even within a small class. I have seen quite a few stage plays now, one being ‘Scarfaced’. If you don't know what it is about it is about gangsters, women, drug dealing and contains bad language. The actors set out to make you hate them and it works. But it doesn't offend people; it doesn't depict Jesus as a fully-grown man in a nappy and it hasn't been shown on national T.V. Now spot the difference between ‘Scarfaced’, one of the most controversial plays this century, and ‘Jerry Springer: The Opera’ that is set out to crush the beliefs of millions of people over the whole world. Where do you draw the line between debate and down right disgusting behaviour?

‘Perhaps all those people who are complaining should go and live in Middle America so they can be with their own kind.’ Peter Hatherall, London

This is another comment that has been posted on your notice board. Can you find out if the people who filter these messages would let someone post a comment on your notice board saying:

 'Perhaps all those Muslims in England should go and live in Pakistan so they can be with their own kind.' (I under no circumstances would ever say this and do not want it to be used against me for any reasons, I am not racist.)

Or is it only okay for people to make these kinds of remarks about Christians because we are obviously not subject to the same human rights? Human Rights are there to protect the minority and at this moment I feel we are being treated like the minority. As Mr. D kindly pointed out:

‘15,000 complaints - all duly and democratically noted. But out of a total viewing or church-going population of how many million? Let's maintain some sense of proportion here.’ Andy D, Oxford, UK 

You may write back and tell me that you have a human right to express your viewpoint, but I'm only a 15-year child and even I have learnt that with rights come responsibilities. Let us not take human rights out of context; they were set up to protect the repressed minorities. I do not believe that you have had an unfair trial and been sent to prison for expressing your opinions (feel free to correct me if I am wrong). If you have I will find it easier to see why you would be concerned about your human rights to freedom of speech being breeched.

As the BBC is one of the largest influences in British media and you can have so much input into the way that people think why not use that influence to change for the better? After all, does our society really need to have "the boundaries pushed", or do we already do this ourselves? Is 'Jerry Springer - The Opera' merely another two hours of our life wasted? Will we just sit and watch as society and all it should stand for decays? Will the BBC be known for the spread of religious prejudice in our 'Great Nation'?

If, say, a news reporter on the BBC was to make a prejudiced remark about any of the world's religions would they not be taken to court, lose their job or be shamed in public? Yes. They would, but this doesn't happen regularly as a majority of news reporters have the decency to respect others beliefs. How then could you allow the broadcast of 'Jerry Springer - The Opera' to go ahead? Or does it depend on the way in which you are prejudice towards people?

If it's a comedy people aren't going to be laughing when this type of thing becomes reality. After all how far away is our world from hell? We don 't need the BBC's help to create our own misery and suffering on Earth do we? Have you not had enough yet? Do you feel it is necessary for our situation to get worse before we wake up and realize that this isn't making things better?

Even on a practical note, would it not have been less time, effort and resource wasting if you had just not decided to show it in the first place? If you sit down at the end of the day and count the number of personal replies, which should have, been sent in return to letters of complaint. Calculate number of hours BBC employees wasted doing that instead of something more valuable. Add up the amount of resources that were wasted when doing this. It's ridiculous really isn't it? In your reply please tell me a good reason why you should have shown this drama. There isn't any, which I haven't knocked already? Does it not now feel like you have wasted every body's time including your own? All you had to do was find something more pleasant in the BBC's massive archives to play.

You have also been very forthright in proclaiming your Christian faith: If this is so, do you not feel God has given you an excellent opportunity to witness to a majority of Britain at this time?

If that has not made you think, look at it this way. You are stood in the queue, heaven bound, on the Day of Judgment, when the person behind you taps you on the shoulder and says, "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me that what Jerry Springer did wasn't the way to heaven? Why did you just let me sit in my little bubble and not do anything about it? I now have to live on that earth with hope, for anything." 

If what you proclaim to be your faith is true, could you bear to stand there and listen to that?

Life is a precious thing and on the grand scale of things we don't have much time. So why not help others and yourself by using the powers you have to tell us something happy? When was the last time you heard about the proud mother when her daughter came home from school doing their two times tables? Or the thrilled father whose son just won his first football match?

There is one more thing I wish to tell you. On Saturday I went to the protest outside the BBC studios in Manchester (with my Dad, little sister and one of my little sisters), I had been praying all day for a power cut or transmission failure, as a last resort, but as far as I knew they were ok. I arrived home at about 12.30 to find that the transmitters in parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire (I live on the border of both) were down and there had been a power cut in other areas of the two counties! God works in powerful ways, which I cannot explain but I refuse to believe that this was a coincidence.  I'm not asking you to ignore the harsh reality of today's world, because we cannot be ignorant towards it, merely just not to give us more to think about. 

I hope all the information I have used in this letter is correct (some is from the BBC's own website). I also hope and pray that a production like this will never been shown on national television in the future for the benefit of us all.

I understand that Mr. Thompson is an extremely busy man and that this will probably only reach is PA at the most. But if you have fully read this letter and can understand why I, Hannah Blamire – just another 15 year old child who shouldn't have views/feelings /responsibility for anything major that happens in mine and many others lives – may be worried about the way our world is going. Even if you can bow down for a few seconds and say that I may even have just one or two good points, please can you find it in your heart of hearts to give this letter to Mr. Thompson in person. Be the first one's to sit down and really consider my views and there significance. I have spent my whole Friday night and Saturday compiling this letter and I am not one to put much effort into things that aren't compulsory! So I do not feel I am asking for much in return.

I hope you don't find anything that I have written in this letter be too abrupt or aggressive, as I did not want it to come across in this manner. I merely wanted to express my concern about the way in which the BBC has dealt with the showing of  'Jerry Springer - The Opera'.

I gather that if a letter has more signatures on it counts as more complaints so I have asked my friends to read through my letter and make any changes if they disagree with what I have written. I hope you can accept this as a formal complaint from all who have signed this letter. We are all extremely unsatisfied with your lack of understanding about what 'the problem' is and find it hard to see how 'just another bunch of teenagers' can understand what 'the problem' is yet an intelligent group of highly skilled and talented people cannot. I would appreciate an acknowledgement and an informed reply to this letter. If you have any other questions I am quite prepared to spend time replying as this topic is close to my heart at the moment.

Yours faithfully,

Hannah Blamire (15)

Another letter of complaint, this one from Paul Silvester.

Dear Mr Thompson
 
I am 40 years old and a father of two.  So not yet out of touch!
 
I have already complained to the BBC prior to the above show being aired.  Now, after viewing it in its entirety, I am almost speechless.
 
Let's get the 'how come you watched it then?’ line out of the way first.  I watched the show, hoping that my earlier complaint may have been unjustified, and half way through, I imagined that there may be a twist, or at least a general direction where the viewer may be led to some enlightenment about life, Christianity's message of hope and salvation through forgiveness and repentance, or even a solid answer to the apparent problems the real show highlights in peoples lives.
 
Instead, the show depicted God, Christ, Mary, and the devil in a freakish parody, demeaning the moral, and life changing (if you are a Christian) virtues of leading life with Jesus Christ as one's Saviour.  Not for one second do I think the show should have been altered to suit Christians, it should not have been aired at all.  However, it was a quite gross attack on the one religion in this country that sustains ridicule and abuse without having any redress (other than the odd, and mostly ill chosen media bishop).  
 
You know well, that had this been another mainstream religion (no names mentioned), all manner of threats, denouncements, claims of harassment, and accusations of religious hatred and phobias would have been thrown at your Corporation.  Just ask Polly Toynbee how she got on with a recent article she wrote, or Mr Rushdie.
 
Your duty, above all others Sir, is to be responsible.  RESPONSIBLE.  You, and your colleagues have not been so.  You know, as do the rest of society, that society long ago lost the discipline to respect the 'watershed'.  Hiding behind it, and the 'Charter' is a most convenient excuse (one which Pontius Pilot didn't have) for pressing ahead with the programme.  They are seriously not the justification for airing. You know that thousands of children have now watched that show.  I feel desperately sorry for the teachers – already burdened by bad behaviour and indiscipline – who have to walk in to schools and watch children copy the language and lewd behaviour of the cast.  It will happen, just as young footballers copy diving, swearing, and ridiculous goal celebrations. I hope you receive some feedback on this shortly via education chiefs/experts.
 
I have a degree in psychology, and have at least a decent level of understanding of copycat behaviour.
 
Congratulations on staying with your perceived political correctness.  Top marks for being liberal, all embracing, a man of the minority art movement.  But hey, guess what, nothing shifts the moral behaviour faster into a downward spiral than the acquiescence of people like you saying 'hey guys - it's ok, acceptable and cool to behave like this’.
 
No, I did not miss the point.  The show was pointless, as it offered the general public nothing they didn't know already.  It offered no solution to distraught and angry personal trauma.  Nothing to loneliness.  Nothing to values and decency.
 
Last of all, nothing to anybody who is spiritually searching for the answer to life.  
 
My daughter wears a bracelet.  On it is woven 'WWJD?' – ‘What Would Jesus Do?’  Well, He would not wear a nappy and He certainly was not effeminate or gay.  He has already had the highest form of ridicule in His crucifixion (watch the Passion).  Jesus would probably have wept at the mockery of those God created, wept at the use of crude and hurtful words and the pain they really inflict on others, wept at the loose way we as a nation watch and learn, wept at the continued way our society allows one thing after another to be watered down to the lowest common denominator.
 
I hope your own children (if indeed you have any) were not able to view this. Maybe they were old enough to make a grown up decision.  Please bear a thought though for how the many thousands of young minds tomorrow will be confused and changed as they gleefully spew that which they learned tonight.
 
Thank you for reading my thoughts.  I do not expect an individual response as I am sure you will be a busy reader over the next few days.

Regards
 
Paul Silvester